《Conquest of the Dragon Sovereign》


 Prologue

    A towering building stood on a wide, empty street. Normally, this street would be bustling with people coming and going, full of vitality, but because of the rain, it was deserted today. At the front of the building was a large gate, which was now closed, with a sign above the arch that read, "Adventurer Guild Union." Beside the large gate was a smaller one, usually used by the guild staff, but on days like today when the rain poured heavily, everyone was allowed to use it. Soon, hurried footsteps approached the small door in the rain. A young man, hooded and clearly drenched, walked briskly toward the door. With obvious urgency, he pushed the door open and entered. Inside, all kinds of people could be seen chatting while eating and drinking beer. Few even glanced his way.


    The young man headed to the large counter at the back of the hall. It was a grand counter with many receptionists, both male and female. The young man stopped in front of one in particular and finally spoke: "I''ve come to submit the completed request for the collection of blood grass and 50-year-old ginseng."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The silver-haired receptionist gave him a look somewhere between disdain and indifference. "Alright, Feicui Long, place it here on the tray. You''ll receive 3 silver coins." Feicui Long quickly thanked her, ignoring her gaze, and took the money.


    But just as he was about to ask if there were any other requests and then leave, the receptionist spoke first: "Feicui Long, there''s no need for you to come back anymore. According to the new leader of the Vienna Fortress-City branch of the union, your permit to be an adventurer will be revoked."


    Feicui Long, stunned, quickly replied, "But I''ve recently completed all the requests¡­"


    The receptionist immediately continued, "I''m sorry, but according to union regulations, adventurers registered directly with the union must advance in rank within a maximum of 7 years if they don''t have a group. You''ve already reached that limit, and there''s nothing that can be done." Feicui Long, shocked, desperate, and heartbroken, could only leave with his money through the same door he had entered.

 Chapter 1 - The Supreme Dragon Sovereign

    In a beautiful palace whose walls shone in a brilliant gold and whose floor displayed an exquisite emerald green color, the blazing fires rose to monstrous heights, and giant columns of smoke ascended toward the sky. However, both a large gap in one of the walls and an even larger one in the ceiling had marred the majesty of the place.


    The quick footsteps of a hooded figure echoed through the palace corridors, once filled with joy and merriment. As the figure approached its destination, its steps mingled with incredible sounds of explosions and tremors that shook the ground and walls.


    The hooded figure increased its speed as it drew closer to its objective. Finally, it turned right and encountered an immense number of enemy troops fighting against the palace guards and forces. Each group was gathered under a different banner, wearing different types of armor, making it clear they belonged to separate factions.


    Taking advantage of the enemies'' distraction caused by the guards, the figure managed to reach the next hallway, where it turned right again and stopped in front of an imposing golden door adorned with the figure of a dragon, its eyes inlaid with emeralds. Before it could even touch the door, a voice from the other side said, "Enter, Mariane." Without hesitation, Mariane, the hooded figure, pushed the door, opening it effortlessly.


    As the door swung wide, it revealed a figure seated on a throne. Dressed elegantly, with green hair and golden eyes, his gaze could captivate even the most beautiful of ladies, and his magnificent aura was capable of subduing and being adored by the most rebellious. This was Mariane''s lord, the supreme dragon sovereign, god of dragons, sovereign of the supreme time clan, god of time and the time race, sovereign of the supreme space clan, god of space and the space race in that universe. His name was Feicui Long, the one who had taken in the humble human Mariane and sheltered her under his protection. To her, he was more than a father and a lord; he was the person she most adored and loved.


    When Feicui Long noticed Mariane was lost in thought, he called her by name. "Tell me, Mariane, have you brought everything I asked for?"


    Mariane shook slightly, forced out of her thoughts, and hurriedly replied, "Yes, master, I have brought everything with me."


    Feicui Long continued, "Very well, once again, I want to ask you: Are you sure you wish to renounce your cultivation and be sealed along with the coffin and everything you brought? I do not want you to feel obligated to do this by my orders and waste an enormous amount of time sealed in space-time merely for my whim."


    At these words, Mariane raised her head and met her lord''s gaze. With unshakable pride, she looked at him and said, "Master, as I have mentioned to you on multiple occasions, I was saved by you and granted something beyond what I could have ever imagined. What benefit would there be in preserving my cultivation and living my life if I cannot even be of use to you? I kindly beg you to allow me to do this and do not doubt my determination."


    Feicui Long sighed and, as if finally resigned, said, "Very well, come with me." Immediately after, he rose from his throne and began walking behind it, with Mariane diligently following him.


    ...


    Mariane and Feicui Long had entered the room behind the throne. Mariane could see a majestic, crystalline coffin, of a light emerald green color with beautiful golden edges. On the lid of the coffin was a "master" formation, composed of a rune formation, a talisman formation, a seal formation, a glyph formation, a sigil formation, a line and drawing formation, and a mixed formation, creating a unique and sophisticated formation. At certain points, energy cores had been placed, totaling 21 of these cores.


    Feicui Long opened the coffin, revealing an equally beautiful interior with even more master formations. Inside, certain objects had already been placed, and there was barely enough space for one person. Feicui Long turned and looked at Mariane. As if she could understand what he wanted to say, Mariane approached the coffin but waited for Feicui Long to do something before entering.


    Feicui Long looked at her and placed one hand on her lower dantian (near her navel) and the other on her upper dantian (on her forehead), dispersing two-thirds of Mariane''s cultivation. Then he moved one of his hands to her chest, to the middle dantian located specifically where her heart was, and finally dispersed Mariane''s cultivation entirely. Once finished, Feicui Long looked at her and bit his tongue, allowing his fiery blood to flow into his mouth. He embraced her from behind and pressed his lips to hers. Mariane, shocked by what had just happened, couldn''t process the events. Before she could, she felt a boiling liquid pouring inside her. However, it was clear that Feicui Long controlled the energy of his blood to avoid harming her. When he finished and separated his lips from hers, before Mariane could say anything, Feicui Long touched her forehead, and Mariane fell unconscious.


    Then, Feicui Long placed her in the coffin with an indescribable delicacy, as if she were the most fragile piece of art in existence. "Sleep, little one, sleep. In all the futures I have seen, only by doing this can I save your life. I am sorry for lying to you. This is not to protect the greatest treasures of the dragon race, nor the space clan, nor the time clan in this universe, but to protect you. You are the most precious to me..." said Feicui Long as he sealed the coffin and, using part of his energy, activated the formations. He opened a rift in space and gently pushed the coffin into the rift.


    Then he turned around and returned the way he had come, to the throne room, where he sat down again and waited patiently.


    ...


    Mariane and Feicui Long had entered the room behind the throne. Mariane could see a majestic, crystalline coffin, a light emerald green color with beautiful golden edges. On the coffin lid was a "master" formation, composed of a rune formation, a talisman formation, a seal formation, a glyph formation, a sigil formation, a formation of lines and drawings, and a mixed formation, creating a unique and sophisticated formation. At certain points, energy cores had been placed, with a total of 21 of these cores.


    Feicui Long opened the coffin, revealing an equally beautiful interior with even more master formations. Certain objects had already been placed inside, leaving barely enough space for a person. Feicui Long turned and looked at Mariane. As if understanding what he wanted to say, Mariane approached the coffin but waited for Feicui Long to do something before entering.


    Feicui Long looked at her and placed one hand on the lower dantian, near her navel, and the other on the upper dantian, located on her forehead, dispersing two-thirds of Mariane''s cultivation. Then, he moved one hand to her chest, at the intermediate dantian specifically located where her heart was, and finally dispersed Mariane''s cultivation completely.


    Once finished, Feicui Long looked at her and bit his tongue, allowing his burning blood to flow into his mouth. He embraced her from behind and pressed his lips against hers. Mariane, surprised by what had just happened, couldn''t process the events. Before she could, she felt a boiling liquid pouring inside her. However, it was evident that Feicui Long was controlling the energy of his blood to avoid harming her. When he finished and separated his lips from hers, before Mariane could say anything, Feicui Long touched her forehead, and Mariane fell unconscious.


    Then, Feicui Long placed her in the coffin with an indescribable delicacy, as if she were the most fragile piece of art in existence. "Sleep, little one, sleep. In all the futures I have seen, only by doing this can I save your life. I''m sorry I lied to you. This is not to protect the greatest treasures of the dragon race, nor of the space clan, nor of the time clan in this universe, but to protect you. You are the most precious thing to me..." Feicui Long said as he sealed the coffin and, using part of his energy, activated the formations. He opened a rift in space and gently pushed the coffin into the rift.


    Then he turned around and went back the way he had come, returning to the throne room, where he sat once more and waited patiently.


    ...


    In a matter of seconds, an intense battle erupted between the 21 gods and their armies against Feicui Long. Each strike from Feicui Long made his opponents'' hands and weapons tremble, sending them flying with every kick. However, the 21 supreme gods were the most affected by his attacks, while their armies suffered even more, with many soldiers being severely wounded or dying on the spot.


    At a certain moment, Feicui Long extended his arms backward, and with his hands turned into claws, he shouted: "Spatial Rend!" His arms moved, dragging his claws charged with a massive amount of spatial energy, launching a claw-shaped slash that tore through space itself, massacring thousands of soldiers and injuring several supreme gods who were sent flying.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Adolf Wilfsmum, wielding a sword with multiple master formations, shone at full power and shouted: "Ancestral Origin Slash!" His slash clashed with Feicui Long''s technique, barely managing to stop it, while Yun Hua took the opportunity and waved her fan, dispersing the enemy technique.


    Behind Feicui Long, Catalina Lancaster shouted as she used a technique with her massive axe: "Empress''s Supreme Rupture!" A rending energy emanated from the axe and rushed at high speed toward Feicui Long.


    Feicui Long realized the situation, but it was too late to dodge the attack, so he decided to use a technique. Almost whispering, he said: "Chains of Time." Several chains made of energy emerged and tried to restrain the massive axe, but Catalina possessed formidable strength and energy, so her attack would not be stopped easily. However, Feicui Long knew her power very well since he had raised her. Smiling, he managed to slightly slow the attack, giving him time to turn quickly and use both hands. Shouting: "Spatial Prison!" his energy-charged hands firmly grasped the axe, holding it in place. Then, he pulled on the axe, dragging its owner toward him, but soon realized his mistake.


    At that moment, Yun Hua had positioned herself behind him and, with the blades of her fan, slashed while shouting: "Infinite River Division!" The attack immediately cut Feicui Long, causing a large bleeding wound on his exposed back. Yun Hua smiled triumphantly, as both she and Feicui Long knew each other very well in the art of combat, and she had been able to identify the perfect moment to launch an effective attack. However, her smile would not last long, because...


    Immediately after, Feicui Long kicked Catalina in the stomach with all his strength, sending her flying at an impressive speed. Then, he turned at an equally astonishing speed and grabbed Yun Hua''s smiling face, smashing it against the throne room floor. With almost millimetric precision, he managed to dodge Adolf''s slash by leaning to the side.


    ...


    After hours of intense battle, the battlefield was shattered and filled with remnants of flesh and blood. Only Feicui Long, the other 21 supreme gods, and a few superior gods who were part of the army remained. Most of the soldiers had died or retreated by the orders of the 21 gods. Feicui Long had several wounds, some superficial and others deeper, but fortunately, none had impacted vital points. However, his celestial seal still hadn''t regenerated due to the war between universes.


    The celestial seal was a seal obtained upon reaching the True Immortal Realm. Initially, when it is obtained for the first time, it is called the Immortal Seal. As one advances through the realms, it changes names because it fuses with the laws of that level, granting the bearer true immortality. As long as the seal remains intact, Feicui Long cannot die in any way. However, the seal can be damaged, which makes him vulnerable to being killed. In the original universe, or also known as the absolute universe, a way to prevent its regeneration was discovered by launching "corrosive" attacks that continuously damaged the seal, preventing its recovery and, ultimately, the death of the bearer.


    Feicui Long reflected to himself: "It''s inevitable to fall in this battlefield. I thought for a moment that I could avoid it, but it seems impossible. The team attack along with that Absolute Emperor-level artifact from the divine sovereigns of the enemy universes is still too strong to dispel, not to mention that annoying poison, especially in the middle of a battle. There will come a time when I won''t have enough energy to contain it. I wonder if I will die first at the hands of my old enemies or my former brothers. In any case, it doesn''t matter. My main reason for facing this impossible battle was not to die in a grand battle for honor or something like that, but to allow Mariane to escape safely and for the dragon race living in this mini-plane to also escape. Many have not achieved that yet. So, I have no choice but to give it all..."


    Adolf, with several serious wounds, but smiling, said: "Have you run out of energy, Feicui Long? Where is that arrogance with which you claimed you would show your superiority over us?"


    Feicui Long responded sarcastically: "Do you think that because I''ve been wounded, that''s a victory for you? Looks like you''re ready for a real fight, huh?" As he said that, his aura began to rise again. However, this time it wasn''t only his aura that grew, but his form was rapidly changing. First, large wings emerged from his back, followed by scales covering his entire body. His arms and legs transformed into sharp claws, and from the lower part of his back, a long tail with golden scales emerged. Four pairs of sharp horns grew on his forehead, one pair golden and the other emerald green, accompanied by three beautiful gems: an amethyst on the right, a topaz on the left, and a beautiful emerald in the center. When the transformation finished, he revealed himself as a majestic western dragon mostly covered in emerald-green scales, with some golden ones on his belly and the front of his neck and in other parts. This was his true form: a time and space emerald-golden dragon.


    The remaining gods no longer had time to hide their emotions; their faces showed seriousness. If what happened a moment ago was just a warm-up, now they were immersed in a life-or-death battle. All of them had witnessed how the dragon had defeated and devoured three divine sovereigns without anyone''s help. But now, that same dragon was no longer their ally, but their mortal enemy.


    As if Feicui Long wanted to confirm it, he flew quickly at a speed so high that only a few could put up their defensive barriers in time and withstand the impact of the dragon''s tail. Those who couldn''t do so were sent flying at high speed, resulting in serious injuries immediately. Yun Hua acted quickly, unleashing a series of cuts like waves of a turbulent river. Slowly, her true form revealed itself: that of a beautiful lady covered with what seemed to be a dress, but in reality, they were petals of a white flower, with some parts that seemed like clouds. Yun Hua was a "cloud flower" from the Infinite River, belonging to the "Infinite" clan or race. When her transformation completed, a delicate petal gorgojera and a cloud-like layer appeared. Yun Hua''s skin went from a bright white to a pale white, similar to the color of clouds, and her eyes glowed with an intense yellow hue.


    But Yun Hua was not the only one to reveal her true form. Catalina also began to transform quickly: four pairs of horns grew from her forehead, a long dragon-like tail extended from the back of her body, and her body was covered with silver fur. From the inside of her neck down to the end of her belly, ruby-colored scales appeared. Her beautiful sky-blue eyes adopted the same shade as her scales. Moreover, her height increased from 1.65 meters to 2 meters and 10 centimeters. Interestingly, her muscles enhanced her femininity. Catalina belonged to the supreme clan, also known as the supreme race. The species Catalina belonged to was the "Empress Wolf-Lizard Beast." When her transformation ended, Catalina let out a roar and accelerated to the maximum with her large axe, delivering a vertical cut.


    Feicui Long snorted and, simply with his enormous wings, soared into the sky while watching them both. For the first time in the entire fight, he spoke without hostility, admiration in his eyes and voice. "You two have become even more beautiful since the last time I saw you, and your cooperation has improved considerably. I am proud of you, but you still have a long way to go to reach my level." After finishing his words, Feicui Long raised his neck and his cheeks puffed up. In less than a second, he released a powerful breath of amethyst color that tore apart the space in this tiny plane, affecting everything in its path.


    When the breath hit, the power was so great that even Yun Hua and Catalina, combining their forces, could barely stop it. Seeing this, Adolf muttered to himself, "I always knew he was an incomparable beast, but never to this extent. It almost seems like those three useless divine sovereigns couldn''t do much to him. Just one of his breaths and it''s enough to make Yun Hua and Catalina tremble. If he mixes his 4 types of breaths, I don''t think we''ll be able to withstand for long. I have to use that thing they gave me from that clan¡­" After saying this, Adolf, who was sweating coldly all over his body, took something out of his spatial ring and, without anyone noticing, threw it toward Feicui Long.


    That object, which initially was a round silver sphere, soon transformed into a pointed shape, and wings sprouted from its sides, beginning to accelerate at a speed that even he could not see, hitting Feicui Long near his heart''s scale.


    Feicui Long, who was releasing his breath, suddenly felt as if a needle pierced his chest. He immediately realized that something strange had entered his body. After a few seconds, he felt a burning pain spreading throughout his body, especially from the wound that Yun Hua had inflicted on him in his human form. Realizing what it was, furious, he roared, "Damn you, Adolf, you used a dragon-slaying poison. I always knew something was suspicious. How is it that those other universes discovered our exact location, why I couldn''t see your future, and now this artifact? Turns out you sold yourself to the Feilou clan and gave Yun Hua the poison. You thought I wouldn''t recognize this poison, that damn insidious poison from the artifact of that trio of useless . Even if I die here and now, I have to make sure I leave you a wound so you''ll remember me. I will return, and when I do, I will come for your damned life, scum without honor!"


    Unable to bear the pain anymore, he extended his wings, letting his natural inscriptions shine at their maximum, and with a tilt of his head, released his last attack: a breath that mixed topaz, amethyst, and emerald, blending his 3 supreme divine authorities: time, space, and dragons.


    This breath was so powerful that for a moment everything froze, as if fulfilling his previous declarations. The breath pierced Adolf on his side, leaving a semicircular hole in the right side of his abdomen, bleeding where everything had vanished. Even Yun Hua and Catalina were seriously wounded.


    Then, the magnificent emerald-golden dragon fell to the ground, his fiery red blood now black as oil. In a very low voice, he spoke his last words: "Activate the space-time prison formation." Beneath Feicui Long''s body, a master formation began to glow intensely, seemingly waiting to be activated by his blood. From this formation came intense light pillars and chains from everywhere, binding the body, whose life was gradually fading. Soon, the formation tore a piece from the palace and sank into a colossal spatial crack, taking with it the now lifeless body of Feicui Long. Yes, this formation was not an offensive or defensive one; it was a formation designed to prevent his body from falling into the hands of his former brothers and now hated enemies...

 Chapter 2 – The Fall of the Commonwealth

    In the great kingdom of the Mazovia-Zarokyia Commonwealth, a merciless war was being waged against the superior races. Although the powerful nation, spanning 3 million square kilometers and home to 500 million members of mortal clans, was doing everything it could to fight, it was losing and in a very dire situation.


    In a room illuminated by lamps composed of light stones, a commanding man of 2 meters in height sat at the center of a large table with an illusory map. He was elegantly dressed in beautiful armor adorned with all kinds of softly glowing inscriptions and wore a crown bearing the symbol of an eagle and a knight. Around him were gathered all kinds of people, waiting for someone to speak.


    Soon, one of these individuals, a knight in heavy armor, moved one of his arms as he pointed to several locations on the map and began to speak: "My king, at these 5 points, our men are fighting and are currently winning. They are respectively the fortresses of Smolensk, Vilna, Khotyn, Lwow, and Kamianets-Podilskyi. All have performed incredibly well, but only Smolensk and Vilna remain unscathed, as the number of enemies is small because the fortresses behind them have delayed the Cold Steel Legion of the undead. As for the other 3, Lwow is still holding up well, but the pressure is immense, as the demonic legion is breaking through there."


    At one point, the man paused briefly before continuing: "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the other fronts, especially in these 3 regions to the west of Lwow: Podkarpackie, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Ternopil. Our troops have been exterminated by an unknown elite force of the demonic legion, and they are advancing rapidly. They are expected to reach the Carpathians within 5 to 7 months if the fortresses delay their march. Most of the regions in combat are at a disadvantage, with a few in the extreme state of these 3, other important parts in a middle ground, and very few in good condition, like the 5 mentioned earlier."


    The king let out a sigh of resignation and said, "Very well, have the troops of the Grand Duchy of Zarokyia evacuate all civilians and retreat with them to Vilna and its surroundings, and establish a defensive zone with preparations for the emergency plan. As for the east, have them evacuate civilians and retreat behind the Carpathians. Also, begin the same preparations for the emergency plan¡­"


    A large, bearded man, surprised and agitated, shouted while stroking his beard, "But Your Majesty, if we do that, we would be surrendering half of our territory! How would we feed so many refugees?"


    Another man in armor, with scars on his face, spoke next: "Yes, my lord, our troops are more than capable of holding the enemy at bay. We must not give up so quickly. It has only been 5 months since the war began; it is too soon to abandon those regions."


    The king stood up, slamming the table, and raised his voice, saying, "Are you telling me I should abandon my people to death?! I don''t care if we don''t have enough food. Maybe some will die of hunger, but leaving my people there is a guarantee of extermination, and you know that well!"


    The king, angry and clenching his teeth, continued, "I know very well what my troops are capable of, generals, but we are no match for the enemy! We have 10 million of our own troops and 5 million extra, thanks to the help of the Union of Mortal Clans, mercenaries, adventurers, hunters, and neighboring nations. But the enemy is invading us with numbers of 45 million across 3 different fronts, and they surpass us in quality. They have an army the size of a small country!"


    After saying this, the king took a deep breath to calm himself and continued, "I am not doing this because I want to, but because I have no other choice. Our intelligence has already discovered who the enemy is, and I know we have no way to confront them with our current power. Before this meeting began, I had already decided on this course of action, but I held onto some foolish hopes¡­"


    ...


    Meanwhile, in another part of the great kingdom of the Mazovia-Zarokvia Commonwealth, an army of 40 thousand people from all 14 mortal races had gathered. The general of the army, who stood at the front, looked at a messenger from the demon clan with a clear expression of coldness and seriousness, while the lesser demon observed him with a disdainful smile.


    "Oh, so General Lukasz Dabrowski is telling me that he does not fear death and doesn''t mind taking his 40 thousand men with him? ¡ªsaid the lesser demon, holding back laughter."


    General Lukasz, guardian of the great kingdom of Mazovia-Zarokvia, responded with an even more sarcastic smirk and shouted:


    "Did you hear that, my brothers?! These demons think that we, the Celestial Winged Hussars, fear death!"


    The army behind him responded with chilling laughter, so loud that the demon, who had been wearing a disdainful smile, became annoyed and said:


    "I don''t think you''re unaware of the consequences of rejecting my lord''s offer. Under my lord''s protection, the mortal clans of this miserable kingdom will be guaranteed survival, and you will even be able to keep your army and title."


    The general responded again, but this time seriously, with a solemn and loud voice, putting energy into his words:


    "We, the Celestial Winged Hussars, are the guardians of great Mazovia! We fight in the light and die in the darkness! We fight in the night and die in the light! We serve throughout our lives, and even if our fate dictates that we meet the most horrible deaths, we will continue to serve even in death!"


    The army behind him repeated the same phrase, one by one:


    "WE, THE CELESTIAL WINGED HUSSARS, ARE THE GUARDIANS OF GREAT MAZOVIA! WE FIGHT IN THE LIGHT AND DIE IN THE DARKNESS! WE FIGHT IN THE DARKNESS AND DIE IN THE LIGHT! WE SERVE THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, AND EVEN IF OUR FATE DICTATES THAT WE MEET THE MOST HORRIBLE DEATHS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE EVEN IN DEATH!"


    "So die simply, wretched demon," pronounced the general in an extremely cold voice before piercing the lesser demon as if he were a sheet of paper. After this, he turned around and looked at his brothers, the most loyal and faithful to the great kingdom of Mazovia-Zarokvia, and said to them:


    "My brothers, let us continue marching. Our destiny awaits us beyond the Carpathians."


    After this, the general and his men continued marching toward their final destination...


    At the same time, either unaware or deliberately ignoring it, a figure on a glowing bird flashed like a streak in the sky as it followed them closely. The figure had a strange device by its side.


    Soon, the army of 40 thousand men crossed the Carpathians mounted on their loyal pegasi. It was a beautiful, incredible, and at the same time, chilling sight to see a cavalry of 40 thousand troops crossing the great mountain range. Wherever they passed, villagers stood to watch them, and wherever their enemies saw them, their faces darkened. The terror of Mazovia''s enemies was on its way to their next battlefield.


    When the army stopped, they were face-to-face with the enemy army. This time, there was no time for assault tactics or encircling the enemy, as they had done with the army of Sultan Ahmet the Mad, who had besieged the fortress city of Vienna of the Von Habsburg Empire before it became a fortress city.


    This time, before them, they could see an endless army of 4 million, composed mostly of members of the demonic clan but supported by members of the monster clan, the beast clan, and the undead clan. Even so, General Lukasz and his army did not change their expressions or show fear. On the contrary, as soon as their pegasi had rested on the ground long enough, he said the following:


    "My brothers, the time has come! Even if they outnumber us 100 to 1, it is time for the charge. Let us show these wretched demons why great Mazovia cannot be stopped and why the mortal clan will never surrender to the oppression of the superior races! We will show them why they call us the angels of death, with glory and honor!"


    The cavalry soon began the charge¡ªa devastating charge. Their bright and imposing armor and powerful weapons, filled with inscriptions and overwhelming power, soon began to gather a tremendous amount of energy, enough to alter a very wide area. Wherever the cavalry passed, there were dead¡ªhundreds of dead from the demonic races. No matter what enemy stood in their way, they were destroyed, pierced by them, or trampled to a horrible death.


    ...


    The figure that had been following them began to speak in front of the device:


    *"This is the Union News Agency. We are currently witnessing the battlefield of the Commonwealth. The enemies are countless, and the situation is extremely dire. Unfortunately, the Union''s troops are currently fighting in three locations at the same time: the Valley of Death in Dojra, the Abyss of the Black Jungle in Heseinbach, and the Hills of Drunnar. The few elite troops remaining will take a few months to arrive from the southern region of the continent.


    Therefore, we want to remind all residents: evacuate immediately. A Black Evacuation Alert has been issued. If you are hearing this, you must leave now, as you are at risk of dying. Remember, the enemies of mortal races do not want citizens, nor servants, nor even slaves. They want to exterminate us."*If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡­


    The enemy army, however, was not going to stay idle. As soon as the charge began, the enemy forces mobilized, with the demons chanting a great war cry:


    "DEATH, WAR, BLOOD, AND IRON!"


    "ALL ENEMIES WILL BE CRUSHED AND DESTROYED!"


    "DEATH, WAR, BLOOD, AND IRON!"


    "THE PALACE OF IRON THORNS AND BLOOD WILL BRING DEVASTATION TO THE FOOLS!"


    Legion after legion of demons marched, making the ground tremble. Powerful waves of energy emanated as massive demons armed with spears, tridents, and halberds prepared to disrupt the enemy charge. But the Celestial Winged Hussars already knew how to counteract the greatest weakness of cavalry. They halted their charge and took to the skies.


    The demons, expecting this, launched hundreds of projectiles, believing with joy that they had outsmarted them.


    Then, a chilling and penetrating voice emerged from behind the demons, sending shivers through all who heard it:


    "So this is all that the famous Celestial Winged Hussars can do? I thought they were more impressive to be called the Angels of Death of Mazovia. Though I must admit, their performance was astounding for mere mortals. A pity that mortals are trash, and trash will always be trash, no matter what you do to change it."


    A being was revealed, seated on a massive throne of iron, surrounded by thorns and blood.


    However, much to the demons'' misfortune, they greatly underestimated the intelligence of the mortal races. Soon, from several paths leading down from the mountains, hundreds of thousands of mortal soldiers emerged. But it was not only common mortals who had arrived to assist. The troops unleashed spells, skills, and all kinds of techniques to protect the hussars in the sky. Moreover, several soldiers took positions with energy rifles and energy cannons. Infusing their weapons with their own energy and loading energy stones into the cannons, they began firing relentlessly, slaughtering numerous demons in a single barrage. As a result, all enemy projectiles plummeted without hitting their intended targets, instead killing their own troops.


    The Winged Hussars took advantage of the chaos to cut down numerous airborne demon troops. When a colossal demon attempted to attack the hussars mid-flight, a piercing light struck through the demon as if it were nothing.


    A man, mounted on a giant eagle and clad in a majestic suit of armor, wielding a weapon with an awe-inspiring spirit, emerged and declared:


    "I was wondering what kind of idiot would dare invade my great kingdom, but it turns out to be the ruling devil of the Palace of Iron Thorns and Blood. But it doesn''t matter¡ªno one will conquer Mazovia while I am here."


    At that moment, both the Winged Hussars and the soldiers and mortals of Mazovia looked to the sky in astonishment, especially General Lukaz, who couldn''t help but shout:


    "MY LORD PIOTR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"


    It was none other than the great King of Mazovia and Grand Duke of Zarokya, Piotr Lubienski¡ªthe White Eagle, radiating and emanating overwhelming power. He had been the one to crush the armies of Ahmet the Mad, ruler of the Empire of the Three Moons. He was the protector and guardian of Mazovia, the one who had defended it all these years.


    Then, the ruler of the Palace of Iron Thorns and Blood spoke again, his mocking voice carrying across the battlefield for all to hear:


    "Pfff, so the great King of Mazovia is here and has brought his army with him? It changes nothing. Trash will always be trash, no matter how much trash you gather together."


    Then, he continued:


    "Give the order. Let the Bloodstained Iron Thorn Riders show these mortals what real cavalry is."


    ...


    Soon, around 10,000 demonic riders mounted on creatures belonging to the demon clan emerged. The riders, all clad in black and red armor covered in thorns, with blood-colored glowing eyes, wielded terrifying weapons. Their entire equipment shone with blood-red inscriptions, unleashing a power that easily matched that of the hussars. Their mounts were blood and iron thorn demon beasts, the most revered mounts of the palace, possessing thick natural armor that even the most powerful cultivators would find difficult to penetrate. Additionally, they had protruding thorns that oozed the blood of their previous prey¡ªblood that had now become corrosive and poisonous. They did not pale in comparison to the powerful bloodline of the Pegasus.


    With their arrival, a fierce battle erupted. Casualties numbered in the hundreds at every moment; the hussars tore through their enemies, and their enemies inflicted losses upon the hussars, whose numbers dwindled from 40,000 to 30,000. The king had not remained idle and directly engaged the cavalry general, who, overconfident in his own strength, did not give his all in the clash¡ªand paid an unbearably high price: his own life. King Piotr pierced him from side to side, and not even his massive body could withstand such overwhelming power.


    With that, the king, having fought through several rounds and finally slain a powerful enemy, was able to take a breath. Then he laughed:


    "Hahahahahahahaha!"


    And then, with a serious face, he said:


    "Alright, alright, ruler of the Palace of Iron Thorns and Blood, you are right, neither my Mazovia nor I are a match for your palace. But even so, I will make sure to show you that a mere mortal like me can wound you and make you bleed."


    "MY CELESTIAL WINGED HUSSARS, I, YOUR KING, THE DESCENDANT OF THE BENEVOLENT GOD OF LIGHT AND HIS GREATEST BELIEVER, ORDER YOU TO JOIN ME IN THE FINAL CHARGE AS THE GUARDIAN OF MAZOVIA, AND LET US SHOW THIS DEVIL WHY MAZOVIA WILL NEVER YIELD TO THE PRESSURE OF THE SUPERIOR RACES! WE WILL STOP THEM HERE AND NOW!" King Piotr declared in an overwhelming voice as he unleashed all his power, his radiance increasing exponentially.


    The winged hussars responded to their king''s cry with a single phrase:


    "FOR KING PIOTR, GREAT MAZOVIA, AND THE BENEVOLENT GOD OF LIGHT!"


    They began charging in a wedge formation alongside their king. This would be the final charge of Mazovia''s Angels of Death; they knew it, yet they felt no fear¡ªonly tranquility and calm in their last moments.


    The combined force of troops and lord finally broke through the enemy elite cavalry and continued tearing through enemy ranks, drawing ever closer to the core. With mounting casualties among the cavalry, the 30,000 remaining at the start of the violent charge quickly fell to 20,000. Soon, as they neared the throne, their numbers dropped to 10,000. Just before entering the final stretch, the king sent a soul message to all the other troops outside and said:


    "My honorable citizens and my glorious army, retreat and activate the emergency plan. Activate the great barrier of Mazovia left by my ancestors. This is your king''s final order."


    The soldiers, who had already grasped what would happen when their king appeared, endured the sorrow in their hearts, began retreating, and took with them the mortal citizens who had come to help. Unable to bear the grief in their hearts, these citizens started shedding tears as they withdrew. Only one person refused to leave: a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair, mounted on a glorious eagle and protected by several knights on Pegasus, refused to go, saying:


    "But my father, he is going to die. I cannot leave; I must witness my father''s final feat..."


    The leader of the knights said:


    "My princess, we must leave. It is your father''s order, and although I grieve for the lord, great Mazovia needs you to restore it after your father''s fall."


    The beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair, though she wanted to stay and remain stubborn, knew she was King Piotr''s last heir. She could not stay; without her, the kingdom would collapse entirely. So, reluctantly, she turned her back and departed with the troops.


    The demons, seeing this, took the opportunity to inflict casualties, but they failed to realize that when the troops had arrived, they had been setting up a grand formation, partially pre-prepared with high-level artifacts. By the time the king gave the order to retreat, the formation was nearly complete, ensuring the withdrawing troops'' safety. This went almost entirely unnoticed by the demons'' side. Only the devil who ruled the Palace of Thorns and Blood noticed it, but just as he was about to give the order to prevent the formation''s completion, something astonishing happened.


    The winged hussars had cleared the entire path for their lord, and King Piotr had not only reached the front of the throne, but he had also launched the most powerful charge of his entire life. His spear, overloaded and on the verge of exploding in his hand, unleashed a terrifying power, and he threw himself into a suicidal attack. By the time the devil tried to react, it was already too late. That mere second of distraction resulted in him being struck, but while the devil thought the impact would only leave a superficial wound, the reality was entirely different. The spear pierced his chest and heart from side to side, unleashing a dreadful energy within.


    Even so, the devil was a true immortal, whereas King Piotr was merely a terrenal immortal.


    This was so shocking that even the demons themselves stopped chasing the fleeing forces, allowing them to escape with almost no casualties, as they turned to witness how their lord had been wounded.


    The devil, enraged and in pain, soon pierced King Piotr''s chest. Agonizing, the king drew close to the devil''s ear, putting his last remaining energy into his voice, and said:


    "Did I not tell you? That this mortal would make you bleed, cough¡ªhahaha!"


    The devil, already humiliated enough, unleashed his full power, completely shattering King Piotr''s body.


    By the time all of this had transpired, everyone from the Commonwealth of Mazovia-Zarokya had finally seen and heard everything. With a mixture of sadness and pride, they simply smiled with tears in their eyes. With that, the great protective barrier of the Benevolent God of Light was activated: a vast, radiant white barrier reached the sky and sealed the entrance to the Commonwealth of Mazovia-Zarokya, shielding it from the demonic legions that sought to lay it to waste.


    But with that, a great piece of news was announced to the world: the mighty kingdom of Mazovia-Zarokya had collapsed in the great war against the Palace of Iron Thorns and Blood. Once again, the mortal clans had suffered a defeat, and the kingdom that had finally managed to contain the demons had lost more than half of its territory. The union of the mortal clans sent a message of support and workers to help restore the remaining land so that this nation, which had defended itself with great difficulty, could recover. However, unease lingered across the continent of the Myriad Colors'' Heart.


    ¡­


    During the retreat, a correspondent from the Union''s news agency followed the troops while reporting the latest developments:


    "First, the fall of the southern flank of the Habsburg Empire due to the invasion of the Thousand Poisons Sect from the alliance of the Nagas and Lahmias of the Monster Clan. Second, the destruction of the League of Champions in the war against the Beast Emperor of the Shadowy Jungles. And now, the defeat of the great kingdom of Mazovia-Zarokya at the hands of the Palace of Iron Thorns and Blood. This serves as a reminder to all of us¡ªpeople of the mortal clan will never know peace, and the existence of the Union is now more necessary than ever to prevent the complete destruction of mortal races..."


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in a bar, a young man was drinking and eating, growing intoxicated as he watched the bar''s image projector. At one moment, he muttered to himself in a low voice:


    "Another one¡­ What a cursed fate the mortal races have. What are the gods doing, neglecting their duties? Does no one care about the balance of this universe anymore? Perhaps¡­ I was too kind to them..."

 Chapter 3 – The Drunken Youth

    A handsome young man of about 1.95 meters, with well-defined muscles and long blond hair, was lying in an alley behind some boxes and empty barrels. At first glance, you might think something bad had happened to him. However, if you got close enough, you would hear his faint breathing. Soon, the faint morning sunlight reached the young man''s face, and as the ray of light hit him, he frowned and slowly opened his green eyes. With one hand, he shielded his face from the sunlight and suddenly frowned with an expression of mild pain. Then, he lifted his torso, supporting himself with his hands behind him, and sat up.


    The young man, who was Feicui Long, spoke to himself: "What the hell is this place? Where am I? Who am I? And why does my head hurt?" Feicui Long, who paused for a moment due to the headache, suddenly seemed to realize something, opening his eyes wide and saying in surprise, "I am Feicui Long. This is my seventh life. I was reborn into the Feicui clan, the guardian clan of the sanctuary of all races. I was expelled at the age of 15 because I couldn¡¯t advance beyond the 1st grade of the elemental realm and because I couldn¡¯t summon my contracted creature despite having established a contract. I tried to start a life as a mercenary in the fortress city of Vienna, but I was expelled from my mercenary guild and thus from the union for not having a group, even though I worked for 6 months without rest. I was expelled from the hunter guild union for not being able to complete all my assignments¡ªI lasted only a year before being expelled. I was in an adventurer group in the adventurer guild union for a year and a half, but the team members kicked me out for not being able to advance in my cultivation. I worked for another 7 years in the union before they finally expelled me for not being able to advance in rank during the required 7 years."


    Feicui Long, who removed one of his arms to rub his head due to the headache, continued speaking to himself, "And I went to drink at a bar after the innkeeper linked to the union asked me to leave the room. Ugh..." Letting out a sigh, he turned his gaze to the sky and said, "Ironically, I, the proud supreme dragon sovereign, was reborn in the world¡ªthe Sanctuary of Beasts, the home and birth world of my younger brother, the god of beasts. My self before awakening my memories suffered to the point of living on the streets as a beggar. Who would have thought I¡¯d end up like this?" "Well, there¡¯s no point in lamenting now. First, let¡¯s check my status window."


    The status window, or status, is a technique created by the three great clans in the original universe, also called the absolute universe. The clans came together in a meeting and, in a treaty, established several things that were engraved in the law of the absolute heaven. One of these things was the status window, the absolute language, currency, and some abilities that each clan individually created, among other things. This technique was initially created to avoid having to evaluate oneself with external mechanisms like evolution stones just to analyze oneself, although these are still used for evaluations, as it¡¯s not reliable for a person to use it on themselves and report their own data, or because they don¡¯t want to be evaluated by other people¡¯s techniques for privacy reasons. In any case, it¡¯s a technique used in all omniverses, multiverses, and universes.


    But from the time Feicui Long turned seven years old, his mother¡¯s mental health began to slowly deteriorate in a very suspicious manner. This was strange in itself, as cultivators do not suffer from the same ailments as mortals. What made it even stranger was that no matter how many medicines were given to restore her spirit or mind, she did not improve and continued to decline. When Feicui Long turned fifteen, although his mother was physically healthy, her mind was no longer the same. Her gaze was empty, and the words she spoke made no sense.


    Feicui Long had lived far too long to know that it wasn¡¯t poison, nor had there been any severe injuries. The most probable explanation was that those daggers had one or more curses. The target of those curses was likely his mother, but since Feicui Long had the misfortune of being inside his mother at the time, several of those curses must have passed onto him while his physical body was still forming.


    "Great, just what I needed. Not only do I have a curse created with divine authority, but there are four more causing me trouble. If I want to get rid of the curse from the Supreme God of Curses, I will need to obtain a drop of my own blood to awaken my three authorities and my dragon soul. The problem is, where will I find that blood?"


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s impossible. A drop of my blood was given to my most loyal vassals, and most of them kept it in the main temples of the Dragon God. I just need to find the main temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time in this world and see if the drop is there."


    Finally, Feicui Long let out a sigh and said, "If I don¡¯t find it, I¡¯ll just focus on living a peaceful life. Though now that I think about it, I have no way of making a living. My skills are good, but without money, it''s difficult to use them with my cultivation..."


    As he spoke, Feicui Long turned his gaze to the weapons he carried. Three of them were secured with a rope and covered with cloth, while another was in its sheath at his waist. He also looked at his necklace and decided to place everything in front of him.


    "Alright, I have a halberd, a bow, an energy rifle, a dagger, and a spatial storage necklace. They are all growth-type equipment, gifted to me by my mother so that their power would increase as I grew stronger. The problem is that I haven''t maintained them, and I¡¯ve obviously neglected them. Most of them are covered in rust. Although it''s not a real issue since they are growth-type, it''s still unsightly. But I have no way to maintain them...


    Now that I think about it, why didn¡¯t I just store them away instead of carrying them around? Don¡¯t tell me I still haven¡¯t had them recognize me as their owner..."


    Ending his monologue, Feicui Long carefully pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall on all the objects except for the necklace.


    There was a small glow, and the blood disappeared, confirming his assumption. A brief silence followed before he spoke to himself again.


    "Are you telling me that for the past ten years, I didn¡¯t know they were this kind? Well, whatever, there¡¯s no point in criticizing myself."


    With a flicker of light from his hands, the four weapons disappeared into his hands, turning into tattoos on his pale skin.


    He didn¡¯t check the necklace¡ªnot because it was different from the others, but because he had already claimed it as his own when he was fifteen and marked it with his blood.


    This necklace was perhaps the most precious keepsake of this seventh life of his. In addition to being a spatial storage device, it held two engraved images thanks to a recording formation¡ªone of himself with his mother and another of his mother alone.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    His memories from the past ten years showed that each night, he would sit and look at the photograph of his beloved mother.


    After briefly glancing at it, he placed it around his neck.


    "I had thought about selling one of the weapons, but since they are all growth-type, it doesn¡¯t make much sense to do so, especially in their current state."


    Feeling frustrated, he suddenly remembered something.


    "Right, I can be an alchemist and a doctor. To become an alchemist or practice artifact refinement and blacksmithing, you need to be a master of inscriptions, which I already am. Additionally, I have basic knowledge of alchemy, refinement, and artifact blacksmithing. Although I never had much talent in alchemy or artifact refinement and blacksmithing, I did excel in inscriptions, and with the support of one or two formations, I could somewhat suppress the effects of my low cultivation."


    The reason he didn''t consider artifact refinement and blacksmithing was that the materials required either venturing into a very dangerous mine or buying them, neither of which he could afford. He also didn¡¯t consider using his mastery of inscriptions alone, because formations easily attracted a lot of attention, and standing out with high-level formations would only lead him to a quick death due to his lack of strength.


    Making up his mind, Feicui Long gathered his remaining money, which amounted to 25 copper coins, dusted himself off, and left.


    ...


    While eating a breakfast worth 5 copper coins in the same bar where he drank last night, Feicui Long analyzed in his mind this world, "Sanctuary of the Beasts."


    This world had the 14 races of the mortal clan working together as they normally do. The 14 mortal races are humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, greater beastmen, lesser beastmen, kijin, onis, kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and lesser giants. In 90% of cases, these 14 races work together, and this applies to any omniverse, multiverse, or existing universe. The reason is very simple: the mortal races are the weakest of all. Even when the 14 races work together, it is known that 90% of the time they barely manage to maintain 50% to 30% of a world, star system, or galaxy, and that is with great difficulties. Even working together, there is a 7.5% chance that they are on the verge of extinction in that world or whatever it may be, and only 2.5% are able to dominate something when working together. It is therefore understood that if they are alone, they fare much worse. Feicui Long himself has seen such cases, and they almost always end in tragedies since the mortal races are targets for extermination or slavery due to their weakness and their past. To explain this hatred and the desire to enslave them, one must go back to the Absolute Universe.


    In the Absolute Universe, a racial clan was born, named the Original Clan. However, despite its name, it should not be confused with Adolf''s Origin Clan, as they are different. This so-called Original Clan was divided into three races. At first, these three races were very divided, but soon they were unified by a great clan belonging to each of these three races. These three clans were called the Clan Above the Heavens, the Clan Beneath the Hells, and the Clan of the Balance of Heaven and Hell. These three clans, with their great power, achieved wonders, including treaties and more.


    But one of the things they did was create the racial clans. The Clan Above the Heavens created the Dragon Clan, the Origin Clan, the Creation Clan, the Space Clan, the Life Clan, the Order Clan, and the Beast Clan to serve them and as slaves. The first was the Dragon Clan, which they divided into Western Dragons and Eastern Dragons according to their function. Additionally, they created the Phoenix race and also divided them into Western and Eastern types. They created the Dog race, the Wolf race, the Fox race, the Horse race, and the Eagle race. They also created seven plant races and seven mushroom races.


    The Clan Beneath the Hells created the Supreme Clan, the End Clan, the Destruction Clan, the Time Clan, the Death Clan, the Chaos Clan, and the Mushroom Clan. They created the Hydra race, the Griffin race, the Tiger race, the Lion race, the Jaguar race, the Snake race, and the Hawk race. They also created seven plant races and seven mushroom races.


    The Clan of the Balance of Heaven and Hell created the Infinite Clan, the Destiny and Reincarnation Clan, the Void Clan, the Celestial Clan, the Infernal Clan, the Limbo Clan, the Yin and Yang Clan, and the Plant Clan. They created the Behemoth race, the Leviathan race, the Qilin race, the Bear race, the Turtle race, the Elephant race, and the Condor race. They also created seven plant races and seven mushroom races.


    This might seem pointless to mention, but at the time, it was a great achievement that, despite each clan creating a unique racial clan, they allowed the other two clans to create races belonging to that racial clan. It was mainly a gesture of goodwill between them. At a certain point, these three clans created the so-called Celestial, Infernal, and Balance of Heaven and Hell universes, with 28 of each type. There, they decided to free the clans they had created from their slavery and servitude.


    Among these clans, the first three to be created¡ªthe Dragon Clan, the Infinite Clan, and the Supreme Clan¡ªchose to follow the path of their former masters, creating racial clans to serve them as slaves or servants. The Dragon Clan created the Magic Clan and the Elemental Clan. The Supreme Clan created the Monster Clan and the Demonic Clan. The Infinite Clan created the Undead Clan, the Divine Clan, the Spiritual Clan, and the Psychic Clan.


    Once the Dragon Clan, the Supreme Clan, and the Infinite Clan were well established, they decided to free these newly created clans from their slavery or servitude in their own newly formed universes. This led to the creation of certain races by these newly liberated clans. These races would be called mortal races. However, unlike their predecessors, these clans never intended to free their slaves or servants, which resulted in nearly all the mortal races liberating themselves through war. This war embedded a deep-seated hatred in these proud clans, and that is why mortal races are generally found in 90% of cases in such a state.


    One of the most well-known cases is perhaps that of Earth, where one of the 28 Celestial Pillars once fell. As a result, the planet had to be divided into 35 separate pieces, each forming smaller versions of the same size, effectively separating the 14 mortal races. After the Absolute Sovereign took the Celestial Pillar, the 14 mortal races faced near extinction because the planet was restored to its original size. It was then that they began to work together, and thanks to the support of their newly awakened deities¡ªwho kept the other clans in check¡ªthey managed to reclaim 50% of their world, which had grown 35 times larger. Interestingly, Feicui Long witnessed this firsthand, as one of his past lives reincarnated there.


    However, in more extreme cases¡ªlike that of this world, "Sanctuary of the Beasts," which is 2.5 times larger than the unsealed Earth¡ªthe mortal races are on the brink of extinction, occupying only 20% of what this world has to offer and barely maintaining that status quo.


    Ironically, there is one mortal race that should not suffer this fate: the kobolds. They were created by the dragons, but since they were born shortly before the liberation of the Magic and Elemental Clans, they were not immediately freed. The dragons feared they would be exterminated as such a young race, so they simply waited for them to become an established race before "liberating" them. However, it would be more accurate to say the dragons cast them out rather than set them free. The dragons wanted them to be independent, but the kobolds did not want to leave their side. As a result, the dragons do not hunt kobolds, and they should not be persecuted. Yet, for some clans, kobolds are nothing more than pests taking up space and must be exterminated. Thus, despite having no reason to be hunted, they continue to be persecuted like the rest of the 14 mortal races.


    Of course, all of this seems meaningless to Feicui Long¡ªespecially since he was and still is the Supreme Dragon Sovereign. But history does not lie, and neither does the present. He now found himself in a hostile world in his current form, reflecting on his recent decision to make a living as an alchemist in such a harsh environment.

 Chapter 4 – Beginnings of a Herbalist

    After finishing his meal, Feicui Long got up and left. He had already paid, and he needed to make money if he wanted to make a living as an alchemist. Fortunately, he had 7 years of experience gathering plants in this area. Although, according to the law of the absolute heaven, 50% of the plants, fungi, etc., in all omniverses, multiverses, and universes are things that will inevitably be found everywhere, 25% may be shared with some omniverses, multiverses, and universes, and the remaining 25% are entirely unique and different for each omniverse, multiverse, and universe. That small 25% that isn''t shared could include billions or trillions of species. He knew many of the species shared across all places, but if it were one of those unique species, he couldn''t claim to know them all. That''s why those 7 years of experience were very useful to him, and it''s also one of the reasons he chose to dedicate himself to alchemy, even though his pure inscription mastery is more advanced.


    Soon, Feicui Long arrived at the gate of the fortress city and headed to a place etched in his memory¡ªa spot in one of the forests near the city. When he finally arrived, it was a small clearing with some fruit trees and various medicinal herbs. Although there were energy beasts here, they were all docile and herbivorous, so as long as he didn''t attack them, he wouldn''t be in danger.


    "I''m glad I found this safe place a few years ago. Thanks to this, I have a constant source of blood grass and 50 to 100-year-old ginseng. First, let''s gather what I can carry in my bags." Feicui Long happily collected herbs in the clearing until a thought crossed his mind, and he said to himself, "Now that I think about it, what I have are normal bags, not storage bags. I''ll have to store most of them in my necklace and then pretend I''m taking them out of my bags¡­" "¡­Well, anyway, I can store my necklace inside me and take it out in that case, so I guess it doesn''t matter much." By the time he finished his monologue, he had already collected about 10 kilograms of blood grass and 5 kilograms of 50-year-old ginseng, along with a few 100-year-old ones.


    Straightening his back, he looked up at the sky. "Judging by how high the star is, it must be around noon. I should take advantage of the fruit trees to eat a few fruits for lunch and then head to another area." Feicui Long quickly gathered several fruits, storing some in his necklace, ate 2 or 3, and began walking along a small stream that ran through the clearing.


    ...


    Feicui Long had arrived at his next destination¡ªan open field with a large lake at its center. Many knew it as a safe place, despite the presence of numerous beasts around the lake. The reason was that all the energy beasts in this area were herbivores, peaceful creatures that lived in herds. Whenever they spotted a predator, they would gather and trample it to pieces. Because of this, it was an excellent place to rest. However, Feicui Long had come here for medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Specifically, he sought the water flower, a common bloom found in freshwater bodies rich in energy, and the lingzhi mushrooms growing on the trees around the lake.


    Getting straight to work, he diligently gathered what he needed. In about an hour, he had collected one kilogram of water flowers and one kilogram of lingzhi. He had to limit himself, as he couldn''t risk revealing his storage necklace in a place filled with people¡ªfrom adventurers to hunters and mercenaries. After packing his bags, he left the area, heading to his last stop.


    It took him 45 minutes to reach his next destination, a lesser-known area that almost always had an abundance of medicinal herbs. Upon arrival, he uncapped his canteen and took a few gulps of water before scanning his surroundings with quick, watchful eyes.


    "There''s the bone recovery fruit, and underneath, the spiritual herb should be growing," he noted.


    Feicui Long walked over to where he had spotted the plants and picked the fruit. The bone recovery fruit was whitish in color, resembling an orange on the outside but more like an apple inside. The spiritual herb, on the other hand, was a type of bright, bluish-green grass. He spent the next few hours harvesting until the sun was close to setting, gathering around five kilograms of the fruit and ten kilograms of the spiritual herb.


    Wrapping up his day, he left the forest with quick steps. Staying there after dark was too dangerous unless it was in a safe area like the lake. With his current cultivation level, it wasn''t worth the risk. Before long, he spotted the city gates and the people entering. Blending into the crowd, he moved forward with them.


    ¡­


    Once inside the city, he walked to the market. The fortress city of Vienna is a city with a lot of activity both day and night, as it was specifically created to contain the various biomes that exist around it and prevent them from threatening the Habsburg Empire. To achieve this, it relied heavily on the mercenary union, the hunter union, and the adventurer union. One way to remain attractive to these groups, aside from the benefits it provided, was to meet their needs. Since these professions are very active and require constant coming and going to the city, the market remains open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


    The reason he came here was mainly to sell almost everything he had gathered. To practice alchemy, besides needing to reach the state of inscription mastery, you obviously need some other things¡ªthings that money can primarily provide. Although the goal is more to obtain money to survive, after all, he doesn''t like the idea of sleeping on the ground in an alley.


    As he said this, he had finished evaluating all the stalls and shops that buy herbs. In the end, he chose one that was being attended by a middle-aged woman. From everything he could observe and hear while walking through the market, the woman was the most polite and kindest of all. Additionally, he could tell she had a lot of knowledge in her field of work, which would make the process faster.


    Soon, he entered the small shop, which had several shelves with plants in preservation boxes and a few in pots. He approached the counter and, following his plan, spoke to the woman, "Good evening, ma''am. I''d like to sell you some of the plants I''ve brought."


    The woman, with a kind smile, replied, "Of course, young man. Can you show me what you want to sell?"


    Feicui Long soon put into action the plan he had devised while gathering herbs. He pretended his bags were spatial storage bags and began pulling everything out of his necklace. First, he took out 9 kilograms of blood grass, 4 kilograms of 50-year-old ginseng, 500 grams of lingzhi, 500 grams of water flowers, 9 kilograms of spiritual grass, and 4 kilograms of bone-recovery fruit.


    "Oh, what a surprise! That''s quite a lot, and all of very good quality," the middle-aged woman said as she examined everything. She began calculating with an energy artifact, and numbers floated in the air with bright colors. In the end, she stopped at 2,500 copper coins. "That would be 25 silver coins, but since it''s your first time selling here, I''ll give you an extra 5 coins. If you ever want to sell more herbs, I''ll buy them all from you."


    Feicui Long nodded politely and said, "That''s fine. It would be my pleasure to sell to you, ma''am." He collected the money she handed him and then asked, "By any chance, ma''am, would you know where I can buy cheap equipment like tents, tools, and such?"Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The woman, a little surprised by the young man''s courtesy, replied, "Oh, of course! When you leave this shop, turn right and walk for about 3 to 5 minutes, and you''ll see the shop you''re looking for. Here, take my card and tell them I sent you. I''m sure they''ll give you a discount on your purchase." Feicui Long delicately took the card from the woman''s hand, bowed slightly, and walked out the door.


    He walked slowly in the direction the lady had indicated, and soon, he saw a sign that read "Tools & Equipment." Pushing the wooden door open with minimal force, he found himself inside a well-organized shop stocked with tool sets, tents, blankets, weapons, and more. He continued toward the counter, where a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair watched him with a serious expression.


    Noticing the man''s stern face, Feicui Long spoke calmly: "Good evening, I''ve come on behalf of Nancy''s Herbal Shop. I''m here to purchase a few things." After finishing his sentence, he handed over the card. The middle-aged man relaxed his expression slightly before speaking.


    "I see. What kind of things are you looking for?" the man asked.


    "Would it be alright if I look around first and bring everything I intend to buy to the counter?" Feicui Long replied.


    "Sure, no problem¡ªas long as you don''t walk out with them," the man added with a playful tone at the end.


    Feicui Long then picked out a tent, a blanket, five spatial storage pouches, a spatial canteen, three knives of different sizes, and four tool sets¡ªone for repairs, another for excavation, a third for exploration, and the last one mainly used by alchemists or doctors, which included silver needles. He also took a common longsword made of mortal materials, specifically steel. Once he was finished, he returned to the counter and placed everything on top.


    "Hmm, you''re picking up quite a lot. Normally, I''d charge 35 silver coins for all this, but since Nancy recommended you, I''ll let you have it for 20. What do you say?" the man offered.


    "That sounds good. I also wanted to ask¡ªhow much for that spatial backpack hanging behind you?" Feicui Long inquired.


    "That one? It''s 50 silver coins, but I could let you have it for 40," the man replied.


    "Alright. I''ll pay for these now and come back for the backpack when I have the money."


    With that, Feicui Long placed the silver coins on the counter and took everything. He stored most of the items in one of the storage pouches, which he tied to the front of his waist. The remaining four pouches were split evenly between his left and right sides.


    ¡­


    He walked slowly in the direction the lady had indicated, and soon, he saw a sign that read "Tools & Equipment." Pushing the wooden door open with minimal force, he found himself inside a well-organized shop stocked with tool sets, tents, blankets, weapons, and more. He continued toward the counter, where a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair watched him with a serious expression.


    Noticing the man''s stern face, Feicui Long spoke calmly: "Good evening, I''ve come on behalf of Nancy''s Herbal Shop. I''m here to purchase a few things." After finishing his sentence, he handed over the card. The middle-aged man relaxed his expression slightly before speaking.


    "I see. What kind of things are you looking for?" the man asked.


    "Would it be alright if I look around first and bring everything I intend to buy to the counter?" Feicui Long replied.


    "Sure, no problem¡ªas long as you don''t walk out with them," the man added with a playful tone at the end.


    Feicui Long then picked out a tent, a blanket, five spatial storage bags, a spatial canteen, three knives of different sizes, and four tool sets¡ªone for repairs, another for excavation, a third for exploration, and the last one mainly used by alchemists or doctors, which included silver needles. He also took a common longsword made of mortal materials, specifically steel. Once he was finished, he returned to the counter and placed everything on top.


    "Hmm, you''re picking up quite a lot. Normally, I''d charge 35 silver coins for all this, but since Nancy recommended you, I''ll let you have it for 20. What do you say?" the man offered.


    "That sounds good. I also wanted to ask¡ªhow much for that spatial backpack hanging behind you?" Feicui Long inquired.


    "That one? It''s 50 silver coins, but I could let you have it for 40," the man replied.


    "Alright. I''ll pay for these now and come back for the backpack when I have the money."


    With that, Feicui Long placed the silver coins on the counter and took everything. He stored most of the items in one of the storage bags, which he tied to the front of his waist. The remaining four bags were split evenly between his left and right sides.


    ¡­


    After leaving the shop, Feicui Long went to the bar where he had breakfast and ordered dinner. He sat down quietly to eat while drinking a cheap beer. When he saw the waitress, he signaled for her to come over and asked, "Do you have any rooms available tonight?"


    The waitress looked at him and replied, "I''m sorry, sir. All the rooms are occupied today."


    Feicui Long said softly, "I see. Thank you very much anyway." He paid 15 copper coins¡ªthough the beer and food cost 7 copper coins, the rest was a tip for the waitress who had treated him kindly today and yesterday while he was drinking. After doing so, he simply got up and left.


    He left the bar and headed to the alley where he had slept last night. Resigned, he said to himself, "I couldn''t find a room in any of the inns I asked at on my way to this bar. I guess I''ll have to set up the tent right here." As he organized the area, he spoke to himself again, as if consoling himself, "At least this place doesn''t smell bad, and it''s not dangerous either. But just in case, I''ll use a few of my energy stones to set up a formation." After finishing his thoughts, he began writing on the dirt ground with a stick. When he finished, he sprinkled crushed energy stone powder around and placed a stone in the center of the formation. He said, "Activate," and the formation began to glow with a faint light, like a circuit, drawing energy from the surroundings and channeling it to the stone in the center.


    Once the formation was ready, he began setting up the tent and laid his blanket on the ground. After that, he simply started reading a few books he had found in his necklace earlier. The books were mostly about botany and the beasts found in the different biomes near the city.


    As he read, he realized how strange this city was. In its surroundings, there was a desert, three different forests, two mountain ranges, an area facing the sea, a swamp, a jungle, and a snowy zone. In these areas, there were various dangers and different energy beasts, monsters, undead, plants, fungi, and elemental leaders. He understood why a fortress city like this was necessary. It was obvious that if left unchecked, these biomes could easily break through the empire''s defensive line.


    Little by little, time passed, and sleep began to take over. Although it didn''t seem like it, it had been a very tiring day, both physically and mentally, for Feicui Long, and that was allowing sleep to overcome him. In the end, he ended up falling asleep while reading one of the books.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in another location, a group of adventurers was engaged in battle near the Sky Lion Mountains.


    A handsome young man wielded a claymore with a lion''s face engraved on its hilt. He swung it at a swarm of black iron ants, slicing some in half and sending others flying.


    "Charles, hurry! Get over here!" shouted a woman with a kind face and a well-endowed figure.


    "Calm down, Andrea. This is just a scouting group. We need to take care of them quickly instead of retreating," the young man named Charles responded.


    Just as he finished speaking, a fireball exploded, burning a group of three to five ants. The one who had cast the spell was a short mage wearing a brown hat. "Charles is right, Andrea. The best way to deal with these ants is to kill them quickly before they can call for reinforcements from the nest."


    Right after that, a tall elf clad in a tight leather outfit fired a barrage of energy shots from an energy rifle, eliminating another small group of ants. Speaking in a low voice, she added, "Rather than arguing about what we should do, Charles, Arianne, Andrea, and Freja, we should work together to get rid of the ants as fast as possible."


    A warrior priestess with wolf-like ears and a tail, armed with a shield and a mace, was in the midst of combat with several ants. Crushing one of them, she suddenly asked, "Caroline, why are you mentioning me? I haven''t said a word." Her expression was clearly one of confusion.


    The elf, named Caroline, looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, Freja. It''s just a habit¡ªyou''re always arguing with Andrea and Arianne."


    The team continued fighting until they had completely wiped out the scouting group.

 Chapter 5 – The Alchemist of the Alley

    Feicui Long woke up around seven in the morning. He moistened a piece of cloth and wiped his body down, realizing that he probably hadn''t bathed in two days. At the very least, he wanted to clean himself up a little. As he did, he suddenly recalled memories of bathing at a public bathhouse not far from here. Deciding to head there, he packed up his tent and blanket before setting off at a brisk pace.


    Upon reaching the bathhouse, he saw the sign that read "Bathhouse ¨C Ludwig Von Auswitch." The double doors were wide open, and people were constantly coming and going. Without much thought, he simply followed the crowd and paid the entrance fee to a young woman collecting the money. She handed him a towel, a wooden bucket, and a bar of soap made by the bathhouse itself. The total cost was twenty copper coins¡ªa bit expensive, he thought, but he didn''t want to search for another bathhouse. So, he simply entered, bathed, and left, heading toward the bar from the previous night for breakfast.


    ¡­


    As he neared his destination, he noticed the sign for the first time: "Hilda & Family Bar and Restaurant." It occurred to him that it might be a good idea to remember the name since he would likely be eating here often. It seemed like the best option. He continued walking and took a seat at a table. A waitress¡ªwho introduced herself as Olivia when she greeted him¡ªcame over, and he ordered breakfast along with a beer.


    While eating, he took out a map¡ªone that the version of himself before recovering his memories had been using. This map was a treasure in its own right. While he had been unable to progress in his cultivation in this life, his talent in other areas was astonishing. The map displayed various marked and charted locations, some well-known, others explored solely by him. That made it valuable¡ªany adventurer, hunter, or mercenary would pay handsomely to know about these locations, which were all safe zones, either for rest or profit.


    He had taken out the map to plan which areas to visit next. This time, he chose a different forest for various reasons, but mainly to allow the medicinal plants and fungi time to recover while he harvested others. Even though these were energy-infused plants whose dormant spirit had yet to awaken¡ªcausing them to grow rapidly¡ªit was still better not to overharvest. If he wanted to make money producing medicine from them, he needed to preserve their population.


    By the time he finished breakfast, he had already marked the locations he would visit today. After folding the map and putting it away, he paid Olivia for the meal, leaving her a tip before heading out.


    ¡­


    Twelve hours had passed since he left the bar. Today, Feicui Long was heading back to the alley, but this time, he skipped the market¡ªhe wanted to start setting up his small alchemy laboratory.


    As he pondered this, he arrived at the spot where the formation was glowing. He set up his tent and blanket, but more importantly, he used his mastery over mystic energies¡ªwhich included mana, psionic energy, spiritual energy, and the fifteen primary elemental energies. These were lightning, wood, fire, water, earth, metal, wind, crystal, light, darkness, arcane energy, plasma, poison, acid, and alkaline.


    A person who masters all four types of mystic energy is called a Mystic Energy Master. These energies are considered the second most ''basic'' in existence. The first is known as neutral energy (also called attribute-less energy or neutral Qi), which is what most cultivators use.


    Using his mastery over the earth element, he raised small walls of stone and built a simple roof with a circular opening at the center. Then, he began engraving various inscriptions¡ªrunes, seals, talismans, glyphs, sigils¡ªfollowed by a series of formation lines and a master formation.


    What he did next would seem insane to any cultivator. However, since his cultivation could no longer progress due to the curse of the Superior God of Curses, he didn''t care about exhausting his remaining energy stones. He crushed some of them into powder and used others as energy cores for storage and power supply.


    All of this effort was to create an improvised alchemy furnace and enhance the quality of the medicines he would produce using the master formation. Once activated, the small alchemy furnace began to glow beautifully.


    "Phew... I honestly thought my energy stones wouldn''t be enough. But with this, I can finally start the next step to making a living." Feicui Long wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    Then, he took out several medicinal plants. Some he placed on a flat rock¡ªwhich served as a makeshift cutting board¡ªand carefully chopped them with a knife he had bought the day before. His cuts were precise and delicate.


    Once he finished chopping, he placed the remaining plants into an improvised mortar made of rock¡ªsomething he had crafted himself. He began grinding them while pouring water from his spatial canteen.


    After completing this step, he carefully placed the chopped plants into the mortar and inserted it into the alchemy furnace. Placing one hand on the furnace, he began channeling energy into it while using his other hand to cast runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, and sigils onto the ingredients.


    As time passed, the furnace glowed a little more until it reached its peak brightness and remained so for about 30 to 45 minutes, until finally, the emitted light began to slowly and gradually decrease, which took another 5 minutes. When it went out, Feicui Long sighed in relief and quickly took out the mortar. Inside, 25 to 30 small pills could be seen. He quickly grabbed them and carefully placed them in a small bag. Then he tried to take out the mortar, but it crumbled into pieces, to which he simply let out a sound of resignation and spoke to himself, "Well, at least the production of blood recovery pills was successful. I''m glad I found a few blood flowers today to complement the blood herb from yesterday. That said, according to market value, blood recovery pills are worth 5 pills for 50 copper coins, so in total, that would be about 2 silver coins and 50 copper coins to 3 silver coins. Not bad for the small amount of material used."


    "But in the end, even though I''d like to make more, without a mortar, I can''t. It seems I''ll have to buy a good rock to make one myself. But more importantly, I need to get a few energy stones for the inscriptions. For now, let''s sleep for today."


    ¡­


    The next day, he followed the same routine, but this time, he did go to Nancy''s herbal store to sell. This time, he made 50 silver coins from all the sales and immediately went to buy a granite cutting board and a granite block to create the mortar. The two things cost him about 25 copper coins. Feicui Long also got 25 energy stones, which cost him another 15 silver coins. He also bought several dozen glass and ceramic bottles for about 25 silver coins. It''s worth noting that it wasn''t transparent glass since that was expensive, and he didn''t want to have to sell his medicines at a price higher than the market, even though, in the fortress city of Vienna, medicines were already more expensive than market price due to the high demand for these products in the city. His plan was to sell to low-income adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries and to be able to sell cheaply to the poor. The latter wasn''t because Feicui Long was a super kind person or a saint, but because after everything he had experienced in this new life, he felt a certain empathy for these people. Setting that aside, his total earnings for today were only 10 silver coins.


    When he arrived at his shop, he started using excavation tools, especially the chisel and hammer, and also used earth element energy to shape it. When he finished the mortar, he began engraving a few runes to strengthen its resistance and durability, a few seals to retain medicinal energy, and a few talismans to further aid in the creation of different types of medicine. Lastly, he established a pattern of lines and drawings as a feeding formation and placed an energy stone as the core for power supply and energy storage. He repeated the entire inscription process with the cutting board, using a total of 7 of the 25 stones he had acquired.


    That done, he started refining medicine. He refined about 3 to 4 sets of blood recovery pills. Afterward, he began cutting and grinding ingredients for another medicine. These were the bone recovery fruit he had picked up two days ago and the bone-strengthening herb he collected from the place he went to today. Together, they were used to create a bone regeneration pill, which was worth 75 copper coins for 5 pills at market price. This time, during refinement, he was only able to create 3 sets of 25 pills each.


    Before going to sleep, he stored all the medicines in different bottles. The blood recovery and bone regeneration pills were placed in ceramic bottles since they were the cheaper type of pills usually found. It wasn''t worth putting them in a glass bottle, even if it wasn''t transparent glass.


    ¡­


    Thus, time continued to pass until a week had gone by. From selling herbs alone, Feicui Long had made a total of 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins, while he had yet to start selling pills. This was because he wanted to have enough sets to sell for a good while. He was confident that they would sell well, and this was because, although a basic blood recovery pill or a basic bone regeneration pill was normally of mortal quality ¨C grade 1 ¨C mortal rank, his were grade 3 ¨C supreme rank, nearing advancement to grade 4.


    This may seem confusing, but the system of quality or rarity classification, which is used for medicines, treasures, skills, cultivation techniques, and even to classify a person''s talent or the level of a general special constitution, or a specific one such as a corporeal or bloodline constitution, is one of the many points established in the first treaty signed by the 3 clans of the Absolute Universe at the beginning of time, even before other universes existed. Therefore, this makes it a system linked to the law of the Absolute Heaven and, consequently, a system used in any universe, multiverse, or omniverse.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    In any case, the system is as follows: there are 11 normal quality classifications, which represent the so-called great realms. In order, they are: mortal quality, earthly quality, sovereign quality, mythical quality, spiritual quality, sacred quality, immortal quality, divine quality, universal quality, celestial quality, and absolute quality. Each category is further divided into 9 grades, where every 3 grades represent a small cultivation realm and its subdivisions. For example, mortal quality represents a great realm, called the great mortal realm, but it has 3 small realms, each divided into 9 grades. These 3 small realms are, in order, the elemental realm, the mystical realm, and the ascendant realm. Therefore, the first 3 grades of mortal quality represent the elemental realm. Going further, the first grade represents the first 3 levels of the elemental realm, the second grade represents the 3 intermediate levels of the elemental realm, and the third grade represents the 3 advanced levels of the elemental realm. The same pattern applies to the other realms.


    In addition to the previously explained divisions, the grades are also divided into ranks, which are: mortal rank, inferior rank, low rank, intermediate rank, high rank, superior rank, and supreme rank. These, in turn, are divided into 3 stages or levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.


    Beyond this, there are also 4 special quality classifications. They are called special because, instead of representing a great realm and its grades, they represent a small realm. These correspond to small realms called transition realms, also known as the 4 palaces. The names of these realms are: Earthly Palace Realm, Spiritual Palace Realm, Divine Palace Realm (also known as the Demigod Realm), and Absolute Palace Realm. As can be inferred, these 4 special classifications share the exact same names as those realms. But what makes them special is not just their names; these classifications do not divide into 9 grades but only into 3 grades, where each grade represents a division of these realms.


    All of this may seem complex, but at the time, it was actually agreed upon to simplify the entire process of establishing hegemony for each of the 3 clans. This is the same reason why the use of the Absolute Language and other matters were stipulated in that very same treaty.


    Now then, even though Feicui Long felt a little proud that his pills were of higher quality¡ªespecially because his cultivation would normally prevent him from creating ones of such advanced quality¡ªof course, this could be ignored if Feicui Long were a genius in alchemy. But the reality is not like that. His talent could at most be described as mediocre, and he knows it. So, in truth, this was largely due to the help of the master formation he used.


    The type of master formation he used is a very special kind called an alchemy assistance and enhancement formation, although there is also a version for refinement and smithing, which Feicui Long is also familiar with. These formations can have a multitude of effects, but the specific one Feicui Long used has only two: quality enhancement and ingredient stabilization. This means that, to a large extent, it is thanks to the formation that he can surpass his cultivation and talent limits. However, it would still be a mistake to give all the credit to the formation and take it away from Feicui Long.


    The reason is very simple: master formations are extremely complex. So much so that, in any universe, multiverse, or omniverse, what you need to call yourself an inscription master is mastery over runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, and sigils, along with proficiency in 10 types of line formations, 10 types of rune formations, 10 types of seal formations, 10 types of talisman formations, 10 types of glyph formations, 10 types of sigil formations, 5 mixed formations, and 1 master formation.


    This is why many tend to look down on inscription masters, even though being one is a requirement for becoming an alchemist or a refiner-smith. This ultimately led pure inscription masters to create a different title system separate from alchemists and refiners. In this system, the title of "inscription master" is actually a beginner''s title, which would be called apprentice inscription master. This is the first title one must obtain before advancing to the second, which is beginner inscription master, and so on, progressing to advanced titles such as true inscription master or grand inscription master, among others. In any case, master formations are extremely complex, which is why mastering just one is considered sufficient.


    Now, if we look at this type of master formation¡ªthe one Feicui Long used¡ªit is one of the most complex types of all. So much so that only one person in 100 million is capable of understanding even half of the basic principles of this type of master formation. Meanwhile, the probability of finding someone capable of establishing the most basic form of this type of formation is 1 in 1 billion. Going even further, the likelihood of finding someone who can combine two basic effects in one of these formations would be 1 in 10 billion. And yet, the effects Feicui Long used¡ªone of which is an advanced effect and the other a basic one¡ªwould mean that, realistically, you would need to search among trillions to find someone capable of setting up such a formation.


    Not to mention that Feicui Long could have added all possible effects. The reason he didn''t is that each effect exponentially increases the consumption of stones, and Feicui Long does not have enough stones to add that many effects to his small furnace.


    So, in the end, being able to establish such a complex formation is already an achievement in itself. Therefore, much of the credit must go to Feicui Long, who was the one who set up the formation.


    ¡­


    In any case, Feicui Long had finished preparing the three signs he had bought at the market. He planned to place one in front of his tent, one near the alley entrance, and another at the bar he frequented. The signs were simple¡ªthey stated that all kinds of medicines were sold in the alley and provided the address. At least two of them said that, while the other simply read, "Medicines for sale and medical treatments available," which was the one that would be placed in front of his shop. In addition to this, he modified them by adding runes that would prevent them from being stolen.


    Having said this, Feicui Long started putting up the signs. First, he placed the one in front of his shop, then the one near the entrance. Afterward, he headed to Hilda''s bar, where he found Olivia, the young girl working as a waitress, and asked her:


    "Hey Olivia, can you tell the owner if I can put up a sign next to the door?"


    Olivia simply replied, "Of course you can put it up."


    Slightly confused, Feicui Long asked, "Are you sure? Aren''t you going to ask your boss or something?"


    Olivia looked at him confidently and said, "Of course I''m sure. Why wouldn''t I be?"


    Still a bit doubtful, Feicui Long responded, "But she''s the owner of the bar. What if she gets angry?"


    Olivia placed a hand on her face and said, "It seems you don''t know, but Hilda, the owner of this bar, is my mother. So, as her daughter, I can decide on trivial things like this."


    Somewhat surprised, he looked at her and then realized that the bar owner had deep red hair, exactly like Olivia''s, and her eyes were olive-colored, just like her mother''s. Not wanting to waste any more time, he left the bar to put up the sign, with Olivia curiously following behind.


    This time, the sign wouldn''t be nailed to the ground since there was a clearly paved path here. So, he took out a nail he had prepared for this occasion and hammered the sign onto the wall. Olivia, curiously, soon read the contents of the sign and slightly opened her mouth in surprise. Shortly after, her eyes started shining with admiration as she asked, "Are you really an alchemist and a doctor?"


    Feicui Long humbly replied, "You could say I have some knowledge in the field."


    Hearing this, Olivia''s eyes shone even brighter. Feicui Long started to feel a bit embarrassed. It wasn''t that he wasn''t used to being admired, but having such a young girl like Olivia, who was barely thirteen and still had two years before reaching adulthood, look at him like that made him feel even more uncomfortable. Especially because those eyes reminded him of a certain person, though, for some reason, he couldn''t fully recall who.


    ¡­


    In any case, Feicui Long had finished preparing the three signs he had bought at the market. He planned to place one in front of his tent, one near the alley entrance, and another at the bar he frequented. The signs were simple¡ªthey stated that all kinds of medicines were sold in the alley and provided the address. At least two of them said that, while the other simply read, "Medicines for sale and medical treatments available," which was the one that would be placed in front of his shop. In addition to this, he modified them by adding runes that would prevent them from being stolen.


    Having said this, Feicui Long started putting up the signs. First, he placed the one in front of his shop, then the one near the entrance. Afterward, he headed to Hilda''s bar, where he found Olivia, the young girl working as a waitress, and asked her:


    "Hey Olivia, can you tell the owner if I can put up a sign next to the door?"


    Olivia simply replied, "Of course you can put it up."


    Slightly confused, Feicui Long asked, "Are you sure? Aren''t you going to ask your boss or something?"


    Olivia looked at him confidently and said, "Of course I''m sure. Why wouldn''t I be?"


    Still a bit doubtful, Feicui Long responded, "But she''s the owner of the bar. What if she gets angry?"


    Olivia placed a hand on her face and said, "It seems you don''t know, but Hilda, the owner of this bar, is my mother. So, as her daughter, I can decide on trivial things like this."


    Somewhat surprised, he looked at her and then realized that the bar owner had deep red hair, exactly like Olivia''s, and her eyes were olive-colored, just like her mother''s. Not wanting to waste any more time, he left the bar to put up the sign, with Olivia curiously following behind.


    This time, the sign wouldn''t be nailed to the ground since there was a clearly paved path here. So, he took out a nail he had prepared for this occasion and hammered the sign onto the wall. Olivia, curiously, soon read the contents of the sign and slightly opened her mouth in surprise. Shortly after, her eyes started shining with admiration as she asked, "Are you really an alchemist and a doctor?"


    Feicui Long humbly replied, "You could say I have some knowledge in the field."


    Hearing this, Olivia''s eyes shone even brighter. Feicui Long started to feel a bit embarrassed. It wasn''t that he wasn''t used to being admired, but having such a young girl like Olivia, who was barely thirteen and still had two years before reaching adulthood, look at him like that made him feel even more uncomfortable. Especially because those eyes reminded him of a certain person, though, for some reason, he couldn''t fully recall who.


    ¡­


    In any case, having fulfilled his task, he ate breakfast and simply returned to his "home," waiting for someone to come. It didn''t take long. The first to arrive was a timid young adventurer.


    "G-Good morning, is it true that you sell medicines at market price?" the young man asked, stammering slightly.


    "Of course. I have blood recovery pills, bone regeneration pills, healing potions, energy recovery pills, mana potions, stamina potions, spiritual recovery pills, and more," Feicui Long replied while pointing to the medicines he had laid out on a cloth on the ground.


    The young man widened his eyes slightly upon seeing them and said, "I-In that case, I''ll take a bottle of blood recovery pills, a bottle of bone regeneration pills, an energy recovery pill bottle, and a healing potion."


    "Sure, that will be three silver coins," Feicui Long said as he gathered the requested items in one place while extending his other hand.


    The young man, trembling slightly, took out the three silver coins and placed them in Feicui Long''s outstretched hand. Then, he took the medicines and examined them for a moment. His eyes widened in shock.


    "T-This¡­ A-Are you sure you want to sell me these for just that price?"


    Feicui Long replied with a serious expression, "What''s written on the sign is what I do. I said I''d sell them at market price, and that''s exactly what I''m doing."


    Still slightly dazed, the young man bowed in gratitude before leaving.


    Shortly after he left, a group of four hunters who seemed to have followed him approached. At first, they were hesitant, but soon, just like the young man, they left happily. And so, more people kept arriving little by little, and this continued for three months.

 Chapter 6 – The Small Beast Horde

    Everything was normal for Feicui Long. In the past three months, he had become popular among various hunters, adventurers, and low-income mercenaries, earning a decent amount of money. He had already saved a total of 25 gold coins and had about 75 silver coins as change. He had even been able to buy a new high-quality three-person tent. Unfortunately, everything would be interrupted today, and that was because of the group of people currently standing in front of him.


    It was a group equipped with armor and various weapons. At first glance, it was clear that they were artifacts due to the inscriptions carved into them. Feicui Long observed them carefully but did not notice any hostile intent. Then, he shifted his gaze to the center, where there was an imposing figure clad in higher-quality armor than the others. From the medals embedded in the armor, which also served to grant it extra abilities, he could deduce that this was the leader of the group.


    Feicui Long narrowed his eyes, analyzing the leader. He couldn''t think of anything he had done to provoke the city guards in this area, but soon, out of the corner of his eye, he saw what the captain of this squad was holding¡ªor rather, the child in his arms.


    It was a girl between six and seven years old. She was covered by a gray cloth, but her pale skin was visible, and even at a glance, it was clear that her pallor was sickly. Beads of sweat were trickling down the exposed parts of her body.


    Feicui Long finally opened his eyes, looked at the leader of the guards, and asked loudly, "May I know, Captain, how I can help you? Have you come to buy medicine or to request some kind of treatment?" It wasn''t that Feicui Long didn''t already have an idea of why they had come, but he preferred to ask to be sure.


    "I''m sorry to trouble you, Alchemist, and I''m sure I may be bothering you, but I would like to know if you could examine my daughter and see if you can treat her," said the captain of the guard as he slightly bowed with his daughter in his arms.


    "Are you sure about that? I am certainly an alchemist, but seriously, are you really willing to entrust your daughter to a stranger who lives in an alley in a tent?" Feicui Long asked with a clearly doubtful tone.


    "I know this is very sudden and all, but you see, Alchemist, I have taken my daughter to several nearby alchemists, and none have been able to cure her. And although I have wished to take her to the best alchemists or even go directly to the Union of Guilds of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners, none of them would even let me enter without the money for the consultation. That is why when I heard about a kind alchemist, one who was quite talented and willing to help the poorest, I decided to try my luck and bring my daughter to you," the captain said in a serious tone.


    "I see. Even so, that doesn''t clear all my doubts, but it''s not as if I would allow an innocent little girl to die just to refuse you," Feicui Long said, moving his hand to signal the captain to approach and place her on the blanket beside him. This blanket was different from the one Feicui Long used for sleeping; he had bought it specifically for treating patients.


    The captain of the guard approached with slow steps and carefully placed the girl on the blanket. Following that, Feicui Long immediately removed the girl''s cloak. He could see the girl''s pale face and how her caramel-colored hair was stuck to her body due to the sweat. He took her temperature, and it almost seemed as if he were looking at freshly cooked food, given how hot she was. The thermometer read 40¡ãC, and he even wondered how this girl had managed to stay alive for so long. Without further delay, he examined her body, letting his gaze pass over her neck, back, and so on, but unfortunately, he found no wounds, ruling out his initial suspicion that it was caused by poison.


    Focused, he asked the father, "Has your daughter been anywhere special or eaten anything unusual lately?"


    This time, a woman''s voice responded, "No, we haven''t left the city recently, and as for food, nothing that I can recall, except perhaps a rye bread from the new bakery in the city market, which I bought for her as a treat."


    It seemed he hadn''t noticed this woman before, but seeing that she was holding onto the captain''s arm, he realized she was the captain''s wife and the girl''s mother.


    "I see. Then I think I know what''s wrong."


    As fast as he could, he grabbed an antidote pill and placed it in the girl''s mouth. To help her swallow, he uncorked a healing potion and a stamina potion, also known as a vital energy or true Qi potion, and poured both into the girl''s mouth. With his other hand, he controlled the power of the three medicines. Little by little, the girl''s skin regained its color. It wasn''t until the medicinal power in the girl had been fully absorbed that Feicui Long stopped channeling his energy into her.


    The girl, who had previously been frowning and burning with a high fever, now looked calm, with a bit of color returning to her soft cheeks. Seeing this, Feicui Long nodded and said to the astonished parents, "Your daughter will be fine, but it would be best to avoid buying bread from that bakery. In fact, if possible, the captain should have that bakery shut down."


    Still in shock, the captain spoke and asked, "Thank you very much for saving my daughter. How did you know what she had just from that? Also, I''d like to ask¡ªwas the bread poisoned or something? Because if not, shutting down the bakery without reason wouldn''t be easy."


    Feicui Long, already expecting such questions, responded calmly, "What your daughter had is called ergotism. It''s an illness caused by consuming food made from rye contaminated with a fungus that produces toxins, which can be deadly or cause permanent damage. And the reason I believe that bakery was likely aware of it is that this isn''t the first case this month. Every single one of them has told me the same thing¡ªthat they bought bread from that bakery. And all of them are from this neighborhood, which I found very strange, considering the purchasing power of this area. How could so many people from here afford to buy bread from a bakery in the city center, especially when they have cheaper options nearby? The answer I got from one of my patients was that the bread from that bakery was even cheaper than the one sold in the lower district. Suspicious, isn''t it? The only way they could sell bread that cheap would be if they got their raw materials at an extremely low price. And the only ones who would sell materials that cheap are those who don''t want to throw away raw ingredients that they legally wouldn''t be allowed to sell."


    Hearing all this, the captain of the guard was shocked. Feicui Long was right. Lately, there had been a strange epidemic where people suffered from intense fever and even rotting feet. However, since it didn''t seem contagious, the city lord had simply ignored it and ordered the commander and all captains to do the same. If it was ergotism, it would make perfect sense for the disease to spread like an epidemic without being contagious.


    Furious, the captain of the guard angrily handed Feicui Long five gold coins and thanked him before taking his daughter and wife with him. It was clear that something was about to happen soon, but whatever it was, it no longer had anything to do with Feicui Long.


    ¡­


    That same day, Feicui Long realized that he was running out of medicine and would need to go collect more, just as he did every week. He packed everything necessary into his spatial backpack and set off for the Golsen Forest, the first forest he had gone to for gathering herbs after awakening the memories of his past lives.


    As he walked, several adventurers, hunters, mercenaries, and people from the lower districts greeted him, recognizing him. It seemed that, without realizing it, he had gained some fame among those with fewer resources, which pleased him a little.


    "After all, things do feel a little better when they''re going well and you''re not constantly sinking into a bottomless pit," he said ironically to himself.


    Without realizing it, he had already reached the entrance of the forest, so he simply opted to check his map for the places he would visit this week. The first was a well-known location, though not frequently visited, as only one type of medicinal herb grew there, one without much value¡ªlemon grass. Its name was similar to that of an edible herb, but in reality, they were quite different. The one Feicui Long was looking for resembled regular grass, with ten-centimeter-long leaves that naturally released a lemon-like aroma.


    The reason he came specifically for this herb was that it was an important stabilizer for a medicine he needed¡ªmedicine for Hilda, the owner of the bar, which her daughters, Olivia and Silvia, an important adventurer in the fortress city of Vienna, had secretly requested from him.


    According to what he knew about this matter, Hilda, 35 years old, had been a very famous adventurer in her time. That was around ten years ago. During one of those missions, Hilda and her group found themselves in a dire situation in the nest of Crimson Flame Scorpions because it turned out to be the territory of a leader-type beast called the Crimson Flame Scorpion Matriarch.


    The reason it was such a bad situation was solely due to the leader-type, and that was because, since the beginning of time in the Absolute Universe, all living beings have been divided into three types: wild-type, civilized-type, and leader-type. Wild-types tend to have greater brute strength but significantly less intelligence. They are the most common type, making up 85% of species and races among the Beast Clan, the Monster Clan, the Elemental Clan, the Plant Clan, the Fungal Clan, the Undead Clan, the Demon Clan, the Void Clan, and the Chaos Clan.


    The civilized-type, on the other hand, possesses greater intelligence, ranging from slightly below human intelligence to slightly above it, but they are slightly weaker than wild-types. They make up 12.5% of the species within these same nine racial clans. Only 2.5% are born as leader-type, but in exchange, their strength is many times greater, and their intelligence is several times that of a common human.


    It should be noted that all three types can emerge within the same species, and no species is entirely one type. However, only one type can be dominant within a species. Additionally, for these nine racial clans, these percentages apply only up to the Spiritual Palace Realm, where the dominant percentage shifts to the civilized-type. This shift is reversed in the case of the Demon Clan, the Chaos Clan, the Elemental Clan, and the Undead Clan, while the percentage of leader-types remains unchanged.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    As for the Beast Clan, the Monster Clan, the Plant Clan, the Fungal Clan, and the Void Clan, the percentage shift is less drastic: the civilized-type rises to 50%, the wild-type drops to 47.5%, and the leader-type remains the same.


    For all the other 21 clans, not including the Mortal Clan¡ªsuch as the Dragon Clan, the Infinite Clan, the Superior Clan, among others¡ªeven if we include the Mortal Clan, which consists solely of the 14 mortal races that, ironically, belong to other clans, the percentage would be 85% civilized-type, 12.5% wild-type, and 2.5% leader-type. These percentages remain constant even beyond the Spiritual Palace Realm.


    In any case, if you look at these percentages, you realize how rare the appearance of a leader type is. But it''s not just rare; as previously mentioned, they are several times stronger than others of their same species, to the point that they can fight beyond their cultivation grades. Because of this, a division was established in the Absolute Universe Treaty, classifying them into ranks, which are: Mortal Leader, Knight, Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke, Archduke, Prince, Regent, Lord, King, Emperor, Sovereign, and Supreme Lord. These, in turn, are divided into 11 grades: Mortal, Earthly, Sovereign, Mythical, Spiritual, Sacred, Immortal, Divine, Universal, Celestial, and Absolute. It may seem excessively complicated, but the quality of being a leader type is such that it justifies it.


    Let''s take talent as an example. While it is true that being a leader type is not directly proportional to talent, it does have a certain relationship. That is, the higher the rank of the leader type, the greater their talent. However, even so, someone who is not a leader type can surpass a leader type in talent.


    Let''s take an example in this case with two humans, one a leader type and the other not. If we compare them, even though the human who is not a leader type is much more talented, it is very likely that the leader type is still stronger than them, since they can still surpass levels of cultivation. In some extreme cases, such as those of Supreme Lord rank - Absolute grade, they can surpass 35 grades, which equals 4 entire realms. Of course, this powerful effect is only seen in the lower realms, such as the Elemental Realm, and it decreases until reaching the Great Absolute Realm, where they can only surpass 9 grades, that is, one entire realm.


    Of course, it should be clarified that this drastic decrease in the ability to surpass cultivation levels is only seen in leader types of King, Emperor, Sovereign, and Supreme Lord rank, as they are the ones who can surpass the most grades at the beginning, setting them apart from the other ranks. The other ranks can only surpass grades in a more gradual manner among them.


    In addition to this, we must keep in mind that leader types have what is known as a dominance aura, which allows them to subdue beings of their same racial clan with relative ease. If it is of the same race or type of creature, the effect is even stronger. But it doesn¡¯t stop there, as it can also affect other clans to a lesser extent depending on different factors. And lastly, as if that weren¡¯t enough, they also have a greater number of special abilities and capacities than those of their same species.


    That is why its classification is so complex despite seeming simple. But in any case, the reason Hilda ended up in such a bad state, despite being so strong at that moment and facing enemies that were supposed to be easy, was because of that leader-type beast, which could match and even almost defeat her entire group.


    Although it was defeated and Hilda was acclaimed as a hero, the Crimson Flame Scorpion managed to inject her with venom, and despite being treated with multiple antidotes, she could not be cured. As if that weren''t enough, half of her money, including the reward for the beast, was spent trying to cure this venom, while the other half was stolen by her husband¡ªwho was a member of her team¡ªto escape with his lover, leaving her with an eight-year-old daughter, a three-year-old daughter, and twins on the way. Because of this, she could only retire by selling several pieces of her equipment and buying a bar. But this is also why she suffered from numerous pains, and her daughters had always tried to help her, yet no alchemist in the city of Vienna dared to even attempt to cure the venom of a leader-type beast.


    Feicui Long truly cannot cure her. He knows his own abilities, and in fact, he told her that he could only treat her to reduce her pain and extend her life. To begin with, he neither had the necessary cultivation to refine the medicine that was needed nor did he know the formula for it. But even so, they did not stop and begged him to help them.


    In the end, he agreed because Hilda¡ªa mature woman with beautiful vermilion-red hair, an elegant, beautiful, and sensual figure¡ªhad captivated him the first time he saw her before recovering his memories. He couldn''t say that she hadn''t moved his heart. So, you know what they say: love is the machine that moves the world...


    ¡­


    "Finally, I didn''t think it would be this far. It''s a three-hour trip, more than I expected. I guess I''ll only have the chance to pick the lemon grass and head back to the city," said Feicui Long, a little annoyed, but he immediately started gathering the herbs.


    As he did so, he saw a group of people stop beside him. When he turned his head, he heard an annoying voice he thought he had forgotten.


    "I thought you had been expelled from the Adventurers'' Guild Union, Feicui Long," said a female voice, irritating to his ears, coming from a human woman who was 1.7 meters tall with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes.


    "Oh, they did. At least that''s what the receptionist told me, so I suppose I only came to gather herbs, Shirley," said a black-haired human woman in a mocking tone.


    "Girls, we shouldn''t be doing this. We have a mission to complete," said a wood elf calmly, yet she did not take her gaze off Feicui Long¡¯s green eyes.


    Noticing this look, Feicui Long opened his mouth and said sarcastically, "Jeanne, of course, I came here for the herbs. Why else would I come to a place about 7 kilometers from the city, full of threats? To listen to a couple of comedians like certain people?" After that, the black-haired woman shot him an annoyed glare.


    Cough, cough. "Girls, what Madeleine says is true. The mission cannot be delayed; it is a high-priority mission," said a 1.80-meter-tall man with brown hair before continuing, "Sorry for bothering you, Feicui Long. It''s been a long time..."


    "I forgive you. Now, Clark, can you take your team and stop distracting me?" said Feicui Long with a hint of irritation in his voice.


    "Alright, I understand. Don''t worry, we''ll be on our way," said Clark as he turned around and continued down the path with his team.


    ¡­


    About three hours had passed since then, and Feicui Long had gathered plenty of herbs and was already walking toward the exit of this small clearing when suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.


    Tremor Tremor


    Soon, a large tree collapsed just a few centimeters in front of him, unleashing a loud crash. BANG! Just then, he saw a group of people carrying a brown-haired man past him. Surprised, Feicui Long turned his head slightly and realized it was the girls from the previous group, carrying a severely wounded Clark. They themselves were also injured, with some missing pieces of fabric in their clothing.


    When he saw the blonde, Shirley, she passed by a tree branch that tore another piece of her clothing off, but she also gave him a cold smile.


    At that moment, Feicui Long realized what was happening as a small horde of energy beasts began to surround him. Annoyed, he started running for his life, but soon the horde caught up to him, ultimately encircling him.


    ¡°Damn it, what terrible luck I have. Just when everything was going well, this happens,¡± Feicui Long exclaimed angrily. ¡°Well, complaining won¡¯t change anything. It¡¯s fight or die¡­¡±


    After finishing his words, Feicui Long gripped his halberd in his right hand and his steel sword in his left.


    Soon, the beasts lunged at him. The first beast was a boar-type beast, which Feicui Long slashed with his energy-coated sword, while with his right hand, he stabbed at another beast charging toward him¡ªa bull-type beast. Its horns clashed against the sharp tip of Feicui Long¡¯s halberd, slightly deflecting it, but in the end, the tip still pierced its skull, killing it instantly.


    In just one exchange, he had already killed two energy beasts, but there was no reason to celebrate because more and more kept coming. Feicui Long, frowning, lunged to the side, stabbing and slashing with his halberd first, while cutting down the beasts approaching from his other side with his sword. Following his momentum, he managed to create an opening and leaped forward to continue running until he reached a clearing.


    But the energy beasts didn¡¯t relent. As if they were being ordered by something, they resumed their pursuit of Feicui Long, surrounding him once again. This time, it was even worse, as the beasts were more organized. At the front stood a beast known as the Copper Bull, a creature with high defense whose strength ranged between the first and third grade of the elemental realm.


    Annoyed, Feicui Long muttered under his breath, ¡°Damn it, I haven¡¯t done anything to them, yet they¡¯ve chased me this far.¡±


    He had no choice but to keep fighting, but before that, he swallowed some energy restoration pills. Feicui Long continued battling for several dozen minutes, but soon, he simply couldn¡¯t keep up. The numbers were just too overwhelming¡ªnot to mention that he knew he wasn¡¯t even fighting those considered average in strength within this horde. He had only been fighting weaklings. It was obvious that this horde was being commanded by a leader-type beast; otherwise, it would be impossible for most of these creatures to display such intelligence.


    In the end, Feicui Long was sent flying, with bleeding holes in various parts of his body, including his abdomen and chest. Immediately, several minor beasts began devouring his legs. Still conscious, Feicui Long let out a groan of pain.


    ¡°Arghhh¡­¡±


    Finally, an imposing, large-sized bear-type beast emerged from the crowd as the others stepped aside to clear its path. When Feicui Long saw it, he realized that this was the leader-type beast commanding this small horde. He knew this would be his end, and in his fury, he could only curse his bad luck.


    But just as it stood in front of Feicui Long, about to finish him off, something astonishing happened. A bird¡¯s cry echoed through the air¡ªSCREECH! A majestic and elegant bird, engulfed in flames, appeared. Three tails extended from the end of its body, its plumage was vibrant and beautiful, and its long, graceful neck resembled that of a heron. Even the leader-type beast began trembling under the intense pressure that descended upon it and the other creatures. Feicui Long, his vision blurry, could still make it out unmistakably¡ªit was an oriental fire phoenix.


    The phoenix cast a piercing gaze over the beasts, but especially toward the bear leading them. With its intelligence, the bear instantly understood the phoenix¡¯s meaning, and though reluctant, it was forced to withdraw along with its horde.


    The oriental phoenix landed on the ground, walking gracefully on its two slender legs, similar to those of a heron. It approached Feicui Long¡¯s battered body and looked at him with pity.


    Feicui Long, stunned by the pain, couldn¡¯t suppress the surge of anger and humiliation rising within him. Tears streamed down his face. Never, in all his past lives, had he felt such disgrace. Perhaps it was because he had yet to recover the memories of his first life and true identity, but even so, compared to everything he had endured before, no situation had been as humiliating as this.


    Now, even an oriental phoenix, one belonging to the weakest bloodline among phoenixes¡ªcomparable to the most basic dragon bloodlines¡ªwas looking down on him. He was a proud sovereign, the leader of the entire dragon race, a being before whom even the mightiest phoenix should kneel just to be in his presence. Yet, he had fallen so low. Not only had he been reduced to a wandering vagabond, but now, a mere burning chick pitied him.


    He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. But every attempt was halted by the searing pain coursing through him. As his vision darkened, he caught sight of the oriental phoenix shedding a single tear. With one of its wings, it guided the tear into Feicui Long¡¯s mouth.


    But that did not stop him from losing consciousness due to blood loss.

 Chapter 7 – The Lunar Rock Bear Cub – 1

    In a cave some distance away from where he had been before, not long after, a young-looking woman, around 20 to 25 years old, held Feicui Long''s unconscious body. She had a slender and beautiful figure, with attributes neither too large nor too small, just the right balance, perfect for her. Her striking red hair, as vivid as flames, cascaded down like a waterfall of fire. Despite Feicui Long being fully healed from his injuries, he had yet to awaken.


    As the young woman gently stroked Feicui Long''s face, she began to speak:


    "Young master, forgive me. I couldn''t arrive in time. Please, forgive me¡­ I¡­ The promise I made to the mistress¡­ I nearly failed to fulfill it. It''s just that the rules of the sanctuary¡­"


    She paused for a moment before continuing:


    "The rules of the sanctuary are clear¡­ The orders of the sanctuary master are absolute¡­ I was only granted permission after completing certain missions, which is why I was delayed in following you. I''m just relieved that you''re safe now..."


    After saying this, she slowly lowered her head, trying not to disturb Feicui Long, and then carefully stood up, making as little noise as possible.


    But little did she know that Feicui Long had actually awakened some time ago and had been listening to her apology. Not wanting to say anything just yet, he had pretended to be asleep. However, in the end, he needed to ask her one last favor. So, he feigned waking up, slowly sitting up while touching his head. Then, he opened his mouth and said:


    "Sister Bao''er¡­"


    And then, he pretended to cough.


    Cough Cough


    The young woman, despite noticing that he had gotten up, continued walking. But when she heard the words Sister Bao''er, she stopped abruptly, her body tensing up almost like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.


    Feicui Long spoke again and said:


    "I mean, Guardian Huo Baoshi, could you please listen to my request¡­?"


    Huo Baoshi responded:


    "The young master doesn''t have to be so formal with me. This Baoshi has always been loyal to the mistress and will not be upset with whatever the young master chooses to call me."


    Then she continued:


    "But regarding the request, the young master knows the rules. Even if I wanted to help, the sanctuary master was very clear with his orders, no one is allowed to interfere with, interact with, or seek out the young master. I am the only exception, and only to guarantee the young master''s safety in a life-or-death situation, as long as I am not on a mission, and only if I do not interfere with the young master''s life¡­"


    Feicui Long let out a sigh sigh before speaking again:


    "I understand your concerns, and I know the master''s orders. That is precisely why I won''t ask for help with anything specific to myself. Besides, you won''t need to act directly. Could you at least hear my small request?"


    Huo Baoshi hesitated, uncertain for a moment. Then, an image of a woman flashed through her mind. This woman was incredibly beautiful and kind, smiling warmly as she extended a hand to Huo Baoshi. After that brief flashback, Huo Baoshi responded:


    "Alright, young master, I will listen. But I will only accept your request if it doesn''t require me to act directly. I won''t risk punishment, I still need to continue searching for the cu¡­"


    At that moment, she realized she had said something she shouldn''t have and abruptly stopped. Though Feicui Long noticed and understood clearly what she was about to say, he simply ignored it and said nothing.


    Then, Huo Baoshi turned around, revealing her beautiful face, white as polished marble, with flawless scarlet lips and crimson eyes that seemed to hold a blazing fire. She walked toward Feicui Long with elegant steps, stopping right in front of him. Moving gracefully, she sat down before him, her posture reflecting refined upbringing.


    Feicui Long then began to explain his request:


    "Alright, what I need, Sister Bao''er, is for you to help me with the Lunar Rock She-Bear. I don''t need you to deal with her directly. I only need you to fully unleash your aura across the entire area and release your phoenix pride along with your cry."


    Confused by what she had just heard, Huo Baoshi asked,


    "But what exactly do you want to accomplish with her? Are you trying to tame her? If that''s the case, I can''t help you, as that would be indirect interference."


    Feicui Long shook his head slightly before responding:


    "No, that''s not my intention. It has to do with the plan I have. I''ll explain everything in detail, it will take some time, so I ask for your patience."


    Huo Baoshi nodded slightly and said,


    "I understand. In any case, I have nothing else to do for the moment, young master. So, please continue."


    ¡­


    A few hours later, Feicui Long was taken to the edge of the forest, far from the beast horde heading toward the city. For some reason, the horde had yet to reach the city, but that wasn''t important to him. He had to go to the Adventurers'' Guilds Union for the first time since being expelled. Although he didn''t really feel like going, it was necessary for several reasons, one of them being to claim compensation as revenge for being put in danger. The other was to take the Lunar Rock Bear cub and return it to its mother to prevent a major disaster for the city.


    With steady steps, Feicui Long entered the city gates and walked until he found the Adventurers'' Guilds Union building. He kept going until he reached the counter and spoke to the receptionist:


    "Good afternoon, Marlene. I need to see the branch leader of the Adventurers'' Guilds Union."


    The receptionist, Marlene, raised her gaze with a hint of disdain and replied,


    "If you''re trying to return to the union, I regret to inform you that it won''t be possible under the current conditions, according to the guild''s regulations. The leader won''t be able to do anything for you, Mr. Feicui Long."


    Feicui Long, deliberately ignoring her attitude, continued speaking:


    "Oh no, it''s not to rejoin. I''m here to file a claim and request compensation according to Regulation 37 of Article 3 in the Manual of the Mortal Races'' Union for all organizations affiliated with the union."


    Upon hearing this, the receptionist''s eyes widened slightly in surprise before her expression darkened. Then, she said,


    "If an adventurer caused you minor harm or financial loss through their actions, there''s no need to meet with the leader. I can take you to the Complaints and Claims Manager, where you can file for compensation."


    Seeing her expression, Feicui Long let out a seemingly innocent smile and responded,


    "Oh no, it''s not that."


    Then, he leaned closer to her ear and whispered,


    "It''s something much worse, endangering the life of a civilian and reckless negligence with the risk of death to said civilian."


    Marlene''s face visibly paled, her expression now filled with unease. Though she seemed reluctant, she had no choice but to activate the sound transmission talisman embedded in an iron tablet on her desk and call the guild leader to report the incident.


    ¡­


    A while later, Feicui Long sat calmly in a meeting room with a large table at its center, waiting. Soon, the guild leader entered, his face slightly irritated, followed by a group of four adventurers and the receptionist.


    The leader took the largest chair at the end of the table, while the adventurers sat to his left and the receptionist to his right. Clearing his throat, the adventurer union leader said,


    "Alright, I''ve brought you all here. Now, I''d like you to clarify your accusations and explain what happened."


    Feicui Long responded,


    "Branch Leader Eltein, as I told you, these people here not only put my life at risk but did so deliberately. Despite knowing I was in the area¡ªa civilian and citizen of the Habsburg Empire, they led the beast horde that was chasing them straight toward me."


    With a serious voice, the branch leader said,


    "But how can you prove it? Anyone could say that, and besides, you''re completely unharmed. I need you to provide some evidence or a witness statement."


    Feicui Long reached into one of his spatial bags, took out his torn clothing, and placed it on the table, saying,


    "Here is the proof. This is my clothing, it even has fresh bloodstains. If you''d like, you can verify them."


    After saying this, he handed the clothing to the receptionist. Then, he pricked one of his fingers, letting a few drops of blood fall into a small vial, which he also gave to the receptionist.


    With slight hesitation, wondering how Feicui Long knew he possessed an artifact for verifying blood origins, Leader Eltein took the torn clothing from the receptionist. He then pulled out an artifact resembling a magnifying glass, covered in various inscriptions. As he brought it close, the energy it absorbed caused it to emit light, which spread across the fabric, flickering over its surface. He then repeated the process with the vial. Soon, the artifact''s glow began to dim, and as it did, the leader''s face darkened.


    Finally, the leader spoke,


    "I see. The test results confirm that both samples are from the same source. I can verify that you''re not lying, but that doesn''t necessarily mean these adventurers were the ones you saw¡­"


    Feicui Long, in a slightly colder tone, spoke and said, "Aren''t they? Are you implying that I''m blind or have vision problems? I saw them clearly, I ran into them, and I even have this." Feicui Long took out a piece of fabric with the exact same pattern as one of those adventurers. The adventurer named Shirley turned pale upon seeing it.


    The leader Eltein, upon seeing her reaction, knew he could no longer deny it, so he responded with a sigh sigh and then began to speak: "I see, don''t misunderstand me, Feicui Long. It''s just that I first had to verify your accusations. I cannot impose a punishment on someone who might be innocent. How about this as compensation? I''ll give you the following: 10 energy crystals, 5 energy stone cores, 15 energy stone essences, and 150 energy stones, as well as 5 spiritual restoration pills of Earthly Palace rank, third grade, a few martial technique manuals of your choice at the same rank, a spatial storage bag of the same rank as everything else, and finally, 5 platinum coins. I think it''s a pretty fair price, don''t you think?"


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Feicui Long looked at him, and honestly, the offer seemed very good, but he wasn''t stupid enough to accept the first offer made to him, especially when he had another card up his sleeve. So Feicui Long responded to the offer: "Hmmm, it''s certainly tempting, but I think it should be higher, especially knowing that this group of adventurers brought a tremendous disaster to the city, don''t you think?"


    The leader of the Adventurers union, Eltein, instead of being angry about his offer being rejected, was confused and quickly asked, "What do you mean by bringing a disaster?"


    Feicui Long replied calmly, "Yes, didn''t you know? These guys here stole the leader-type beast cub, which triggered the beast horde."


    The leader Eltein shouted in shock and turned his head, looking at them furiously: "What did you do!? Is this true!?"


    Then the girl named Jeanne spoke up since Clark was still unwell from his injuries, Madelein was quite reserved and shy, and Shirley was trembling because of the fabric. "Yes, branch leader¡­ but the beast was a private request from a high-ranking noble of the Habsburg Empire. Marlene is a witness to this."


    The receptionist, upon hearing her name, quickly nodded: "Yes, I was the one who connected them with the noble."


    The leader Eltein, now a bit calmer, said, "Well, it''s not that big of a problem. We can deal with the horde by killing the beast, and everything will be resolved. Good work..."


    Feicui Long let out a disdainful chuckle. ''Hahahahaha.'' When everyone turned their gaze toward him, he wiped the tears from his eyes and began to speak: "Excuse me, Leader Eltein, I don''t doubt your strength, but with your current cultivation? It would be impossible to defeat it."


    The leader Eltein ignored the mocking comments. He was a firm and proud person, but he wouldn''t let himself be provoked by such insignificant things. He then spoke: "What do you mean by that? Even if it''s a leader-type beast at the peak of the Mythical Realm, Knight Rank ¨C Celestial Grade, I could easily defeat it. Or even in the unlikely case that it was a Spiritual Palace Realm Beast, Grade 1 or 2, I could still take them down."


    Feicui Long looked at the group of adventurers, who were trembling, knowing what was coming, and then replied with a broad smile to Leader Eltein: "Branch Leader, it''s not that I''m underestimating you, but let''s start with the fact that the beast approaching isn''t just any beast. It''s a beast with a lineage comparable to that of a Red Dragon or a Flame Phoenix. It is a Lunar Rock Bear. With its lineage alone, it could fight against someone from the mortal races two to three grades above it. And since it is a leader-type, Knight Rank, Absolute Grade, it is capable of fighting against mortals five grades above. So even if it were at the Mythical Realm, it could battle against a Spiritual Palace Realm, Grade 5 mortal."


    He paused for a moment to see Leader Eltein''s eyes widen with concern upon hearing that the beast was a Lunar Rock Bear.


    After seeing his reaction, Feicui Long, now with a serious expression, continued speaking: "But on top of that, the Lunar Rock Bear is a beast specialized in defense. Its defense is terrifyingly strong, and while its attacks may not be as powerful compared to its defense, it''s not something to underestimate. This makes it an incredibly difficult beast to fight. The fact that it specializes in defense alone would require an immense amount of energy and the combined effort of several Spiritual Palace Realm - grade 5, warriors to break through. So even if it were merely a beast at the peak of the Mythical Realm, you wouldn''t be able to defeat it. And while I know you could collaborate with the leaders of the Mercenary Guilds'' Union and the Hunters'' Guilds union, it still wouldn''t be enough. You would need to request help from the Imperial Guard. But the worst part isn''t even that."


    Feicui Long paused again, taking a sip of the drink that had been brought to him while he was waiting, refreshing his throat.


    After swallowing his drink, Feicui Long spoke again, "It''s just that the beast is in the third grade of the spiritual palace. At this point, it would be able to kill you and the other leaders with ease. It could only be defeated by one of the ten people at the peak of the spiritual palace realm in the fortress city, of whom eight are busy protecting the city. Four of the five belong to the empire: two under the command of Duke Heinrich, who are two of the commanders of Vienna''s guard, responsible for protecting the south and north gates, while the other two are rotating imperial generals who alternate with others to protect the western and eastern gates, the other four belong to different forces. The first is the leader of the union of summoners, tamers, necromancers, and creators of golems and puppets, who protects the northwestern gate. The second is the leader of the union of inscription masters, alchemists, and blacksmith refiners, who protects the northeastern gate. The third is the church of the Supreme Goddess of Life, which protects the southwestern gate. And finally, the fourth is the leader of the union of trade guilds, who protects the southeastern gate." Feicui Long paused for a moment to catch his breath.


    Without delay, he continued speaking, "The other two who are not busy protecting the city, one is currently doing the rotation assigned to the other nine in the small forward fortress on the southwestern road, the main supply route for the fortress city of Vienna. The person in charge at the moment is the elder of the Triple Union, the union of three alliances: the mercenary guilds union, the hunter guilds union, and the adventurer guilds union. The last one, who is neither occupied nor part of the rotation, is the supreme protector of the city, the Grand General of the South, third supreme commander of the empire, Duke of the Duchy of Bavaria-Saxony, Duke Heinrich Der L?we, so the only person currently available to ask for help would be the Duke. But making the Duke come out to solve a problem caused by the adventurers'' guild¡­ I don''t think that would be good for the guild, do you? The guild could lose a great deal of power and influence, possibly even becoming a minor associate of the city of Vienna. After all, I don''t need to explain the importance of the fortress that holds back the enemies of the mortal races from entering the Habsburg Empire on the southeastern front."


    Leader Eltein, who had remained silent with a darkened expression, looked at him with a serious face, while also casting angry glances at Clark''s group of adventurers. He stayed like that for a while until he finally decided to speak, "But how do I know you''re not lying and exaggerating things?" he said in a hoarse voice, as if he were losing patience.


    Feicui Long smiled and said nothing, simply waiting.


    ¡­


    Soon, hurried footsteps were heard, and the door was thrown wide open. Everyone in the meeting room suddenly turned their gaze toward the uninvited guest. It was a member of the Adventurers'' Guilds Union staff. He looked agitated and a little nervous as he spoke in a hurried voice, "Leader! Leader E-Eltein, you have to hear this! It''s a message sent from the section of the wall at the intersection between the south gate and the southeast gate¡­ it''s an urgent message!"


    Leader Eltein looked at him, his voice still hoarse, and shouted, "Hurry! What are you waiting for? Play it!"


    The union member, frightened by the shout, injected his energy into the sound-recording stone, and a message began to play, "To Leader Eltein¡­ This is Commander Begnar. I request your help. A massive horde of beasts is approaching¡­ it''s urgent. We don''t have enough soldiers, and I believe there''s a Spiritual Palace-level beast commanding everything. I''ve seen some mythical-realm beasts at the borders of the Golsen Forest through the binoculars, and they are preparing to charge. Additionally, I heard a distant roar, so powerful that it impacted my spirit and suppressed it slightly despite being so far away¡­"


    Leader Eltein looked as if he wanted to bury his head in a flowerpot, his face contorted with rage and worry, especially because of the last words. He knew that leader well. The Triple Union had established its four branches in the southern and southeastern parts of the city, as those were usually the most attacked areas. However, an attack directly on the wall between these two gates was almost unheard of. Because of this, the assigned commander was only at the mythical realm. Even so, the mythical realm was not something to underestimate, and the fact that just a roar from a great distance could exert pressure was not a good sign. He feared that it was indeed a Spiritual Palace realm beast, just as Feicui Long had described.


    But he wouldn''t even have time to hesitate because, soon, from the distance, a roar was heard¡­ ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! Even from so far away, the roar unleashed a terrifying pressure that activated the wall''s defensive formation. In the air, they could see the defensive array deployed, dispersing part of the impact of the monstrous aura that had been released. Everyone could see it from the windows of the meeting room, yet even with that, the weakened aura still reached them, sending chills deep into their spirits and making them all pale.


    The only two exceptions were Leader Eltein and Feicui Long, one because he was also at the Spiritual Palace realm, and the other because of his special soul, though it was currently dormant.


    So, Eltein said to the union member, "Wait a moment. I''ll deal with this and leave immediately. Also, close the door on your way out."


    The member was surprised. Normally, in these situations, the leader would be the first to leave, but now he wanted to stay and handle something in the meeting room? Just how important could this be compared to defending the city? Even so, the union member quickly left and closed the door.


    Leader Eltein, now a bit calmer, said to Marlene, "Marlene, activate the door formation. I don''t want anyone listening to what we''re about to discuss here, understood?" Marlene quickly followed the instructions and activated the room''s isolation formation. No one outside would be able to hear them anymore.


    Feicui Long wasn''t worried. On the contrary, he knew the interesting part was coming, it was finally time to negotiate the "compensation." Of course, it wasn''t that he was overly confident, but he was simply sure that Leader Eltein wouldn''t do anything to him, especially since he was currently a civilian. The Mortal Races Union controlled its organizations not with an iron fist, but with one of adamantine. If Eltein tried anything, he would lose more than just his position.


    Leader Eltein then looked at Feicui Long, almost as if he knew what he was thinking, and said, "Besides the compensation, how about I triple everything in exchange for you not saying that the Adventurers'' Guild Union was responsible for all this? Of course, I will also make sure to punish those reckless fools."


    Feicui Long, hesitating a little at such a tempting offer, replied, "How about you increase the platinum coins to twenty-five, along with the crystals? I''d also like you to add a few books on alchemy recipes and refining¡ªsmithing, as well as some books on creature classification by clan and three treasure talismans."


    Leader Eltein let out a long sigh¡­ Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh¡­ and responded, "Alright, but you''ll have to sign a contract to keep all of this silent."


    Feicui Long smiled, placing his hands together with one palm over the other, then slowly spread them apart. As he did, to the astonished eyes of everyone, a scroll materialized out of thin air. It was an energy contract, one of the things possible thanks to the Invocation ability and all the skills derived from and based on it, such as taming, necromancy, and the creation of golems and puppets.


    When the scroll finished generating, it had all the established conditions, both for security and with the spiritual seal of the Bloody Soul Mind, one of the four most powerful seals to confirm a contract, as they are almost completely indestructible and can only be destroyed with fragments of the Absolute Heaven''s Law and even then, a good amount must be gathered, which provided more certainty when signing the contract.


    Leader Eltein said, "Were you a tamer? Why didn''t you say so? Well, it doesn''t matter. Since you have it, let''s sign it." After saying that, Eltein placed his drop of blood on one of the seals at the side. The seal lit up, and his full name appeared in the center: "Eltein Copenhagen." Feicui Long did the same, signing on the other end, making the name "Feicui Long" appear. Then, the contract glowed a blood-red color, burned with a flame that did not consume, and vanished.


    Leader Eltein finally spoke again, "You can go now. I''ll take care of the rest."


    But Feicui Long had no intention of leaving just like that, so he said, "No, I have to take the Lunar Rock Bear cub with me."


    Leader Eltein raised an eyebrow and questioned, "To tame it? Are you crazy? Do you want to get thousands of people killed?"


    Feicui Long shook his head and replied, "No, but who else would take it back to its mother? I''m sure she won''t want to ask the Duke for help, but at the same time, no one in their right mind would charge into the beast horde. And even if they managed to get through, there''s no guarantee the mother wouldn''t kill them. So, I volunteer in exchange for two little things."


    Leader Eltein, realizing the situation, spoke in a defeated voice, "Alright, tell me what you want."


    Feicui Long, with a slight smile, said, "First, I would like you to sign a contract different from the previous one, in which you won''t be able to cause me any harm or trouble, and you will have to leave me alone permanently. This applies to all members of the union, including those present. The details will be specified in the contract. And the second thing is¡­" He paused briefly before continuing, "I would like you to give me one of the nine fragments of the Arboreal Crystal of Powerful Vitality from a Tree of Life that absorbed draconic energy. I know the leader has been collecting fragments, and I only need one."


    Leader Eltein''s eyes widened in shock how did he find out about this treasure? He had been secretly gathering these fragments so that his son, who had extremely poor talent and was nearly crippled, could advance quickly through the realms and improve his abilities. No one should have known about it. But what shocked him even more was that Feicui Long had the audacity to ask for it while smiling.


    In the end, Eltein had no choice. Reluctantly, he accepted Feicui Long''s conditions, took the fragment out of his spatial storage ring, and signed the contract. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to resist or send someone else, but he knew that only the best of the union could pass through the beast horde unscathed, and sending them would be sending them to their deaths against the Lunar Rock Bear.


    Feicui Long, still smiling, took the fragment and stored it in the spatial storage bag that the receptionist, who had gone to get the "compensation," had given him. With everything settled, Feicui Long left, guided by a union member who would take him through one of the smaller gates to exit the wall.


    After a few minutes of running, they finally arrived at the gate. The guide spoke with the guards, who let him out without any issues. Without wasting any time, Feicui Long left the city. The exit point was slightly away from where the beast horde was gathered this was done to avoid running into them head-on. Now, the key was to move quickly, so Feicui Long immediately accelerated at full speed toward the Golsen Forest.

 Chapter 8 - The Lunar Rock Bear Cub - 2

    As Feicui Long moved, at the front of the city a massive horde of beasts emerged. At first, they had been waiting at the edges, but with the roar of the great beast, they marched forward. There were beasts of all kinds, yet for some reason, the normally chaotic creatures were not disorganized this time. They all followed a specific order.


    At the front moved the beasts focused on defense, such as rock rhinoceroses, iron or rock elephants, earth turtles, iron bulls, and many others, with a great variety among them. Behind them were support beasts along with melee-specialized beasts, like wood deer, green foxes, and others among the support beasts. As for the melee fighters, there were blood bears, steel-spiked lizards, wind gorillas, and a bit further back, beasts specialized in ranged attacks and mixed combat. The ranged attackers included ice eagles, venomous salamanders, and several more, while the mixed-type beasts included fire wolves, lightning pumas, and others.


    It was almost like watching a mortal army with different types of soldiers and formations. This was one of the most terrifying aspects of leader-type beasts, their ability to command all kinds of creatures, and combined with their great intelligence, they could devise fearsome tactics.


    Soon, another terrifying roar sounded ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR, and the beasts advanced in their positions without breaking formation, as if they were trained soldiers. The mortal races of the Habsburg Empire on the city walls of Vienna responded with all kinds of ranged attacks, from arrows made of different materials and energy arrows to spells, elemental, psionic, and spiritual attacks, as well as shots from various materials and energy rifles. But perhaps the most powerful were the mighty energy cannons bombarding the beasts. However, there were so many of them, and some were so strong that they could not even slightly slow down the horde. The stronger ones quickly adapted and protected the weaker ones while they recovered thanks to the support beasts and returned to the front.


    Even so, several beast corpses lay on the ground, but the others stepped over them as if nothing had happened. Soon, they would reach the walls. In this desperate situation, the most powerful cannons located in each tower prepared to fire, but that was when the third roar came ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. From the forest, moving at an almost imperceptible speed, three to four giant bears with incredibly beautiful fur of a color reminiscent of the moon came rushing out and intercepted the cannon fire as if it were nothing.


    The commander on the wall watched in horror as there were four beasts at Mythical Realm Grade 1, all of them adult Lunar Rock Bears. With them leading the charge, the beasts advanced even faster. Every time one of the large tower cannons gathered enough energy, these beasts would either block the shots or use their abilities or techniques to stop them, shielding the horde from damage.


    ¡­


    While all of this was happening, Feicui Long kept running as fast as he could, even casting the Light Feet spell on himself, not caring if he exhausted his energy. Though he had to keep taking energy recovery pills and mana potions to sustain it, he could hear the roars and tell that the beast was growing impatient. The tremors he felt, despite being so far away, indicated that a massive battle had broken out.


    It was when he started to tire that he finally caught sight of the great lunar rock bear he had seen before, back when he was on the verge of death. Only a few meters remained, but at that moment, he simply began walking slowly, carefully ensuring that there were no other creatures around. Once he was certain, he entered the area where the lunar rock bear was, a space filled with fallen trees arranged in a circle. It seemed that just the impact of her roars had caused such destruction, though the sight didn''t surprise him.


    So, Feicui Long walked forward with slow, steady steps, exuding confidence and pride. He was getting closer and closer to the bear, yet he wasn''t afraid of a surprise attack. He was 100% sure that she had already detected him. The Spirit Palace realms had something called a spiritual detection area, and while there were ways to hide from its automatic tracking, its power increased when used consciously. Ironically, it was also possible to conceal oneself from that as well, but that wasn''t an option for him. He neither had the power nor any artifact, medicine, or tool to do so.


    For that reason, it was obvious that her spiritual detection area had already locked onto him. If she hadn''t done anything yet, it was likely because she didn''t see him as a threat, or more likely, because she was being cautious due to Huo Baoshi.


    Whatever the case was, it didn''t matter to him. So, when he got close to the bear, Feicui Long spoke with confidence: "Hey, you want your cub back, don''t you?"


    The lunar rock bear didn''t answer him; she simply kept looking straight ahead.


    But Feicui Long didn''t find that strange: "I could give your cub back to you if you want¡­ in exchange, you''ll have to do what I say."


    This time, the lunar rock bear turned around and looked at him before speaking in the mature voice of a grown woman: "Pfff, and what could you possibly do? You couldn''t even handle mere beasts from the elemental realm."


    Feicui Long responded without falling for her provocation: "Yeah, yeah, I might be weak and whatever you say, but do you want your child or not? If not, I''ll just leave and let you be."


    The lunar rock bear spoke again: "You sure have a lot of guts for someone so weak, don''t you think? I must admit, it''s pretty brave of you to come here alone. But how are you going to bring my child from the city?"


    Feicui Long said: "There''s no need to go to the city. I already have him here with me. So, decide now, do you want him back, or should I leave? Hurry up, I''m very busy and don''t have time to waste."


    The lunar rock bear directed a powerful spiritual pressure at Feicui Long. This time, it was difficult for him to withstand, especially due to a mix of exhaustion and the beast''s close proximity. Although his special soul dissipated part of the effect, it was still dormant and not as effective. Cold sweat began to run down his back, and his legs weakened slightly.


    Yet, through sheer willpower, Feicui Long remained standing and said: "Then, if you want him, you''ll have to sign this." Feicui Long placed his palms on top of each other and slowly opened them, revealing a contract with the same seal he had used with Leader Eltein.


    The lunar rock bear looked at him with suspicious eyes and smiled. She slowly approached Feicui Long when, all of a sudden, a thick mist began to rise. As the mist enveloped the bear, her figure started to disappear. Then, a slender woman''s silhouette, with wide hips and ample breasts, began to take shape as she walked. When she finally reached Feicui Long, she leaned her head out of the mist, which then started to dissipate.


    With that, her face was just inches away from Feicui Long, and a beautiful face emerged from the mist as she spoke: "And¡­ did you ever imagine that it would be easier for me to just kill you?"


    Feicui Long, unfazed, opened his mouth: "If you really wanted to do that, you would have done it from the beginning, wouldn''t you? More importantly, I know that lunar rock bears and lunar bears have a very strong bond with their offspring, especially mothers, and they are capable of sensing them. It''s impossible that you didn''t know your cub was in my possession, and yet, you did nothing. That means you don''t dare to kill me because of the phoenix from that moment, isn''t that right?"


    The lunar rock bear changed her mocking expression to a more serious one upon hearing that and replied, both annoyed and serious: "But I could kill you quickly before she can do anything, especially from this distance."


    This time, it was Feicui Long''s turn to smile as he spoke with a certain disdain in his voice: "Oh, is that really what you think? I don''t believe you dare. For starters, you care a lot about your children, don''t you? Both the cub I have here and the other four on the battlefield are your children. Are you sure you want them to be killed¡­ and for you to die as well?"


    The bear now looked him in the eyes seriously and said: "But you are alone here. There is no one to protect you. By the time I return, I will already be gone."


    Feicui Long replied mockingly: "Pfff, who said I''m alone?"


    From deep within the Golsen Forest, an ear-piercing screech erupted without any attempt to restrain it. SCREEEEEEEECH! This time, the screech was so loud and powerful that it echoed everywhere. The previous roars of the lunar rock bear seemed like a timid child''s whisper in comparison. The screech spread rapidly, reaching the ears of millions of people living in Vienna. But not just them, the sound extended to all the surrounding areas, from the Golsen Forest to other forests, mountains, and deserts, even reaching the distant maritime zone.


    But what was truly terrifying was not the eagle-like screech, but the overwhelming pressure that came with it. An unprecedented, unmatched, and utterly dominant force descended upon all creatures hostile to the city. The aura and pressure released by the mother lunar rock bear were nothing but child''s play in comparison. If one were to compare them, it would be like lifting a few grams of dirt versus having an entire planet placed on top of a person. The pressure was so immense, so terrifying that it forced the lunar rock bear to collapse onto the ground, lying motionless and unable to move.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Meanwhile, on the battlefield, all the beasts halted and fell, lying flat and trembling. In other places, the same sight could be seen, the usually noisy and dangerous areas now seemed like quiet, desolate graveyards.


    After this, Huo Baoshi emerged from the Golsen Forest, flying majestically over Feicui Long and the lunar rock bear. She took a glance around and then soared forward until she disappeared from sight.


    Feicui Long smiled joyfully, it seemed he had guessed correctly. Huo Baoshi had advanced to the demigod realm. He had already sensed it from her divine presence, but he had not been certain since his cultivation was too weak to perceive it clearly. However, this did not surprise him, as back when he still lived in the sanctuary, Huo Baoshi had already reached the earthly immortal realm.


    Even though she had not undergone an evolution, a rare occurrence for eastern fire phoenixes and beings such as the most basic dragons, or even the lunar rock bears themselves, who were innately born at the epic realm, it was not unusual. These creatures are born with a cultivation level in the epic realm and naturally reach its peak upon adulthood. Despite this, their bloodlines are so powerful that they can easily transcend the legendary and mythical realms, reaching the spiritual palace realm and even going beyond into the astral soul or astral spirit realms. However, from the astral soul realm onward, these creatures become increasingly rare, and the higher the realm, the rarer they become.


    In the pure realm, they are uncommon. In the saint realm, they become rare. In the sacred realm, they are exceedingly rare. In the earthly immortal realm, they are extremely rare. In the true immortal realm, they are hyper rare. In the divine immortal realm, they are ultra rare. And in the demigod realm, they are supremely rare, almost impossible to find... yet even then, it is still possible to encounter divine realm beings among them.


    The reason why their rarity increases so much is because, first, their current bloodline does not have the strength to take them any further. Second, their cultivation techniques lack the capacity to do so. Third, they do not have the necessary treasures to advance or evolve. And fourth, every time a beast or another race breaks through beyond the level they can naturally reach upon adulthood, they have a minuscule chance of evolving or mutating on their own. This chance increases when breaking through a realm, and the further apart the realm is, the chance increases exponentially until it reaches almost 99.99999%.


    This makes Huo Baoshi, who reached the demigod realm, a special case. For some reason, she has not evolved despite all predictions, and this is also the reason why people tend to underestimate her.


    That being said, it was no longer important. Feicui Long, smiling, crouched down and looked the lunar rock bear in the face. He even leaned in a little closer so that his face was near hers and said, "See? I''m not alone, so... will you sign or not?"


    The lunar rock bear, both embarrassed and angry, replied, "Bastard human, don''t get too full of yourself. I''ll only sign if it doesn''t contain anything that puts my freedom or that of my own children at risk."


    The lunar rock bear managed to stand now that the pressure was gone and sat down, watching him cautiously.


    Feicui Long, knowing he could not delay any longer or she would realize that Huo Baoshi had left, spoke more politely, "Don''t worry. The contract doesn''t contain anything that requires you to do anything for me, nor is it meant to make you a slave or anything like that. It only ensures that you take the beast horde, leave the city, and return to your original home."


    The lunar rock bear shuddered for a second, almost as if she had been caught, and then feigned ignorance, saying, "What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that my home isn''t around here?"


    Feicui Long said with a serious face, "Don''t play dumb. I know the Golsen Forest very well, and right now it not only lacks a leader-type beast, but the previous one was killed a few years ago. Besides, a lunar rock bear has never been seen in the Golsen Forest before. You''re not from here, and you know it. You intended to take control of this forest and expand your territory all the way to the city, didn''t you? But you were caught off guard when you left your temporary home, and some humans stole your cub. You lost your patience because of your bond with them, and now we''re here. I just want you to leave and abandon your ambitions toward Viene and its lands. In exchange, you''ll have your cub, and you can leave without any problems. Isn''t that fair?"


    The lunar rock bear, shocked, froze. How could this insignificant human figure out her intentions so quickly?


    What she didn''t know was that Feicui Long was originally a dragon. Although dragons were originally a separate racial clan and could still be considered as such, they eventually became part of the beast clan. The foundation of the beast clan was built using dragons and part of their power over the skies. Because of this, they are also considered part of the beast clan. But it''s not just a matter of recognition¡ªsince the supreme divine authority of the beast clan also affects dragons, they truly are a part of it. Dragons coexist with other beasts and understand them perfectly, sharing many traits. The most similar case is that of the phoenixes. On top of that, the one he was closest to, the one he had the best relationship with, was the supreme god of the beast clan. Because of this, he understood the way other beasts thought very well.


    Surrendering, the lunar rock bear simply took the paper, read it, and bit her finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the seal. With the contract signed, Feicui Long retrieved the cub from the luxurious spatial cage it had been kept in. Although there were various storage methods besides cages, such as bags or medallions, for those who were not tamers, summoners, necromancers, or creators of golems and puppets, those with such abilities had special dimensional spaces where they could store or release their creatures at will. Others had to use such containers unless they took a creature as their companion or familiar. Judging by the luxurious design and the use of a cage, it was obvious that the one who wanted to tame the cub was likely a highly influential noble, as such items were very expensive. In any case, Feicui Long released the cub and let the mother take it.


    After that, with her cub in her arms, she let out a roar, not as angry this time, but loud enough for all the beasts, including her sons and daughters, to hear. Roaaaar! At last, the beasts, still trembling, began to retreat in an orderly manner, following the lunar rock bear''s children. She herself also returned to her beast form and quickly left with her cub on her back. It wasn''t just because of the contract, she no longer wanted to be near Feicui Long. She felt that something bad would happen if she stayed any longer.


    ¡­


    Shortly after the bear left, Feicui Long sighed in relief. Not only had he prevented a disaster, but more than anything, he hadn''t lost his new "home" so quickly. After all, his "house" was very close to the branches of the Triple Union. In fact, that was the main reason he did it, not because he was a good person or considered himself a hero. Feicui Long had always seen himself as someone neutral with a slight inclination toward good, but not much beyond that.


    At some point, Feicui Long spoke to himself and said, "Good thing I stopped that bear from causing trouble. She was worse than I imagined. She had already mastered human transformation¡­ Her great control over it meant she had a lot of experience, which reveals she had considerable talent. If I had let her grow unchecked, this city wouldn''t be standing in just a few years." Feicui Long finished speaking, a bit worried.


    The reason behind his concern was that the lunar rock bear had mastered the human transformation ability too quickly and very few races, not only beast clans but all racial clans in general, were born with this ability and although today it is known as the human form since the creation of humans by the magic clan, in reality, this form did not have that name and at the time it was and still is a very advanced technique, that as mentioned, very few races were born innately with it. This technique originally belonged to the three original races and was passed down to their first creations and these were inherited in some races and species, the dragon and phoenix clans are examples of these clans, but not all have that fortune, for example, the wolf clan and the bear clan, not all species and races as such have it, only very few.


    And that includes the lunar rock bears that do not possess it, that means that to obtain the transformation they must acquire it, there are different ways, learning it from a normal skill book or scroll in the old-fashioned way which is a very slow and difficult process or through a version of these same ones for instant use that teach it to you immediately but these are super rare and expensive, another is by devouring the origin core of someone who possesses it, but the probability is even lower than finding an instant teaching book, another is that someone who already masters it teaches it to you whether they have learned it or were born with it, but that would be complicated if they are not of your species since many of those who have it innately are extremely proud and in fact, it is a matter of pride for them, there is also the option that a deity or god grants it to you but that is also rare, of course, there are all kinds of treasures but the same thing happens as the previous ones, they are very rare.


    Besides the previous ones, there are four more ways that are the most "accessible", one is that you learn it at once by breaking grade, another that you learn it by ascending to a new realm, another that you obtain enlightenment while cultivating or breaking grade or realm, and the last that you enter in harmony with the laws you cultivate and can learn certain secrets that will allow you to know them.


    But despite all that and being more "accessible," in reality, none of them are, since they depend on luck or, in the case of enlightenment or harmony, on one''s talent. And that is why it stood out so much to Feicui Long. The faster a beast obtains the ability despite not being born with it, the more it means that either it was very lucky or it has extremely high talent. And high talent combined with being a leader type is almost like a guaranteed winning bet.


    That being said, Feicui Long had no mind to keep thinking about all this. It was getting late, and he just wanted to go home. He took the cage with him, which, although not very useful to him, held great value and could possibly be used for some of its materials. As for whether the owner would come looking for it, he doubted that they would even dare to appear. The disaster that almost happened had probably already reached the duke''s ears, and the duke was one of the most influential and powerful people in the empire.


    In fact, the duke was originally supposed to be here only for a while, but he took it upon himself to protect the city, which gave the imperial family headaches since he refused to return to his duchy. However, it was impossible for them to make him go back, as his cultivation was among the strongest. But more importantly, he was a rare type of genius the way mortal races liked to refer to leader types.


    Additionally, he was a genius strategist, and as such, the duke took his duty very seriously. He was known as "the lion" for a reason. If the duke found the noble responsible, his head would roll regardless of his rank, so that noble would not be returning to Vienna for a long time.

 Extra Chapter #1 – The Origin of the Unions

    Feicui Long entered the city through the same gate he had left and returned without a single scratch, with a juicy gain. One could say he was quite pleased with it, but in reality, he was frustrated. He knew how easily people would trample on him, take advantage of him, or try to intimidate him if he had nothing to back him up. But he never expected something to happen so quickly that would make him feel defenseless. It had only been about three months since he regained his memories, and it all felt too fast.


    This realization made him decide to join the Alchemists, Refiners-Blacksmiths, and Inscription Masters Union, along with the Summoners, Tamers, Necromancers, and Golem & Puppet Creators Union. That way, he would have enough backing to prevent many from bothering him. But that would be for tomorrow, today he was exhausted and just wanted to return to his cozy "home."


    Before that, he stopped by Hilda¡¯s place and entered her bar and restaurant. This time, her daughter was asleep. It seemed to have been a busy day, as many people had been worried after seeing the monster horde through the image-transmitting artifact of the union.


    Thanks to that, Hilda herself was tending to the last customers in the establishment. Today, she looked incredibly beautiful. Her red hair burned like the hottest flame in the world, her blood-red lips overflowed with passion, and her well-defined figure, with beautiful curves and prominent peaks in front of her, was complemented by skin as white as the purest snow. Combined with her mature charm and accommodating yet humble personality, she couldn''t hide, no matter how much she tried, the other side of herself. A fervent, loyal, affectionate nature with an unbreakable will that would push her to rise no matter what. At first, he hadn¡¯t understood how someone like her could defeat a leader-type beast of Lord rank, but with a will seemingly forged from a planet''s very core, it was almost impossible for her to lose.


    Before he knew it, he was lost in the desire to have her by his side, to make her his woman. But when Hilda arrived at his table with his order to-go, he had to suppress the emotions of this life''s self. He knew he couldn''t let them shake him, it wasn¡¯t a good thing. So, he took his order, paid Hilda for the meal, left a tip, and thanked her for everything before heading home.


    ¡­


    When he finally arrived at what he could call home, his tent surrounded by a formation, he was finally able to relax, eat in peace, and enter his tent. He intended to read a few books, especially to learn more about the state of this world, the world of his younger brother, the God of Beasts, and the changes that had occurred in it. Because, even if it didn¡¯t seem like it, the time between his death and his reincarnation into his seventh life had already spanned several million years.


    In the past three months, he had resumed his hobby of researching things that could be useful in the future or simply interested him. He had developed this hobby during his second life, and for some reason, all his subsequent lives had inherited it to varying degrees, with this life being the least affected before recovering his memories. That was why he didn¡¯t fully know the rules of the Triple Union. Yet, this habit still existed, the best example being the books on plants, maps, and journals he had created himself.


    When he reviewed the journals of his past self before regaining his memories, he was surprised by how detailed and overflowing with information they were. He had gathered intelligence from adventurers, mercenaries, hunters, and the unions themselves, developing entire plans and identifying potential locations, all in an attempt to "cure" himself. There was even one journal where he had calculated the probable location of a treasure solely based on rumors, sightings of phenomena associated with the treasure, and previous appearances of similar treasures. Using only that, he had established the coordinates and the most likely place where it was hidden.


    Unfortunately, a curse, especially a curse from the Superior God of Curses, was not something that could be dispelled so easily. Not to mention, he didn¡¯t even have the power to venture that deep into those lands.


    Regardless, Feicui Long began devouring his dinner while reading one of the books. The one he was reading at that moment was titled "History of the Founding of the Mortal Races Union, Chapter 2: The Birth of the Guilds Unions" by Friedrich Jacob.


    The book began by discussing how the union had finally been established, only to immediately face a new threat that nearly led to its destruction shortly after its creation, a union that had formed to protect itself against the superior races. Then, it continued onto the part that interested Feicui Long the most.


    According to the book, one would have to go back several millennia, approximately 28,000 years, to understand why the Mortal Races Union was in danger. Of the ten Supreme-rank forces that had joined together to form the union, several used their power and influence to allow their guilds to abuse lower-ranked forces. This occurred during a time when the union was not yet powerful and had not yet reached the Absolute-rank, the highest rank according to the force classification established in the First Absolute Treaty.


    At that time, the union depended heavily on the ten forces, which made it difficult to protect weaker powers. While the union did not prohibit war or conquest between forces, certain rules had to be followed. More importantly, anything that could weaken the strength of the mortal races and hinder their growth in power was strictly forbidden.


    Many of these power abuses directly harmed the development of mortal strength. For example, it was common for the guilds of inscription masters, alchemists, and refiners, blacksmiths linked to royal families, governments, or any other ruling body of the ten forces, to enter the territories of weaker forces and seize their rarest treasures. These weaker forces were powerless to resist, fearing retaliation. Moreover, these guilds would harvest herbs and resources without paying, without permission, and even had the audacity to establish branches in these territories without paying taxes. They competed against the local guilds, crushing them and taking over resource zones such as farmlands and mines.


    This obviously caused significant damage to the development of these forces. While the union would not have objected if they were vassals of the ten forces, these specific forces were not vassals, they had joined the union with the hope of being protected. As a result, they filed complaints with the union, but due to its lack of power, nothing could be done. This situation deterred other forces, particularly several at the Superpower-rank, just below Supreme-rank, from joining, ultimately putting the union at risk of collapsing before it could accomplish its purpose.


    As he finished reading this part, Feicui Long took a sip of his drink, a fine wine he had obtained from Hilda. It was quite decent, but also quite expensive, which is why he had only bought it today as a small luxury. After drinking it, Feicui Long said, "Uff, the grapes from the capital, Madrid, are definitely the best in this country." Then, after a moment, he continued reading.


    To prevent this situation, the great founder of the union, the force that led its formation and leader of the Neutral Path faction to which the founder belonged, gathered her faction and proposed a single unified guild from within the union. However, as expected, they met resistance. The vote of the original council at that time, which was called the Council of Ten in that moment, was 6 to 4. The four votes in favor came from the union''s leading force and the other three members of the Neutral Path faction, losing by two votes. However, this was not a definitive loss, because one force from the Demonic Path faction and another from the Righteous Path faction were undecided.


    Although these two forces were just as strong as the other members of their factions, apart from their faction leaders who were slightly stronger, they shared a particular problem. Their guilds and advancements in inscription mastery, alchemy, and refinement were significantly behind and underdeveloped compared to their peers. The idea of having a guild for all, where advancements and production capacity would be equal for everyone, sounded very appealing to them.


    That was why the founder¡¯s exceptional mind saw a course of action that could exploit this weakness. She spent months crafting a detailed plan, known only to her most loyal subordinates. The plan was based on the very creation of the union, if they could not integrate everything into one, they could at least grant certain "liberties." Instead of a single guild for all, it would be a union that allowed other guilds to join as members, exchanging knowledge and trading resources either as intermediaries or through direct sales by the union itself. This way, the union guaranteed the independence of the main guilds of each of the forces that composed it while allowing them to reap the benefits.


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    But there was a catch. While independence and a certain degree of freedom were guaranteed, in practice, the guilds had no choice but to join. To work as an alchemist, refiner-smith, or inscription master, one absolutely needed a membership card from the aforementioned union. This was especially necessary to run a formal alchemist shop or establish one''s own guild. Without the card, one could only practice within the country where they held a national card issued by that country, which was managed by the Mortal Races Union but distributed by each nation. There was also a card issued by the union itself, but it was not mandatory and did not grant the right to practice. In any case, without passing the union''s tests for inscription masters, alchemy, and refining-smithing, one was only allowed to practice at a very modest level. This system also forced compliance with the rules of the new union and everything related to it, with that, it was enough for her to gain the support of the indecisive forces in the new vote.


    Feicui Long frowned and said, "But if only six out of the ten forces approved it, how did they manage to force the other four without splitting the union? I have to keep reading, this historian really knows how to keep people hooked." He grabbed the book again and continued reading.


    Even so, deceiving the remaining forces was not so simple. Of the four that remained, only the faction leaders firmly stood by their decision to refuse entry, while the other members became indecisive. Their hesitation stemmed from the fact that their only advantage over the other regular members of their factions was that the latter were behind in this field. If they caught up, they would likely become the weakest members.


    But nothing could be that easy. While these forces maintained strict control over their territories and fully dominated their own guilds, it was impossible to say that these guilds had no influence over their decisions. When the guilds of these four forces learned of the approval, they did everything in their power to pressure their lords into stopping the implementation of the newly created first guilds union.


    Unfortunately for them, their leaders knew it was impossible to stop it. After all, while the faction leaders were slightly stronger than their faction members, the difference was not significant. Moreover, the power gap between these forces and the members of the Neutral faction was even smaller, with the faction leaders being only very, very slightly stronger. And if one added the fact that the Neutral faction leader was somewhat stronger than them, the result was that they could not act recklessly or attempt to use force. At the same time, they were not so willing to give up on the union either.


    So the solution was simple, they requested to be excluded from the new union along with all its consequences. This would allow them to maintain their position in the Union of Mortal Races and would satisfy their guilds, who would celebrate it as a victory without realizing the mistake they had made. And that mistake was that, by accepting the consequences, they would have to completely hand over the branches and territories of crops, mines, and other resources belonging to their guilds of inscription masters, alchemists, and refiners - blacksmiths that were located outside their force¡¯s territory or the territory of their force¡¯s vassals. They were given two options, take their members and some belongings or sell the branch to the new union. This was because they wouldn¡¯t even have the cards necessary to operate. Additionally, besides the previous restriction, they would not be able to negotiate with other guilds, obtain knowledge from them, or collect treasures outside the aforementioned territories. It was a heavy price, and it hurt them greatly, but they still celebrated without knowing the true consequences.


    Meanwhile, for the other forces that accepted, they were only allowed to keep a fixed amount of branches, harvesting zones, and mines, from which they had to give a portion to the force they were in. This amount was relatively small, and the rest had to either be absorbed by their headquarters within their own territory or that of their vassals, or sold to the union. Still, it was a fairly good deal, particularly for the two forces that changed their minds. The primary reason they had fallen behind in this area was that, although their territories were rich in advanced resources, they were very poor in more basic resources. While this might seem like an advantage, it was actually terrible for training novices and learning, as it was almost like skipping the first steps, such as smelting copper, and jumping straight into working with steel. It was an enormous leap in every way. Not to mention the fact that, although they were basic, many resources were still used in numerous advanced recipes and methods. Not every medicine, artifact, or formation would always use only the highest-grade ingredients.


    This situation practically forced these two forces to take this path. That was why, during the planning phase, the founder of the union investigated them thoroughly to determine the best way to convince them. This was the ideal method because, in addition, those who joined would receive a discount on the purchase of these resources from the newly founded union for a few hundred years as a form of compensation. Furthermore, as founding members, they would receive a temporary 10% discount.


    This did not only apply to these two forces, of course, but also to those of the neutral faction and to all forces in general, regardless of their rank. In any case, with this, the union solved the problem, as now the other forces could no longer be abused or intimidated by stronger ones. If, for example, they wanted to expand their main guilds or acquire harvesting zones or mines, they would have to negotiate directly with the union. If the weaker force refused, there was nothing the stronger one could do, and no one would even consider bypassing the newly founded union. Although the union¡¯s punitive troops did not yet exist, it was backed by the army of these six Superior forces.


    Furthermore, these weaker forces benefited greatly, as the zones that were not sold to the union returned to their hands. Those that remained under the branches of a guild belonging to another force had to pay them taxes and part of the resources. Even the union itself would pay them 50% of the resources obtained from the territories bought from these guilds, as well as taxes. Of course, if the union cleared a new zone on its own and bought it from the force that owned that territory, it would be exempt from taxes and resource contributions. Even so, it was already a significant gain. Additionally, they also received a discount, which even applied to resources from zones cleared by the union, making it a win-win situation for all parties.


    Feicui Long had already finished eating, but it seemed the story was not over. He said, ¡°Damn, I thought the story would be shorter, but oh well, I guess I¡¯ll keep reading.¡±


    But no one expected the changes this would bring to the union¡¯s growth. Several forces that had refused to join quickly did so, although many still did not. For them, other unions would be created, which would be discussed later in the book. However, aside from this obvious expansion, no one anticipated that this alone would cause such a significant overall increase in strength, especially among the four Superior forces that had opposed its creation. The members of the two opposing factions began to surpass their former peers, who had once been their equals, within just a few centuries. They were now approaching the level of their respective faction leaders.


    In addition, with the union gaining new members, more resources and wealth were added, allowing various smaller forces to rise and new guilds to be founded independently from the main guilds of each force. This was made possible thanks to the new union, which allowed them to be established without requiring the backing of a specific force or owning any territory.


    This would eventually cause the weaker new members of the two factions to accept the union of the guilds of inscription masters, alchemists, and refiners ¨C blacksmiths, while the desperate faction leaders could only reluctantly accept this outcome. But what was even more humiliating was that, in the end, the union became a sort of guild that unified all its members. The union, with the branches it had absorbed from the Supreme Forces and other ranks, distributed them to dilute the power and influence of these within their respective branches, thus obtaining its own members and allowing others to join as individual members without needing a normal guild. But not only that, the union became stronger and stronger until it became the second most powerful union today, only surpassed by the Union of Auxiliaries, also called the Vanguard of the Union. It is also the one that advances the fastest in progress and has the greatest source of knowledge on its respective subjects, while the main guilds have significantly weakened and can no longer prevent the formation of competing guilds.


    Feicui Long was quite surprised. He had read that the founder of the union was an unprecedented genius, but he never thought it was to this extent. It almost seemed as if she had predicted the behavior of each force and each variable in advance. He himself had the ability to observe all possible futures, pasts, and even variations of the present, all places in space, areas, and even dimensions and planes, as well as sources of power and strength and the paths of the dragon when he was in his first life, because his eyes were special. He had also met those who could predict the future due to their great knowledge and mastery of destiny and reincarnation techniques. In fact, he himself knew some of these techniques, as he was the one who raised and taught all the Superior Gods, including the Supreme Goddess of Reincarnation and Destiny, from whom he learned the technique that allowed him to reincarnate multiple times while retaining some things with him.


    Even so, seeing someone without any of these abilities being able to calculate and completely predict the steps of others was incredible, even for a genius, because we are talking about things that did not happen in short periods like those of mortals, one or two years, or even ten, but rather things that took place over centuries. This confirmed what other books he had read said about the founder, even in the first chapter of this book, emphasizing her genius. But he had always thought it was the usual glorification of the founder for being the first. However, it seemed he was mistaken. Although having her on his side was currently a good thing, it made him somewhat uneasy to have such a genius without being able to guarantee she wouldn¡¯t turn against him. Well, when the time came to meet her, it would be as Absolute Heaven willed, Feicui Long thought, already unable to bear his exhaustion.

 Chapter 9 – The Beginner Alchemist Exam – 1

    The next day, after having breakfast and taking a bath, Feicui Long calmly and leisurely headed toward the guilds union of inscription masters, alchemists, and refiners¨Cblacksmiths.


    He continued for a while until he came across a rather elegant and very large building, at least 10 to 15 stories high, with a huge entrance where people were constantly coming and going. Many products were being taken out, and a variety of materials were being brought in through all kinds of transportation, from artifacts to horse-drawn carriages and even energy beast-drawn carts. The sight made it seem like some sort of factory or trade center, and if it weren''t for the large sign announcing what the building was, he wouldn''t have been sure if it was the correct one.


    Without overthinking it, Feicui Long entered the building, asked one of the assistants, and was directed to a reception area for those who wanted to join or simply take the exam to obtain their card and become part of a guild. When he arrived, he rang the bell placed to the side to get the receptionist''s attention.


    She slowly lifted her head, and her face briefly lit up with surprise upon seeing Feicui Long''s face. However, thanks to her excellent education and rigorous training, she quickly returned to her usual polite expression, though there was still a faint blush on her cheeks. She quickly spoke to divert Feicui Long''s attention: "Good morning, how can I help you? Do you wish to join the union or just obtain the card?"


    Feicui Long smiled back at her and said, "Yes, I''m here to join as a member. I''d like to take the beginner alchemist exam directly."


    The receptionist, who blushed even more upon seeing that charming smile, spoke a bit nervously: "Of course, but may I ask why you wish to start from there? The exam is more difficult, and its cost is slightly higher. Wouldn''t you prefer to start as an apprentice?"


    Feicui Long leaned slightly on the counter and replied, "Oh, that''s because I''m already an alchemist. I just haven''t officially joined yet, miss."


    The receptionist, having regained her composure, replied, "I see. Then I''ll need you to sign here and hand me your union identification. Also, the cost will be 5 silver coins."


    Feicui Long took out the coins and his identification, placing them on the counter. Then, he proceeded to sign with a small artifact resembling a pen. Once he finished, he spoke and said, "Is that all, miss, or is there anything else I need to do?"


    The young lady responded modestly, "No, that would be all. You can go through the door at the back; your evaluation room will be 1-21. You may wait there until your evaluator arrives." She then returned his identification card along with a token indicating that he was taking an exam.


    Feicui Long carefully took both items and proceeded toward the indicated location.


    ¡­


    As he waited, Feicui Long reflected on the receptionist''s reaction. Although he couldn''t deny that she was polite, that initial gleam in her eyes and the slight blush on her face were bothersome. Not because the woman was unpleasant to look at, but because he detested those gazes, always filled with a great lustful desire, almost as if he were nothing more than something to covet rather than a person. It wasn''t anything new; it had happened at every branch of the Triple Union where he had registered, and before that, countless times throughout all his lives, including the first one. It never ceased to make him uncomfortable.


    What irritated him the most at that moment was the almost casual but unmistakable hint that his evaluator would be a woman. Had they made that decision for the same reason they had so many times before? The thought frustrated him. His mind darkened slightly as he waited, trying to push aside those emotions and focus on what truly mattered¡ªpassing the exam and advancing on his path.


    Suddenly, something crossed his mind. While observing the members responsible for security, reception, assistance, sales, and other secondary areas of the guilds union of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners-Blacksmiths, he noticed a detail: they were all incredibly strong cultivators. Although his low realm prevented him from precisely confirming their levels without using his third eye, it was unmistakable that many of them were at least within one of the three minor realms of the Great Sovereign Realm. It was a subtle yet powerful display of the true reach of the union¡ªif these were the weakest, one could only wonder what the strongest were like.


    ¡­


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to wait long before the evaluator arrived. She was an imposing, elegant, and mature woman, with a clear sense of pride engraved in her very bones. Her hair was a pale green color, and her olive-green eyes resembled a lush forest. She was quite tall, around one meter eighty, and her body had attributes that stood out even more due to her refined alchemist attire. A badge on her chest clearly indicated that she held a high position within the union.


    Upon entering, she walked gracefully, moving with determination, and sat elegantly in the chair across from Feicui Long. Shortly after, guild assistants entered, pushing a cart filled with various items. Then, in a seductive tone, the woman spoke to Feicui Long and said, "Is there anything you desire? You can ask for it, and I will give it to you¡ªanything. If you pass, I could even make you my personal assistant."


    Feicui Long, as politely as possible, declined the offer and said, "I''m sorry, but I''ve already eaten, and for now, I don''t wish to be fully affiliated with the union."


    In the guilds union of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners-Blacksmiths, there were different types of memberships: secondary members, who held administrative or auxiliary roles¡ªthat is, they were neither alchemists, refiners, nor inscription masters, fully affiliated members, who worked directly for the union with specific privileges and commitments, and standard independent members, who only needed to pass periodic evaluations to maintain their affiliation.


    The evaluator, surprised by two consecutive rejections, then offered Feicui Long something else in the same tone as before: "Oh well, there''s nothing to be done about that. Would you like something to drink instead?"


    Although Feicui Long wanted to refuse, he knew that, out of politeness, he shouldn''t, especially after rejecting two offers outright. It would be almost like spitting in her face, so he said, "Oh, sure, I''d love one. Preferably wine, if possible, of course."


    The evaluator then lit up the room with a dazzling and sweet smile and said, "Of course, whatever you desire. By the way, I haven''t introduced myself, how forgetful of me. My name is Allearys, and I will be your evaluator today. It''s a pleasure that you wish to join the union."


    After this, one of the assistants skillfully poured a glass of wine for each of them, then withdrew after offering a slight bow.


    ¡­


    Once the assistants had left, Allearys spoke gently to Feicui Long, "Here, this is the written part of the exam. Since you applied directly as a beginner alchemist, you will only need to complete the sections that assess your mastery of inscriptions and alchemy. Almost everything related to refining blacksmithing has been omitted, except for some aspects concerning cauldrons, furnaces, and other equipment relevant to alchemy."


    Feicui Long received the exam from Allearys'' soft, silky hands. It looked quite lengthy, and now he understood why it lasted about twelve hours. Still, it seemed like too much time for just two phases. It was the same with the exam fee, it was incredibly cheap. However, he understood why. It was well worth it, considering that the guilds union of mortal races needed many members, particularly in the guilds union of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners Blacksmiths, the guilds union of Summoners, Tamers, Necromancers, and Golem and Puppet Creators, as well as other unions that provided highly useful contributions.


    Although Feicui Long wanted to refuse, he knew that, out of politeness, he shouldn''t, especially after rejecting two offers outright. It would be almost like spitting in her face, so he said, "Oh, sure, I''d love one. Preferably wine, if possible, of course."


    The evaluator then lit up the room with a dazzling and sweet smile and said, "Of course, whatever you desire. By the way, I haven''t introduced myself, how forgetful of me. My name is Allearys, and I will be your evaluator today. It''s a pleasure that you wish to join the union."


    After this, one of the assistants skillfully poured a glass of wine for each of them, then withdrew after offering a slight bow.


    ¡­


    Once the assistants had left, Allearys spoke gently to Feicui Long, "Here, this is the written part of the exam. Since you applied directly as a beginner alchemist, you will only need to complete the sections that assess your mastery of inscriptions and alchemy. Almost everything related to refining blacksmithing has been omitted, except for some aspects concerning cauldrons, furnaces, and other equipment relevant to alchemy."


    Feicui Long received the exam from Allearys'' soft, silky hands. It looked quite lengthy, and now he understood why it lasted about twelve hours. Still, it seemed like too much time for just two phases. It was the same with the exam fee, it was incredibly cheap. However, he understood why. It was well worth it, considering that the guilds union of mortal races needed many members, particularly in the guilds union of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners Blacksmiths, the guilds union of Summoners, Tamers, Necromancers, and Golem and Puppet Creators, as well as other unions that provided highly useful contributions.


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    It wasn''t until the last alchemy question that he left an answer blank. Then, he continued at his usual pace with the inscription section, only for the same thing to happen again with the last two questions. After that, Allearys calmly said to Feicui Long, "For now, I won''t grade these three questions because I want to ask you about the reasoning behind your answers."


    Feicui Long, unsurprised, replied, "Of course, go ahead and ask, Miss Allearys."


    Allearys then began her questioning: "In the last question, it states: ''You need to prepare a Thermal Equilibrium Elixir, but you find yourself in a situation where you don''t have access to the fruit of the Spectral Tree. What auxiliary herb would you use as a substitute?'' The possible answers were: A. Crystal Cyan Herb, B. Seven-Colored Rainbow Fruit, C. Ghost Tree Leaves, D. Colorless Illusory Flower, E. Other plant: ___. Normally, someone would choose an answer from A to D, but you picked E and wrote Silver Spectral Herb. Why?"


    Feicui Long nodded and explained, "The reason the fruit of the Spectral Tree is used is that it is rich in spiritual and soul energy. Moreover, this energy is calm and neutral, meaning it does not conflict with the other ingredients and even helps separate them. The elixir''s preparation requires both fire-element and water-element ingredients. Option A does help separate them, but it is rich in the crystal element, which can interfere with the other ingredients. Option B might seem like a good choice, but it is rich in seven elements, not just light as it might appear. These elements include water and fire, but also wood and metal, all of which can enhance or even amplify conflicts within the medicine."


    He paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. Feicui Long then said, "Option C, although it may seem related to the Spectral Tree, is different in nature. While it is indeed rich in spiritual and soul energy, it also contains traces of undead energy, which is harmful to those who are not undead. Option D is a good choice and would certainly be the correct answer in many cases. However, not only is it even rarer than the fruit of the Spectral Tree, but it is also more expensive and more difficult to obtain due to the highly specific conditions it requires. On the other hand, the Silver Spectral Herb shares all the same characteristics as the Spectral Fruit, but despite what its name might suggest, it does not contain metal-element energy like its counterpart, the Silver Spectral Grass. Additionally, this herb grows like common grass in large quantities. While each strand contains only 25% of the energy of a single fruit, its abundance more than compensates for that. Moreover, its energy is even gentler than that of the fruit. So not only is it the ideal substitute, but I would personally prefer using it over the fruit itself."


    Allearys, slightly surprised, opened her mouth and said, "Huh, that''s interesting. But now that you mention it, I think you''re right. The Silver Spectral Herb might actually be even better than the fruit. Very well, I''ll mark that question as correct."


    Then, pointing at the two remaining unanswered questions, Allearys continued, "But what about these others? For example, in this one, you used this curved resistance rune, while in this other one, you applied various types of seals with similar properties for the capture formation."


    Feicui Long looked over and said, "The first one is simple. There are several resistance runes, each with certain variations that make them better suited for different tasks. In this case, the one they provided is the version used by those who follow the path of Rune Warriors, who inscribe it onto their own bodies. As such, this rune does not have the straight line at the top shown in the example¡ªit has a curve instead. It''s true that this increases the difficulty of inscribing it, but that''s because the straight line greatly limits the rune''s potential. Even if drawn perfectly, it can only exhibit 80% of its power. Here, let me show you."


    Feicui Long picked up the brush dipped in energy beast blood beside him and grabbed one of the blank sheets provided for the exam. He drew the resistance rune four times: one intentionally poorly made, another perfectly executed like the one in the exam, a third with the curve but with intentional errors, and the last one perfectly done with the curve.


    Then, he handed the paper to Allearys and said, "Here, Miss. Try injecting your energy and testing their resistance."


    Allearys first put on a kind of monocle, which was clearly some sort of artifact, and then tested each rune one by one. But when she reached the runes with curves, her eyes widened in shock. "How is this possible? The third rune, despite its errors, has the same potency as the perfect one with the straight line! Not to mention that the last one is even more resistant..."


    Feicui Long smiled softly and continued explaining, "This rune is designed to provide resistance while using a lower energy flow. The upper line is the main conduit through which the resistance rune channels its energy. When drawn as a straight line, it creates corners where the energy collides and dissipates partially. That''s why, even if it''s perfectly drawn, some of the injected energy will always be lost. However, the original and true version of the rune, the one with the curve, doesn''t dissipate its energy because it doesn''t create direct impact points. Instead, it redirects the energy smoothly, distributing it more efficiently and increasing its resistance. So, although drawing a curve in a rune is more difficult, it''s not worth changing it for something that weakens its effectiveness. Of course, if we were using a different type of resistance rune, the situation would be different, some, like those used for fortifications and walls, have multiple energy flow lines."


    Allearys wanted to say something but, in the end, held back and simply gestured for him to continue.


    Feicui Long moved on to the next question. "In this case, I chose to use seals instead, because while different inscriptions can serve the same purpose, some are better suited for certain tasks than others. Seals specialize in sealing, capturing, restraining, immobilizing, or enclosing. Even though the ones I used have similar functions, if we examine them closely, we can see that this ''immobilization'' seal is a purely physical version. In other words, it uses energy to create something that restrains¡ªchains, in this case. That''s why it''s known as a ''binding seal'' or ''chain seal.'' Meanwhile, this other seal is the ''spiritual confinement'' seal, which, as the name suggests, focuses on capturing the individual''s spirit by surrounding and clouding it.


    "This next one, the ''soul prison'' seal, is responsible for suppressing the individual''s soul. Then we have the ''mental dome'' seal, which disrupts the mental realm. These last two are the ''energy dissolution'' and ''energy dissipation'' seals. The first one effectively dissolves the energy that the target accumulates, causing it to scatter, but traces of it still remain. The variation of the second one that I used not only does the same but also assists in dispersing those residual traces. Many make the mistake of using only one, which eventually leads to those small fragments recombining.


    "If you look carefully, the formation is designed so that even if the trapped individual manages to break one of the restrictions, they will still remain inside the formation, with no possibility of escape."


    After finishing, Feicui Long took a long breath, as he had almost run out of air.


    ...


    This time, Allearys didn''t outwardly show surprise, but inside, she was practically in shock. She wasn''t someone who was easily astonished, yet today, she had received an overwhelming amount of surprising information from someone so young. Interestingly, though, she was more shaken by the previous explanation than by the formation itself.


    In the world of inscriptions, achieving any kind of inscription or formation with perfection was extraordinarily difficult. So much so that even most true inscription masters couldn''t accomplish it in their lifetime. The vast majority of inscription masters were unable to inscribe any type of inscription flawlessly, no matter what it was. Only after years of effort and dedication could they perfect one, two, or three runes or another type of inscription and even then, executing them perfectly remained a challenge. Those who could do so with ease were exceedingly rare.


    But as if that weren''t enough, all of this was done using the most standard method of inscription: engraving. This meant that lines had to be carved with depth. For this reason, runic warriors and certain cultivation paths were considered masochistic, as they had to etch inscriptions directly into their bodies. This method might seem more difficult, and certainly would be if done with tools, but in reality, it was performed using the cultivator''s energy, or rather, the inscription master''s energy. This made the process easier since mastering the pure manipulation of one''s own energy was far more intuitive.


    On the other hand, using external tools such as brushes, quills, or even modern artifacts that required blood or other materials added three additional factors into the equation, the surface, the tool itself, and the substance used within it, on top of managing one''s energy.


    This made the process far more challenging, requiring much greater effort to perfect inscriptions using non-traditional methods. Given this, the already rare inscription masters capable of creating perfect inscriptions with ease became even rarer if they could do so just as effortlessly with alternative methods. Furthermore, the more types of inscriptions one could execute flawlessly, the more exceptional they were.


    That was why seeing someone as young as Feicui Long accomplish this with such ease left Allearys completely stunned.


    To put things into perspective, among the 700 million inhabitants of the Habsburg Empire, only 500,000 were pure inscription masters. Of these, a mere 50,000 had perfected inscriptions. Among them, only 500 could inscribe with true ease. However, just 50 achieved similar results using alternative methods, and half of them had only mastered three runes. The remaining few, capable of working with multiple runes, held high-ranking positions, and their abilities were scarcely documented.


    With just the two variations of the resistance rune, Feicui Long already possessed two perfect inscriptions. However, upon reviewing his work using the evaluation artifact gifted by the guilds union of, Allearys confirmed something even more astonishing, the seals within the formation were also flawless.


    This raised his count to nine perfect inscriptions.


    This young man had already secured a place among the top 25 inscription masters of the empire, an almost unimaginable feat for someone his age.


    Feicui Long''s talent was simply overwhelming. Most distinguished masters were elderly figures who had spent decades perfecting their craft, and comparing him to them placed his skill at an astronomical level.


    Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Allearys finally broke the silence,


    "Why? I don''t understand why someone with your talent wants to be an alchemist. But what I truly wish to know is, who are you, Feicui Long? A young man like you, with such advanced skills¡­ you cannot be an ordinary person."


    Feicui Long, with unshakable calm, responded,


    "Because I don''t want to put myself in danger, miss. Do you know what happens to people without backing who possess extensive knowledge of inscriptions? It''s true that the guilds union of could protect me, but outside these walls, when one must venture into wild territories, the outcome would be anything but pleasant. Besides, I don''t wish to draw too much attention. I''d rather follow my path as an alchemist while pursuing other goals."


    He paused briefly, letting his words sink in before continuing,


    "And if I were to join the guilds union of and stand out as an inscription master¡­ well, the fate of this empire would not be a sight to behold."


    For a moment, his gaze hardened, as if assessing how much more he should reveal. Finally, he added in an enigmatic tone,


    "As for who I am¡­ there are things better left unknown, for your safety and that of this empire."


    Allearys, though her expression carried a hint of sadness, replied,


    "I understand. Well, at least you''ll be joining as an alchemist. For now, you can rest, your lunch will be brought to you. After that, I''ll return with the ingredients for the practical test."

 Chapter 10 - The Beginner Alchemist Exam - 2

    Allearys left the evaluation room and headed straight to her office. At first, she had only wanted to see if she could make this handsome young man, whom the receptionist had informed her wanted to join, her personal assistant. But she hadn''t expected him to be so talented and well-mannered. Now, she wanted to learn more about him and find a way to make him join her. That was why she intended to investigate a little about him and figure out how to convince him.


    She herself was very talented. Although she was not originally from the Habsburg Empire and had emigrated here to experience the hardships of the world from a much more powerful nation, she had been able to use her talent to rise as high as the second in command of the alchemy branch. She was currently the successor to the position of lead alchemist, as the current leader was being transferred to the capital. And this position was no small matter, since the city of Vienna was the second largest and most important city after the capital, Madrid.


    She didn''t believe anyone would dare do anything to her or to the person she wanted to protect. It would be mutually beneficial for the two of them, they could help each other a little. And when she returned to her country, she would have even more to boast about to her peers.


    ¡­


    As soon as she entered her office, she sat in front of her desk and injected energy into something resembling a stone with strange symbols, which projected an image and something similar to a keyboard.


    Curiously, although it might seem so, this artifact had not been produced by a civilization that followed the path of techno-energetics. The union itself was a follower of the path of pure energy, but since the union had members who did follow the techno-energetic path, it inevitably influenced the appearance of modern artifacts. In the case of this artifact, it was called an Energetic Information Station, or by its acronym, EIS. However, the version she used was the personal and portable one, called the Portable Personal Energetic Information Station, or PPEIS. It functioned through a series of successive formations that she neither understood nor expected to understand, as their creation was an absolute secret. They were also excessively expensive, with the cheapest costing 100 energy crystals, while the most advanced ones, connected to the union''s energetic network, cost 10,000 crystals. Hers was special since she had privileges due to her position in the Union of Mortal Races and the Union of Inscription Masters, Alchemists, and Refiners-Blacksmiths.


    It was a very useful tool for verifying union information. That was why she had come here¡ªit was the most reliable way to find what she was looking for without involving anyone else. Allearys then entered her UMIARH identification and began her search.


    At that moment, a projected image displayed:


    "Feicui Long ¨C Age: 25 years ¨C Sex: Male ¨C Nationality or Affiliation: Habsburg Empire ¨C Strength Rank: Intermediate potency or intermediate-level forcePlace of Residence: Vienna ¨C Date of Birth: Day: 7 ¨C Month: 7 ¨C Year: 35,777Place of Birth: Madrid, Habsburg Empire ¨C Parents: Status unknown"


    Allearys read the information and frowned. It seemed to only be showing Feicui Long''s identification card, which she had already seen and knew the details of beforehand. But she was well aware that this information was most likely fake. While the union''s card was nearly impossible to forge, the one issued by the union itself was different from the one given to member forces, which were handled by those forces directly. That meant it was indeed possible to falsify, and in fact, it was common for people to buy nationalities.


    Knowing this and feeling unsatisfied, she tried something else. She accessed the union''s direct information database and entered the name Feicui Long.


    It didn''t take long for multiple results to appear, but thanks to the artifact''s spirit, a gift from her parents, she was able to quickly filter the results within the union''s PPEIS. There were three results. The first was the one she had already seen. The second was from a nation located on the thirteenth continent, the Continent of Rainy Purple Clouds, but its information was also very similar to the first.


    Then she tried the third one, but a message appeared:


    "You do not have the required permissions to view this information. Please stop attempting to access it, or if you believe this is an error, try using your identification again."


    Allearys raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but she quickly entered her other identification, the one from the Union of Mortal Races. Soon, the projector loaded an image and then displayed a series of messages:


    "Identification successful. Permissions confirmed. Access granted."


    Faced with her, a completely new set of information appeared:Name: Feicui Long - Age: 25 years - Sex: Male - Date of Birth: Day: 7 - Month: 7 - Year: 35,777Nationality or Affiliation: The Sanctuary of All Races - Force Rank: Superpower.Parents: Mother: Alexandra Migarovich, from the Migarovich House - Ruthenia - Force Rank: Superior Potency or high-level strength, Father: ????? - insufficient permissions.Place of Birth: Island - Paradise of All Races - Temple of the Sanctuary.Status: Alive - Affiliation Status: Exiled on Day: 8 - Month: 6 - Year: 35,792.


    Allearys was astonished as if she could not believe what she was seeing: How was it possible for a young man of superpower to end up in such a weak and poor continent? But more importantly, the Paradise Island of All Races is located in the core continent, so if he was exiled, how did he arrive at only 15 years old? The intrigue was so great that she sought more information about the force called The Sanctuary of All Races.


    ...


    A few hours passed, and Feicui Long had finished his lunch and had been preparing for the practical part, as he did not feel confident without the support of the formation, but he hoped to create supreme-grade second-degree medicines.


    Then, the door opened softly. Entering elegantly and with gentle steps was the evaluator Allearys. With her came the UMIARH assistants once again, carrying several boxes with sets of assorted herbs and other various materials. This was because, to advance in alchemy ranks within the classification system also established in the Absolute Treaty, just like the other two, the mastery of inscriptions and refining-smithing, one must master a certain number of medicines and be able to produce them with a success rate no lower than 95%. At least, that was the requirement for the initial levels. The higher one advanced in rank, the stricter the requirements would become. That was why there were so many boxes filled with herbs and materials.


    Allearys nodded to the assistants and asked them to leave. The room quickly became empty, and the door closed, leaving only her and Feicui Long inside.


    Allearys opened her mouth to break the uncomfortable silence that was beginning to form and said, "Well, I hope you enjoyed your meal. I would have loved to accompany you so we could enjoy it together, but unfortunately, I had something to take care of during that time. Shall we begin?"


    Feicui Long nodded seriously and took the first of the boxes. The first alchemical preparations were simple, as they were the five basic medicines: Blood Restoration Pill, Bone Recovery Pill, Healing Potion, Healing Pill, and Energy Recovery Pill. It might seem strange that there were two types of healing medicines, but each offered different benefits and advantages. Moreover, each had a different preparation process and distinct steps, so they were considered separate preparations despite possibly being seen as different formats of the same concept.


    He then began a careful preparation process with great attention to detail. He cut, ground, and crushed the ingredients, then added them into the furnace, alone, with water, or with beast blood. Afterward, he proceeded to cast the inscriptions with his hands, from which runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, and sigils flew, creating a beautiful spectacle with a certain touch of elegance. All of this was done without delay. Feicui Long knew that his weakness was his weak cultivation and, therefore, his small energy reserve, so he had to work quickly and efficiently, never letting his focus slip for even a second.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Soon, the first batch of medicines emerged from the alchemy furnace: second-grade, mortal-quality supreme-rank Healing Pills. It didn''t take long for the next ones to be completed, all of the same quality. Finally, the potion emerged like a flowing river, which Feicui Long guided into a bottle, also of the same quality.


    After finishing this part, he took three Energy Recovery Pills and adjusted his mental state. Meanwhile, Allearys took the prepared medicines and placed them in a large box carefully designed to preserve medicines for a longer time.


    Feicui Long continued with the process. This time, he wouldn''t make them all at once. He had to make the remaining 20 one by one. Although it would take longer and consume more energy, he didn''t want to risk losing too much quality. He repeated the entire process for each herb and material with extreme care, and little by little, the different alchemical preparations emerged until only the final and most difficult one remained.


    But Feicui Long was already exhausted. Even though he had been taking Energy Recovery Pills, Mental Recovery Pills, and Spiritual Recovery Pills, the energy consumption for his weak cultivation was too much, and he was starting to feel the effects of overexertion. As he prepared the last one in the furnace, he felt he was about to fail and wouldn''t be able to keep feeding energy to the furnace much longer. He had to act immediately. He gritted his teeth and, with great determination, muttered to himself in a low voice, "It''s all or nothing. I''ll use the rune even though I didn''t want to."


    With that, he formed a special rune with his hands and threw it directly at the pill that was struggling to take shape. The rune immediately shone with a brilliant light and an incredibly imposing aura. It radiated pure power, completely suppressing the energy of the rebellious pill, compressing it, and forcing it to take form.


    Allearys noticed this and opened her mouth in shock upon seeing it, but Feicui Long had no time to waste. He took the pill and placed it in the box with extreme care.


    ¡­


    Then the moment arrived. Allearys, still very surprised, began evaluating the quality of the alchemical preparations and announced them aloud to Feicui Long. "There are seven of second grade, supreme rank, advanced level; nine of second grade, superior rank, advanced level; eight of second grade, high rank, advanced level..."


    When she reached the last one, she paused for a moment and examined it in great detail. Although she hadn''t been born with a special ability like Feicui Long''s Third Eye, she had learned her own technique for evaluation. However, at that moment, she doubted what she was seeing. Before her eyes, the name appeared: "Mastodontic Strength Pill ¨C Second Grade ¨C Transcendence Rank ¨C Advanced Level."


    It was well known that the classification of the "Absolute Treatise" consisted of seven ranks, but in reality, there were a total of ten, seven normal and three special ones: semi-perfection, perfection, and transcendence. These last ones were exceptional, as one didn''t progress to them in a linear fashion. Normally, upon reaching supreme rank, advanced level, one would move directly to the next grade. Only a few alchemists, refiner-smiths, or inscription masters managed to reach the special ranks, as advancing even a single level required a monumental effort.


    Curiously, creations in the semi-perfection rank were equivalent to or even superior in potency and effectiveness to the mortal rank of the next grade. Similarly, the ranks of perfection and transcendence far surpassed even the low rank of the superior grade.


    That was why Allearys doubted her vision, but she still had to announce the result to Feicui Long: "The last one is Second Grade, Transcendence Rank, Advanced Level."


    Feicui Long was not surprised. He knew what would happen if he used one of his own inscriptions, those designed by him. He hadn''t wanted to use them to avoid revealing his identity, but he had no choice. He couldn''t fail the exam.


    Allearys had an insatiable curiosity. She wanted to know which inscription he had used, but she felt she couldn''t ask him directly. She herself was capable of reaching the special ranks, but only in two or three alchemical preparations, and the highest she had ever achieved was perfection. If she could obtain that inscription, she might not even have to wait for the branch leader to retire to claim his position. She could even ascend to the capital''s branch.


    So she tried to discreetly look at the inscription. At first glance, she could tell it was an incredibly complex rune, but before she realized it, she was immersed in a different world. She saw a dragon, an emerald dragon. Just by looking at it, she could feel the power emanating from it, a raw and pure power, an unrivaled force capable of devastating everything in its path, capable of piercing and shattering all, capable of suppressing everything in existence. At some point, she noticed that the dragon had become aware of her presence and was looking directly into her eyes.


    Its eyes, its incredible eyes, held a golden clock where time flowed, set against an emerald background that radiated the same overwhelming power she had felt, along with a vast amethyst streak that looked like a great rift in space. It was a sight that was beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring, and terrifying all at once.


    Just as she felt she was about to lose herself in those mesmerizing eyes, Feicui Long noticed the seemingly vacant gaze with which the evaluator was observing his rune. Without hesitation, he stepped to her side and gently moved her shoulder.


    Allearys snapped out of it in shock, and Feicui Long gave her a kind smile as he asked, "Are you alright, Miss Allearys? I was wondering about my final score and whether I passed the full exam."


    Allearys, slightly embarrassed and with flushed cheeks from the situation, and from having Feicui Long so close, smiled softly and replied, "Oh, yes, you passed with the highest score. I''ll make sure you receive an extra reward for achieving it in this manner¡­"


    Feicui Long, surprised by Allearys'' sudden tenderness and beauty, couldn''t help but give her a genuine compliment for the first time: "You look very beautiful when you''re embarrassed."


    Allearys, upon hearing him, blushed even more. She tried to ignore her embarrassment and said, "Are you sure you don''t want to join me as my assistant?"


    Feicui Long slightly shook his head. "No, miss. I already explained that I can''t¡­"


    Allearys sighed and replied, "I know that the Sanctuary of All Races is very strict. Everyone who has been exiled has had a horrible life. They are not allowed to stand out, and the members do everything possible to keep them unhappy and from excelling. But they couldn''t do anything to me, Feicui Long."


    Feicui Long, quite surprised at how Allearys knew about his place of origin, tried to speak, but she interrupted him before he could say anything: "I understand your concerns. I know that the sanctuary is very tyrannical and that when something bothers them, they undo everything with almost no consequences, especially if it concerns exiles under their rules. I also understand that you fear their strength; it is a superpower-ranked force, one of the strongest within that category, with 9 platinum stars. It''s even a direct subordinate of a supreme-ranked force. But you don''t have to worry about me. Although it may not seem like it, I belong to the Great Divine Forest of Life and am a descendant of the Goddess of the Forest of Life."


    Allearys paused and then continued: "I know that maybe you don''t know about it, since it is a much lower-ranked force, a major power or high-ranked force. However, it is one of the direct subordinate forces of the Great Empire Dracoaeternia, the number one supreme power and leader of the union. The Forest of Life may be a small nation, but its value to the Empire Dracoaeternia is immeasurable. In fact, not even the high nobles have the same power or influence as the descendants of the Goddess of the Forest of Life. That''s why, even if they are tyrannical and despotic, they wouldn''t dare to touch a direct descendant like me."


    Feicui Long sighed before responding: "Miss, I understand that they wouldn''t do anything to you or the union, but who says they wouldn''t do anything to this empire? I suppose you''ve investigated the sanctuary, right? If so, you know how the sanctuary members handle these matters. If they can''t do anything to you, they''re capable of declaring war on an empire and crushing it to the ground just to prevent an exile from being happy or achieving success. To them, exiles should be content to live in hiding, never standing out. They won''t do anything to me directly due to orders from the sanctuary master, but to you? No. However, all those innocent people don''t deserve to be caught up in this."


    Allearys replied, "But your talent... someone with your talent shouldn''t have to live in the shadows because of some bastards. Just look at your skill in inscriptions and alchemy, you''re a genius among geniuses..."


    Feicui Long laughed a little, ''Hahahaha,'' and explained, "I''m very glad you consider me a genius among geniuses, and I certainly have some talent in inscriptions, but my talent in alchemy isn''t all that great."


    Allearys retorted, "You don''t have to act so humble, your alchemy skills are very good. They may be lower than your inscription skills, but they are still top-notch."


    Feicui Long said, "I''m not being humble, miss. It''s just that if you have all the time in the universe, even a fool can become a master."


    Allearys, resigned, simply sighed heavily, ''siiiight,'' and said, "I understand, then I won''t insist anymore. But I''d like to ask you two things: what do you plan to do after this, and second, why did the sanctuary master make an exception for you? As far as I understand, while the sanctuary directly harasses exiles, it doesn''t give the orders, nor does it prevent its members from behaving that way. But for some reason, as you said, you''re an exception to the rule. Could you tell me, please?"


    Upon hearing this, a memory surfaced in Feicui Long''s mind, a memory from fifteen years ago...

 Chapter 11 – The Beginner Alchemist Exam– 3

    The young Feicui Long was kneeling, trembling with his head lowered, yet still able to see what was happening around him. He was surrounded by a large number of people in front of a grand throne that stood at the back of the hall.


    Many people looked at him with disdain and mockery, many others with indifference, and a few with a certain sorrow, pity, and kindness.


    An imposing figure stared at him, emanating an overwhelming and extremely powerful aura. He looked at Feicui Long for a moment before speaking: "Feicui Long, you know why you''re here, don''t you?"


    Feicui Long, with a trembling voice, spoke and timidly responded: "Yes, sa-sanctuary master."


    The figure nodded and continued his speech: "According to the sanctuary''s rules, everyone must be useful for the ultimate purpose of this sanctuary. For the sake of the mortal races, the sanctuary must protect paradise. To achieve this, everyone must have the capability to do so. The sanctuary has no place for the weak and useless, even less for those who are incapable of awakening the gift granted to them by the ancient pact."


    Hearing this, Feicui Long couldn''t help but tremble even more.


    But the figure pretended not to notice and continued: "That is why, Feicui Long"¡ªhe momentarily interrupted his speech to whisper in a low voice, though he knew that everyone in the hall would hear due to their high cultivation¡ª"my son..." "that, following the sanctuary''s rules, here and now, I exile you from the sanctuary. You will be allowed to take your most precious belongings and be given enough money to start a new life far from these lands. Additionally, you will be assisted in obtaining citizenship in a weak nation."


    Then the person seated on the throne stood up and spoke again, this time in a more serious tone: "This last part is not only for Feicui Long but for everyone present here, regardless of their rank or power, and even for those belonging to the sanctuary who are not present. Nothing and no one is absolutely forbidden from interfering with Feicui Long''s life, whether for better or worse. Therefore, you must sign this contract stating that neither you nor any other member shall interfere in Feicui Long''s life, not even people close to you or those who do not belong to the sanctuary."


    After this, a series of lights appeared. These were the contracts he spoke of, floating in front of everyone''s faces. The sanctuary master then gave an order: "The sanctuary guard will ensure that you all sign the contract."


    At that moment, a man who had been standing discreetly to the left of the throne stepped forward, releasing an aura, not as powerful as the master''s, but still intimidating enough to suppress everyone. Then, the man shouted loudly: "You all heard the sanctuary master! Those who disobey his orders will face the full wrath of the guard!"


    Following this, several figures emerged from the crowd, each deliberately releasing their aura.


    The crowd quickly rushed to sign the contract. The sanctuary master was an unpredictable person, but when it came time to act, he would not hesitate for even a second, regardless of one''s role in the sanctuary.


    Once everyone had signed, the sanctuary master spoke again: "Good. Now, Feicui Long, member of the sanctuary, no, Feicui Long, my son, I will grant you one last and greatest gift from me. I will allow you to bear the surname of the Feicui clan."


    After these words were spoken, the crowd fell into a deathly silence, almost as if they couldn''t process what had just been said.


    It was then that a vigorous elder stepped out from the crowd and said: "Sanctuary master, I can respect your decision that we are not to interfere in the exile''s life, but allowing him to keep the surname of the glorious Feicui clan!? That goes against the core rules!"


    The sanctuary master, who had already anticipated this reaction, responded: "Pfff, Supreme Sage Azmudin Azim Demir, I understand you are concerned about the rules, so let''s have the scribe of the Golden Hand, Ananya Rathi, refresh your memory on the rules."


    Following this, a beautiful woman with a caramel-colored skin tone, large proportions, and bright yellow eyes, who had been on the right of the sanctuary master and whom everyone seemed to have not noticed until now, stepped out from the side.


    The woman, named Ananya Rathi, spoke in a soft and gentle voice: "Oh, Supreme Sage Azim, please allow me to remind you of the rules." She accompanied her words with a slight bow, modest, polite, and refined.


    She then took out a beautifully adorned and carefully preserved book. She opened it delicately and began to read: "In the sanctuary, there is an established regulation based on ten core rules, which determine the functioning of the sanctuary, founded and created according to the pact of the Feicui clan with the former lord of the paradise of all races. This pact allowed the Feicui clan to extend the grace of the agreement to any member of the mortal races who joined the sanctuary..."


    Although everyone in the room had heard this story thousands of times, no one dared to interrupt the Golden Hand scribe. Her great power, derived from her contracted creature and the support of her twin sister, along with her influence and good relationships with many important figures, commanded a respect that no one dared to question.


    Ananya Rathi stopped her explanation and smiled with a sweet smile, before speaking again: "Sorry, I don''t want to bore you with the story you''ve all heard before."


    She cleared her throat slightly and said, "So I''ll get straight to the point. The core rules establish everything most important for the sanctuary. Among them, we have rule number one: The orders of the current leader of the Feicui clan will always take the highest priority, even having the power to override or modify any rule, norm, or law within the clan, including the core rules, with only five exceptions: rule number one itself, rule number three, rule number five, rule number seven, and rule number nine. To modify or override these, they must be discussed and approved by the council of supreme sages, with the approval of the sanctuary master in case the leader has not chosen to be the sanctuary master himself and has instead opted to appoint someone from within the clan or externally, provided they have undergone the sacred ceremony and agreed to sign the contract of absolute loyalty. In addition to these, those who hold a supreme rank, namely supreme ancestors, supreme elders, and supreme guardians within the Feicui clan, also have the power to vote and decide."


    Ananya Rathi finished reading rule number one and then looked at Supreme Sage Azim with a very sweet smile before saying, "As we can see, Supreme Sage Azim, rule number one only establishes five exceptions, none of which include the core rule you mentioned, since the rule you''re referring to is rule number ten: Any person who is unable to fulfill the pact, whether due to lacking sufficient power or because their contracted creature is not strong enough or has not awakened, must leave the island in exile. They will be allowed to take their contracted creature and their most cherished possessions, as well as be granted a sum of money to rebuild their life. Additionally, they must sever all ties with the sanctuary. If the person belongs to the Feicui clan, they must, in addition to all of the above, renounce their surname and their connection to the Feicui clan''s bloodline."


    Ananya Rathi struck with full force, giving Supreme Sage Azim no room to breathe: "So the sanctuary master has not broken any rule, on the contrary, Supreme Sage Azim, by opposing this, you may be violating one."


    The crowd, which had been listening to Ananya''s reading in silence, began to debate noisily, casting glances at both Ananya and Supreme Sage Azim. He had been acting powerfully before, but when Ananya had started giving him a lesson on the rules, he had shown irritation. Now, his expression had darkened, and he was just about to respond when...


    A loud, clear laugh echoed: "HAHAHAHAHA!", a mix of ominous and sinister tones, filled with obvious disdain and mockery, coming from the back entrance of the hall. Upon hearing it, the entire crowd fell into a deadly silence. Supreme Sage Azim, who was about to speak first, was left speechless, his mouth hanging open. His previously irritated expression had shifted to one of fear and deep concern.


    From the doorway emerged another incredibly beautiful dark-skinned woman, her features identical to Ananya''s, with only one difference, her eyes were violet. This stunning woman spoke in a cold and arrogant tone, saying, "I believe I just heard that some idiot challenged the orders of the Feicui clan leader, but I''d like to think no one is foolish enough to try breaking the sanctuary''s rules in front of me, right?"


    Overwhelmed by fear, Supreme Sage Azim began to stammer as he uttered the woman''s title and name: "T-the l-l-leader of the H-hall of Judgment, Ka-Kaushini Malhotra? What are you doing here!?"


    The young Feicui Long glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but he couldn''t help feeling a shiver run down his spine. Kaushini Malhotra, known as the Silver Hand Executioner, was the twin sister of the Golden Hand Scribe. However, despite sharing the same blood, she bore a different surname.


    This was due to an incident years ago: the current leader of the Rathi family had killed the heir of the Kaushini family, one of the most powerful martial houses in the sanctuary, in a practice duel. Although the Rathi family held similar power, they weren''t willing to risk an open war, especially with their leader at the time weakened by illness and the heir too immature to take charge.


    As a means of reconciliation, they offered one of the twin daughters, who were the current leader''s own children, as an adopted daughter to the Kaushini family. Thus, Kaushini was raised in a completely different environment, which shaped her into the opposite of her sister. While Ananya was kind, sweet, and intelligent, Kaushini was instead harsh, cold, and calculating.


    Kaushini Malhotra stepped forward toward Supreme Sage Azim with firm steps. When she stood before him, she spoke with a voice filled with contempt:"Eh, it seems that the Supreme Sage has become too arrogant. No, maybe the Supreme Sages'' Council has given him the courage to try to challenge the Feicui Clan. Perhaps we should bring the Hall of Justice to the council, crush it to the ground, and rebuild it from scratch. Don''t you think that would be fair for the rebels who break the rules, Supreme Sage Abraham Friedman?"


    At the mention of his name, another Supreme Sage, who had remained impassive with his eyes closed, opened them with serenity. With a calm and firm tone, he replied:"If the Hall of Justice determines that the council has committed treason, so be it. This elder will personally accept the condemnatory judgment against the branch that this elder presides over."


    Kaushini, seeing that the leader of the council did not respond to her provocations, simply let out a laugh and turned her attention back to Azim. Bringing her beautiful face close to his ear, she whispered:"Well, Supreme Sage Azim, will you admit that you committed an offense, or will you accept the punishment instead?"


    Although she had spoken in the softest voice of all, everyone here could hear her. Many paled and felt some pity for the old Azim.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Supreme Sage Azim, still numb with fear, said in a lifeless, low voice:"I... I''m sorry, Sanctuary Master, please forgive this sinful elder."


    Kaushini, with a smile that was not a smile, was about to say something to the old man, but then the Sanctuary Master nodded and spoke:"Alright, Kaushini, stop intimidating the old man. With this, I conclude this meeting. You must take the contracts to the subordinates and have them sign them; otherwise, the contract will activate, and they will die a horrible death, you and your descendants."


    When the Sanctuary Master turned around to leave through the back door, Feicui Long, who had been kneeling, finally stood up and shouted with all his might:"Sanctuary Master, no, Father! I would like to make one last request as your son. I, Feicui Long, beg you!"


    Kaushini, who had turned to leave with the leader, turned back, releasing her terrifying aura, and shouted:"Insolent! You are just an exile, and you dare to ask for something!"


    The master stopped abruptly and, with a single hand, blocked all of Kaushini''s aura. He glanced sideways at Feicui Long and said:"Go ahead, but make it quick."


    Feicui Long, who had not hesitated for a second despite Kaushini''s shout, spoke hurriedly:"I... I want to see my mother one last time and say goodbye to her..."


    The master then nodded:"Alright, I grant it. I will tell Huo Baoshi to pick you up and take you to see her."


    ...


    Then it was the turn of the evaluator, Allearys, who had seen how Feicui Long got lost in the memories of this life before awakening his past memories, so she had to move him to make him react.


    Feicui Long, who suddenly woke up, felt a little embarrassed and replied:"To be honest with you, Miss Allearys, I don''t know. The Sanctuary Master is an unpredictable person; you never know when or why he would change his mind."


    Allearys then said:"I understand. I suppose it''s difficult to know what someone of that level is thinking."


    Feicui Long nodded and told her:"As for where I learned this rune, it was in the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time. You can go learn it if you want; it will be in the middle of the central statue."


    Allearys, who thought she wouldn''t get an answer, was surprised and said:"But if it''s the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, I don''t think I can go learn it without being his devotee, let alone obtain permission to do so."


    Feicui Long shook his head:"What is it that you desire, Miss? Power? Strength? Or is it something else? The Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time does not punish those who acquire power or strength through their own means, and that teaching is passed on to his believers. If you are able to learn it by yourself while you are there, you will be able to use it for yourself, and they won''t cause you any trouble. But if you try to seize it or cheat, they won''t allow it."


    Allearys, surprised: "How are you so sure about that? Are you a believer, perhaps?"


    Feicui Long, almost laughing, said: "No, I''m just someone a little curious."


    Allearys, although a bit doubtful, simply accepted his explanation and said: "Very well, congratulations, Feicui Long, you passed with a perfect score. An assistant will come to take you to get your membership card."


    Feicui Long, feeling a little embarrassed, looked at her and asked in a low voice: "Uh¡­ Miss Allearys, could I take the leftover alchemy materials?"


    Allearys, a little surprised, let out a laugh, ''Hahahaha,'' and said cheerfully: "Of course you can. Anyway, these ingredients could no longer be used to make high-quality pills or would just be thrown at practitioners to waste. Take them all if you wish, even the preservation boxes. Consider it a gift from me."


    Feicui Long, with a bright smile, thanked her: "Thank you very much, Miss Allearys."


    ¡­


    Soon, he was taken to a room with a very peculiar artifact at the back. The assistant accompanying him asked him to wait, then approached the artifact and proceeded to enter all the information. Meanwhile, Feicui Long analyzed part of what he knew about how these identification cards are produced.


    According to the information he had gathered, they are created by a series of secret workshops, which have different ranks and classifications. As far as he knew, they were classified as low-risk secret workshop, medium-risk secret workshop, high-risk secret workshop. Then there were ultra-secret workshop, mega-secret workshop, super-secret workshop, and forbidden workshop. They all had sub-classifications that were practically confidential, but some were not. For example, super-secret workshops had a sub-classification that was the highest one, called semi-forbidden workshops.


    These workshops are very special since they are responsible for creating several very important things for the union, even being of vital importance, such as these identification cards, which are created in forbidden workshops. Each category is more confidential and, as its name implies, more "secret," adopting increasingly extreme measures to hide their location and members, as well as the knowledge they harbor. For example, while low-risk secret workshops are in plain sight and can be located, it is impossible to know what they hide or the knowledge they contain. In contrast, the forbidden ones¡ªalmost no one knows their location or if they exist within a pocket dimension.


    The way confidentiality is protected in these workshops is extremely radical. All members must sign binding contracts sealed with the 4 supreme seals, one of which he had previously used. Depending on the workshop''s category, the type and content of the contract vary, with the highest-ranking contracts being practically modified slavery agreements. For this reason, joining these workshops requires not only unwavering loyalty or an insatiable thirst for knowledge but also exceptional talent.


    The people who sign these contracts are completely bound: they will never be able to speak about the workshop, not even under torture or threat of death. Furthermore, the contract protects their soul, making its review impossible. Although having a family is not prohibited, there is the condition that they must move into the workshop with the member and sign the same contract. If someone decides to resign, their mind and soul will be completely erased of any knowledge related to the workshop, permanently. Although theoretically, there might be some extremely advanced technique to overcome this protection, he doubted that such methods were within reach in the current state of this world.


    The level of secrecy reaches its peak in the forbidden workshops. These specialize exclusively in a very limited number of tasks. For example, the nationality cards of the union are created only in Forbidden Workshop No. 1, while the UMIARH cards are produced in Workshop No. 3. Each card, depending on the union, is manufactured in a different workshop.


    Saying that almost no one knows the location of these workshops would be an understatement. According to the documents he had consulted, only the founder and her direct subordinates knew the exact locations. Moreover, these subordinates were bound by contracts even more drastic than those of the forbidden workshops themselves, barely modified slavery agreements, which in practice made them absolute slaves. In real terms, the only person with full freedom was the founder. Not even the supreme council of 75 members, nor the current leader of the union, knew where the workshops were located.


    Finally, the products manufactured in the workshops were not transported by conventional means. Instead, teleportation stations were used, like the one he had right in front of him at that moment.¡­While Feicui Long internally meditated on the greatest secrets of the union, the assistant had finally finished everything and said: "Mr. Feicui Long, you can collect everything here from the station. You may check it, including the gifts for becoming a beginner alchemist and the reward for achieving the highest score."


    Feicui Long, emerging from his internal thoughts, approached the station and picked up his new membership card. At the same time, he took the opportunity to examine the station and its inscriptions. With a single glance, he could notice the slight spatial fluctuations. Although he was still far from recovering his powers, his familiarity with space, time, and dragon energy allowed him to clearly identify them.


    Then he took a look at the gift. Apparently, it was a storage bag. As he knew, everyone was given one with a starter kit containing various things as a gift. The special thing was that this bag was clearly of higher quality than the normal ones. Although it was not very elegant, he could see the quality of the materials used and the inscriptions, with a clearly identifiable UMIARH symbol. Inside, it contained everything a kit would be expected to have - some herbs, all kinds of tools, books with recipes and alchemy materials, among other things - as well as energy stones, money, and more. But the surprising thing was that there were 35 energy crystals, 5 energy stone essences, and most impressively, an energy stone core.


    The assistant, seeing his happy expression, smiled and said, "Some things, like a few sets of tools and particularly 15 of the energy crystals, 4 of the energy stone essences, and the energy stone core, were added for achieving the highest score. The union values talent, which is why it expresses its greatest congratulations. Additionally, take this. This grants you an extra 20% discount, added to the 10% for being a direct member. We hope you continue advancing in the ranks, Mr. Feicui Long."


    Feicui Long sincerely expressed his gratitude, collected his belongings, and left the union....


    On the way to the next union, Feicui Long was very happy because there are several things that gather energy and can be used for cultivation, but the most common ones in all existence and the most widely used are only nine. These are divided into three groups, which can be classified and vary in quality according to the classification already established in the absolute treaty.


    These three groups are, respectively, energy stones, energy crystals, and energy essences. They are further subdivided into three subtypes. Energy stones are divided into the energy stones themselves, energy stone essence, and energy stone cores, while crystals are divided into energy crystals, energy crystal essence, and energy crystal cores. Lastly, energy essences are divided into energy essence, energy essence core, and the last one is somewhat special because it has many special forms. The most common of these forms are four, energy heart, energy soul, energy spirit, and energy mind, but there are also rarer ones depending on the type of energy. For example, dragon energy has several, one of them being the dragon nascent soul. Each one has unique characteristics and abilities, even the four "common" ones.


    Now, the reason for his happiness had to do with how each of these worked. Even though it might seem that, according to their grouping and subgroup, the improvement is purely linear, that is not the case. Unlike the quality improvement, which is quite linear, the improvement in grouping does not work that way, at least in general terms. What happens is that while the ones in the crystal group are indeed better than the stones, this is only in certain areas.


    But if we look at it, stones contain a greater total amount of energy and are capable of storing more, plus they do so faster and more efficiently. So, the reason crystals are rarer and more valuable is because of the purity of their energy, its quality, and the concentration of their respective laws. The same happens with essence and crystals - essence contains less energy than a crystal, but it is even purer, and its concentration of laws is very high. That is precisely why it is called "energy essence."


    But if we also look, for example, at the case of energy stone essence, which has purity, energy quality, and law concentration comparable to an energy crystal of the same quality grade, then an energy stone core is equivalent to an energy crystal essence. Interestingly, an energy stone essence is rarer in an energy vein than an energy crystal, and the same applies to the core and the crystal essence.


    In the end, all of this may not seem like much, but it shows that there is simply no linearity, and therefore, in some cases, it is better to use one or the other, as each thing has a different use. In the case of energy stone cores, their value lies in their great storage capacity, absorption speed, and efficiency. Meanwhile, crystals are more useful for filtering and selecting energy, because although the term energy stone, crystal, or others is very generic, there are thousands and hundreds of types of energy - an innumerable amount. They only acquire these names due to neutral or attribute-less energy, and therefore, the generic term of this energy is used when speaking in general. However, it is possible to see fire energy stones or dragon energy stones, and this is where crystals stand out, as they are capable of filtering environmental energy very efficiently.


    On the other hand, energy essences make excellent cores since they are even more capable of filtering energy and have higher purity and quality. Moreover, cases like the energy heart allow for the control of very powerful artifacts or formations.


    Yes, this may seem confusing since many normally associate the core with the place where energy is stored, but this is not entirely the case. In fact, it would be a disadvantage. Only in some cases is it convenient to merge the two. Most of the most powerful artifacts have them separated so that, in case their storage is lost, they can continue functioning with the energy from the surroundings, albeit less efficiently and more slowly. For example, the flying ships of his younger sister, the Supreme Goddess of the Mastery of Inscriptions, Alchemy, and Refinement-Blacksmithing, make extensive use of this principle.


    However, one of the most powerful versions ever used in the war against the Feilou Clan: the Divine Punishment Ships, had up to five cores to control different devices and a single storage unit. Because of this, even if the storage was broken, the ship could still continue destroying its enemies.


    So, Feicui Long was happy to have an energy stone core since it allowed him to use it for much more advanced formations or other applications. And while it was true that it was only of mortal quality, ninth grade, supreme rank, and advanced level, it was possible to improve it artificially, and he knew how. So, he could use it later when he needed it. Who knows, maybe he would want to create a special artifact or something.

 Chapter 12 - A Night of Mutual Understanding - 1

    Feicui Long was heading to the next union, which was on the opposite side. He had finished earlier than he expected from a 12-hour exam, it only took him 6. He really expected to have to go the next day to register at the union of summoners, tamers, necromancers, and creators of golems and puppets, the UIDNCGM, and go through the whole union process.


    As he walked through the rows of bustling houses and buildings, Feicui Long thought that fortunately, this time he wouldn''t have to take the exam, which had the same conditions and costs as the UMIARH. Although the four abilities could be learned like many others, those born with them could instinctively apply and use them to a certain extent, along with all the other extras such as contracts, pocket dimensions linked to them, and other capabilities.


    Interestingly, mastery abilities in inscriptions, alchemy, refinement-blacksmithing were somewhat special because what these abilities essentially granted was full knowledge of all the basics and some fundamental things, like certain recipes and such. However, unlike other abilities, they did not provide the capacity to put them into practice or use them immediately. Technically, it was like having the knowledge of how to do something but lacking the experience to actually do it. That''s why even those who possessed these abilities still had to take the exams. Although they didn''t have to start as basic apprentices, they still had to learn the practical aspects. Of course, besides knowledge, these abilities provided some help, but honestly, it wasn''t anything significant and could be ignored, especially at high levels.


    That''s why summoning and the other abilities were more desired and valued, in addition to obviously being rarer, especially summoning, which was extremely rare. That said, it didn''t mean people disliked abilities like alchemy, but they didn''t see them as particularly necessary. Even though they could technically be acquired through learning, the long time required often wasn''t worth it, at least not in every case.


    Finally, Feicui Long stopped in front of the building. It was an elegant and beautiful structure with a design that stood out for its sober majesty. Though large, its proportions were different from those of the UMIARH: it was wider but not as tall. The sign at the entrance immediately caught his attention.


    Instead of being made with energy minerals, as was common in other unions, this one was composed of materials from beasts, monsters, and other extraordinary creatures. However, the level of detail and craftsmanship was such that, for most people, these particularities would go unnoticed.


    Feicui Long entered through one of the main entrances and continued until he finally found the receptionist who handled union applications and granted exam permits. He saw a beautiful girl with green skin, pointed ears, short brown hair, and yellow eyes looking at him.


    He was somewhat surprised to see a goblin girl. Although the Habsburg Empire was an empire that included all fourteen mortal races, one of many, most of the people he saw in Vienna were humans, elves, dwarves, and greater beastmen. Amusingly, the empire had many nobles from the other races, particularly elves, dwarves, and greater beastmen, but in Vienna, it was rare to see someone who wasn''t from those four races. He had even reached the point of thinking there weren''t any at all. So seeing one here was quite curious. But now that he thought about it, he had caught glimpses of several individuals from other races when he entered the northwestern area. Perhaps they were just concentrated in certain districts?


    By the way, he had also noticed that the administrative staff here was considerably weaker than those in the UMIARH. It wasn''t a surprise, though, since they didn''t need to be strong. This place was full of beasts, monsters, undead, golems, and all sorts of powerful beings roaming around.


    Without thinking any further about these details, he simply spoke to the beautiful receptionist and politely said, "Excuse me, miss. I would like to join the UIDNCGM."


    The receptionist, who had been looking at him, replied, "Are you taking the exam? At what level?" As she spoke, she took out a sheet listing the different levels.


    Feicui Long, upon seeing it, shook his head. "It''s not necessary, I already possess the required abilities."


    Hearing this, the girl nodded, then took out another form, the same artifact resembling a pen, and said, "Alright, you need to fill in this information and hand me your identification card. After that, you will be taken to a room with a special evaluation stone to verify your abilities."


    Feicui Long filled out the document and handed it over along with his identification. The receptionist received it, then used an artifact embedded with recording stones and placed the document in a folder with a section to register his name. She filled it in and then returned the identification and token to Feicui Long.


    Then the receptionist said, "You just need to go through the door to my left and proceed until you reach room 125."


    ...


    Feicui Long arrived at room 125, pushed the door open, and found another goblin inside. Although she wasn''t as beautiful as the receptionist, she had a mature charm, even with a large scar on her right cheek. She was sitting cross-legged, clearly waiting. Just as Feicui Long was about to speak, the woman opened her mouth, "Sit in front of me, young one, and place your hands on the stone."


    Feicui Long nodded politely, sat down in front of her, and placed his hands on the evaluation stone. Then, the examiner activated the formation that supplied energy to the stone, causing a kind of window, similar to Feicui Long''s status window, to gradually display the abilities he possessed, following a specific order.


    The first line of text to appear read: "Ability: Summoning ¨C Innate, Affinity: Superior Grade ¨C Absolute Rank, Talent: Supreme Grade ¨C Absolute Rank, Mastery: Apprentice."


    The examiner was quite surprised. Just as she was about to congratulate him, opening her mouth, more words began to appear, so she quickly closed it again.


    The second line appeared and read: "Ability: Taming ¨C Innate, Affinity: Intermediate Grade ¨C Spiritual Rank, Talent: Intermediate Grade ¨C Spiritual Rank, Mastery: Apprentice."


    This time, although the woman in charge of the evaluation was even happier, she didn''t even have time to open her mouth, as the words kept appearing. She told herself she would wait until everything was finished.


    The third line: "Ability: Necromancy ¨C Innate, Affinity: Very Low Grade ¨C Sovereign Rank, Talent: Very Low Grade ¨C Earthly Rank, Mastery: Apprentice."


    The fourth: "Ability: Golem and Puppet Creation ¨C Innate, Affinity: Mid-High Grade ¨C Divine Rank, Talent: High Grade ¨C Universal Rank, Mastery: Apprentice."


    The fifth: "Ability: Third Eye ¨C Innate, Affinity: Superior Grade ¨C Absolute Rank, Talent: Mid-Low Grade ¨C Celestial Rank, Mastery: Apprentice."


    With that, the examiner, who was in a state of shock, screamed and jumped with joy: "The Sovereign''s Quartet, the Sovereign''s Quartet, a Sovereign has been born!"


    Feicui Long remained calm, as he had expected something like this. "The Sovereign''s Quartet" was the name given to the combination of the four abilities: summoning, taming, necromancy, and golem and puppet creation. Legend said that anyone who possessed these four abilities was destined to rise to the top and become a "Sovereign" who ruled over all.


    This belief stemmed from the fact that several great figures in existence possessed these abilities, such as the ruler of the Clan Above the Heavens before the rise of the Absolute Being, or the champion of the Clan Beneath the Hells, who single-handedly defeated the other two clans and reversed his clan''s declining state. There was even the Judge of the Balance of Heaven and Hell, who managed to stop a battle that could have disrupted the balance of existence.


    But perhaps the figure that most caused the expansion of this legend is the "Absolute Sovereign" or also called the True Absolute Sovereign, who possessed them and used them to achieve many things, such as unifying the three original clans, defeating the Absolute Being, and saving existence itself. It was the latter who recorded the memory and gave the name to the "Sovereign''s Quartet." Now, throughout existence, it is called that and is highly valued, as all these abilities are quite rare, and even in the case of summoning, it is even rarer than the others. Besides that, it grants great power, as it allows a person to create an army by themselves without relying on any kind of external force.


    That is why he was not surprised by the reaction, both because of what it meant and how rare it was. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he hesitated to join this union despite the benefits. He himself had only seen a few with the Sovereign''s Quartet in his entire life, and he was over 35 billion years old, the same age as this universe.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    In any case, the evaluator''s screams of surprise and joy caught the attention of many others, attracting other evaluators and even examinees who wanted to see what was happening. When everyone heard the evaluator''s words and also saw the words reflected in the status window, they were all shocked and astonished. On one hand, the evaluators were happy, smiling from ear to ear, but the other examinees showed different expressions, some sadness, others envy, some anger, and others pure surprise. It took a while before people started talking loudly among themselves.


    Eventually, high-ranking members, intrigued by what was happening in the hallways, approached. Several of them did not believe what they were hearing, so they even had to push through the crowd to make their way forward. People who normally would have stepped aside did not even pay attention when they arrived. But just like the others before them, they widened their eyes and let out voices of amazement.


    One of them, a muscular man wearing a sleeveless shirt that exposed part of his hairy chest, laughed amicably and said, "Oh, what do we have here? A fine addition to the union. Hey, kid, wouldn''t you like to join my group, the Mountain Berserker Bear Assault Team?"


    At that, the entire room fell silent, or at least, almost everyone. Shortly after, a somewhat lanky man with glasses spoke in a serious tone, "Why the hell would anyone want to join a group of disorderly bastards like yours? Besides, the union can''t afford to waste a talent like this. Kid, wouldn''t you rather join mine? We are the Barrow Walkers."


    In response, an arrogant female laugh echoed from the back. It came from a very tall woman who sneered, "A couple of fools who haven''t even completed all their assigned tasks this month want to take someone like this? I think, young man, that it''s best if you join my group, the Iron Maidens. We have a 95 percent success rate on missions, and we complete them quickly."


    Finally, a calm voice fell over the hallway, coming from a pale woman with sky blue hair and lips painted the same shade. "I don''t think bragging is the best way to recruit him, Astrid. You and the others haven''t even made it into the top ten."


    The woman continued, "As for me, kid, I can offer you much more than these small groups can. My group, the Rift Stalkers, is currently ranked third, which means our resources are far superior. We even have our own beast field."


    After that, silence. A deep silence. Everyone was now staring at the young man and the woman, glancing back and forth between them. Even the three who had spoken before, though clearly annoyed, knew they couldn''t afford to compete with her in terms of resources.


    But because of that, no one noticed that the evaluator, who had been screaming and jumping with joy just moments ago, had shattered a message transmission talisman while all of this was happening. Now, she was simply waiting.


    It was then, when the entire crowd began to step aside, that the others realized someone important was coming. It was a girl, 1.65 meters tall, with hair as black as the night, pointed ears, and beautiful light blue eyes, clear as a lake, with short hair. She wore an elegant shirt and a short skirt, but perhaps what stood out the most was her beautiful emerald green skin, which accentuated her feminine charms. She walked elegantly with great poise, and one could naturally feel an aura of nobility and leadership surrounding her.


    The goblin girl entered the room without waiting for anyone to respond and said:"Who gave you permission to recruit someone who hasn''t even joined the union yet?"


    She paused, looking at each of those present with disdain, and added:"Or is it that you no longer have the decency to wait until the evaluation is over?"


    Everyone remained silent. The first three who had spoken looked somewhat embarrassed upon remembering that detail, except for the pale girl with sky-blue hair, who looked at Reiko with a mocking smile and said:"Miss Reiko Kurogane, I believe such matters should not be handled by you without your father''s authorization, much less when they do not go against the rules. It is not appropriate to abuse the position of others."


    Reiko slightly furrowed her brows, her expression turning even more disdainful:"Oh, Miss Ha Neul Jung, you''re here? I hadn''t seen you. By the way, you wouldn''t have seen the insect making noise around here, would you? And speaking of that, don''t you think a group ranked seventh has the right to demand proper etiquette and manners within the union? Of course, some may lack proper education, but it''s important to consider how we are perceived in the outside world."


    Ha Neul Jung responded with a mocking smile: "Oh, it seems the young lady hasn''t learned anything from what happened last time. Was that not enough for you?"


    Reiko''s expression instantly turned furious, and her eyes reflected a contained rage that seemed ready to devour her alive. However, Ha Neul only let out a disdainful laugh. That reaction, far from calming Reiko, only fueled her anger, but the memories of what had happened days ago and the bitter reality that she could not defeat Ha Neul forced her to suppress her rage. She clenched her delicate hand tightly, barely managing to hold herself back.


    The tense exchange was interrupted when a deep, feminine voice resonated from the end of the hallway: "Oh, Ha Neul, can you explain to me exactly what ''happened'' to my young lady?"


    When this voice was heard, the area, which had been in a deadly silence, erupted in noise. People spoke loudly among themselves, many knew what had happened, and others only understood that something important had taken place. However, no one dared to say anything, as this involved the top three groups.


    Although all organizations like unions, and particularly the Mortal Races Union, had very little corruption thanks to an extremely strict and effective system ensuring the enforcement of laws, norms, and rules, there were very clear limits. Among those rules was the prohibition against members killing each other outside of a duel, depending, of course, on the type of duel. Duels could only take place between members, had to be conducted under mutual consent, and no one could be forced to accept one in any way. Killing or assassinating a member, as well as breaking any part of these rules, was punished with death, and the punishment could even extend to the offender''s family.


    But even with all this, people chose to remain silent. Some did not consider it their concern; others feared the power and influence of these groups. After all, these three groups had many loyal external clients and had accumulated many favors thanks to their ability to hunt and attract various creatures for sale. Although the Union paid well for the creatures they brought in and sold directly to them (usually between 5% and 50% above market price), the clients of these three groups paid at least twice as much. And while not everyone had the opportunity to sell their catches to these exclusive clients, many preferred not to lose that slim chance.


    There were also three other types of people who chose to remain silent, but for similar reasons. The first feared that by revealing all the information, the three groups destined to fall would drag them down with them. The second feared being seen by Reiko''s father and his subordinates as part of those responsible. Lastly, the third feared involving their loved ones simply by speaking out.


    But that didn''t matter. The voice rang out again, this time more impatient and with a cold tone: "Ha Neul, tell me what happened to my young lady."


    Following these words, the source of the voice was finally revealed. It was an imposing woman, even taller than Feicui Long, standing at 2.05 meters. Her dark green skin was marked by scars that spoke of a body hardened in battle. Her figure balanced strength and beauty, with well-defined muscles that did not overshadow her femininity.


    She wore her black hair in braids, and her brown eyes radiated determination. From her lower jaw protruded a pair of white fangs, contrasting against her skin. She wore heavy armor, and on her back rested a massive greatsword that further amplified her intimidating presence.


    As she walked, everyone in the room moved aside. Some lowered their heads slightly in respect, others looked at her with admiration, while there were also those whose faces were etched with terror.


    Soon, the orc woman stood in front of Ha Neul and reached out her hand to grab her by the shoulder, turning her around since Ha Neul refused to face her.


    But a man who appeared to be around 45 to 50 years old, with graying hair, diverted the woman''s hand and began to speak, "Oh, Miss Amanitore, I didn''t know you had returned so quickly from killing the spectral queen of Ho?ovice. I must congratulate you on such a feat, especially since you did it alone. If only your young lady weren''t such a burden to you, you would have finished even sooner."


    Amanitore said, "Old Istv¨¢n Varga, my young lady is not a burden and never will be. I was the one who told her to stay behind. In any case, I need Ha Neul to tell me what happened to my young lady. That is not the concern of the leader of the second ranked group."


    With just this exchange, people were left frozen, especially those unfamiliar with Amanitore. The UIDNCGM, besides the group rankings, had several others, one of them being the individual ranking. Those in this ranking were the strongest combatants in this branch of the union, excluding the leader and other special positions that were obviously not included in rankings. Amanitore held the number 7 rank. It might seem low, but one crucial detail had to be considered, the leaders of the top three ranked groups only held the number 8, 9, and 10 ranks, respectively.


    This meant that her combat power and strength surpassed that of the three group leaders. Moreover, Amanitore was a special case, as she specialized in close combat herself, while the creatures she had tamed were purely support, auxiliary, and healing class, making her an extremely difficult opponent. Even the number 6 couldn''t defeat her despite being stronger, and the number 5 found dealing with her incredibly troublesome and annoying.


    Istv¨¢n, grinning shamelessly, said, "I''m afraid I can''t, Miss. You see, Leader Ha Neul and I have some matters to discuss, so I must take my leave."


    Seeing that they were trying to leave, Amanitore snorted angrily and did not hold back in the slightest. Soon, an overwhelming and powerful aura spread through the entire area, feeling as if it were crushing one''s spirit, mind, soul, and body all at once.


    Old Istv¨¢n paled and stammered, "You, you, you have broken through to the fifth grade, but even so, how is it that..."


    Suddenly, something came to his mind: "You absorbed the soul crystal of the spectral queen!"


    Amanitore was about to reach them when her hand was once again about to land on Ha Neul. A tall and elegant young man, quite handsome, appeared beside the two and then disappeared with them, only to reappear at the far end of the hallway.


    From there, the young man shouted, "Miss Amanitore, I apologize, but we must leave. We have some very urgent missions to carry out." Then, he vanished down the hallway at high speed with the other two.


    Amanitore wanted to chase them, but she didn''t want to cause more trouble at this moment in the UIDNCGM. Besides, she wanted to see how her young lady was, as hearing that had made her worried.

 Chapter 13 - A Night of Mutual Understanding - 2

    Amanitore stood in front of her young lady and asked, "Miss Reiko, are you alright? Did something important happen that you want to tell me?"


    Reiko, with a sad expression and a bit of reluctance in her voice, said, "Yes, something happened, but I can''t tell you yet. You should take the opportunity to rest, turn in the mission, and please return to your room. Besides, Dad needs to tell you something."


    Amanitore wanted to ask her again, but she saw those sad eyes struggling to hold back tears. If this were her young lady from a few years ago, she might not have hesitated to come cry with her and tell her what was troubling her. Although it hurt to see her like this, since to her she was like a daughter, she knew that if her young lady didn''t want to tell her yet, it had to be for an important reason.


    So, pushing that thought aside, she nodded and left in silence, though a great heaviness weighed on her heart.


    ...


    With that, everyone in the hallway left without saying a word, but many knew deep down that something big was about to happen, so they had to prepare to be affected as little as possible.


    On the other hand, the three high-ranking individuals who had spoken first politely bid farewell to Reiko, each giving a slight bow, then left while arguing among themselves about which of them was the best.


    Reiko calmed down and turned around, telling the evaluator, "You''ve done a good job. You can leave and report it to the union. I will take care of things from here and will ensure that he later receives the benefits for joining and for possessing the Sovereign''s Quartet."


    The evaluator nodded, bowed, and quickly left, while Feicui Long, who had kept his eyes closed the whole time, was now alone with the evaluation stone.


    Reiko then delicately approached him and gently moved his shoulder, saying, "You can open your eyes now, handsome man."


    Feicui Long reacted by slowly opening his eyes, his gaze full of doubt. He didn''t know who she was, though he had heard her name. When people started coming, he had simply closed his eyes to ignore them.


    But when he was finally able to see this goblin girl clearly, his eyes widened in shock. Not only was she very tall for a goblin, considering that the height of an adult goblin varies between 1.40m and 1.60m, though they can grow up to 1.30m or 1.70m, with the latter two being considered extremely short or tall to the point of dwarfism or gigantism, so at 1.65m, she was already one of the tallest goblin girls of all. But what truly stunned him was how beautiful she was. Even he had trouble calming his heart, though perhaps it was because he hadn''t expected to find such a beautiful woman the moment he opened his eyes.


    Even so, he had already experienced the sight of many great beauties throughout his life, so he quickly calmed down and asked, "Has the evaluation already ended? I can leave and receive everything, right? Because I really don''t see the need to stay since I don''t plan to join any group, Miss Reiko."


    Reiko, surprised and slightly amused, said, "Rejecting me so quickly? Aren''t you afraid of breaking this young lady''s heart? You don''t even know what I want to tell you."


    She then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "How about we have dinner and talk at my house? It''s right next to the union, so we can stay up late discussing business. Besides, you don¡¯t have to worry, your membership card will be given to you tomorrow along with everything else."


    Feicui Long felt a chill run down his spine. He didn¡¯t know what this young Reiko, who was roughly the same physical age as his current body, was planning, but he wanted to reject her outright.


    However, Reiko, anticipating that she was about to be rejected again, said, "Or is it a bad idea, dear alchemist with the highest possible score, who just passed the UMIARH? Personally, I believe having a conversation would be possible, even if just to get to know each other. After all, I¡¯d like to establish a connection with a genius alchemist. Who knows, maybe we could help each other."


    Feicui Long, slightly intrigued by how quickly the news had spread here, wasn''t surprised. The union''s information network was quite efficient, especially with the so-called energy information network, a system of interconnected artifacts and master formations.


    Although he personally didn¡¯t have any device connected to it, he was already aware of its existence. Still, he had to admit that this girl must hold an important position, since even if the energy information network was fast and efficient, it wasn''t possible to obtain such information so quickly without reading it directly from the union, something that obviously required a certain rank, especially in cases involving high-scoring individuals of significant interest to the union.


    Feicui Long then said, "Fine, I will accept your dinner invitation, but under one condition: I will not accept any proposal to join this union as a direct member, and even less so to be part of a group, as that would imply being a direct member. Other than that, it will be a pleasure to have a discussion with you."


    Reiko, smiling, gave a small, discreet jump as she exclaimed, "What are you waiting for? Let''s go!"


    ...


    Feicui Long walked alongside her towards her house. It was not an ostentatious place nor did it display excessive luxury, but it stood out for its beauty. It was adorned with large decorations that demonstrated meticulous care. It was evident that someone put great effort into keeping it immaculate.


    Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was that, without a doubt, this was a woman''s house. The entire place was filled with cute and delicate details, flowers, pastel tones, and small ornaments that seemed straight out of the stereotype of a hyper-feminine woman. If not that, then it could be the house of a man with an excessive taste for adorable things.


    As Reiko guided him, Feicui Long couldn''t help but instinctively let his gaze drift to her waist, which swayed elegantly and seductively with each step. This goblin girl seemed to possess a natural charm that captured the attention of anyone around her.


    Although her walk and presence gave the impression of someone highly experienced in captivating hearts, Feicui Long, thanks to his keen perception, could almost certainly affirm that this young woman was extremely innocent. Everything indicated that she had probably been overprotected for much of her life, to the point of never having had true interactions with someone of the opposite sex.


    Even so, he had to admit it. Few people possessed such a high talent as Reiko for captivating others both consciously and unconsciously. It was a fascinating phenomenon, though somewhat dangerous for those who couldn''t resist it, and perhaps even for herself.


    Soon, they arrived at a room. Unlike the rest of the house, this was a beautiful study elegantly decorated in a scholar''s style, with items ranging from bookshelves, statues, a planetary globe, various artifacts with different uses, plants, to a desk with several objects on it, which had clearly been used recently. Additionally, there were other things, including a beautiful balcony with comfortable benches, more plants, and some items such as a telescope and a weather-detecting artifact.


    But perhaps the most impressive thing was that it had a roof that operated with certain mechanisms, allowing it to open up, revealing a second glass roof beneath it, almost imperceptible, exposed to the open air. The truly astonishing part was that all of this functioned through artifacts, as he could clearly see the inscriptions discreetly glowing, filled with energy.


    Feicui Long finally spoke to quietly break the silence between them and said, ¡°So, where are we going to eat, Miss Reiko.¡±


    Reiko let out a small chuckle and said, ¡°On the balcony, of course, where else.¡±


    Feicui Long frowned because he didn''t see any table, but when they stepped onto the balcony, he saw her touch an energy stone embedded in the wall, which activated a mechanism, triggering several inscriptions on the floor, from which a table then slowly rose. Then, Reiko moved two of the chairs that were placed nearby, and thus everything was set.


    Feicui Long nodded then and said, ¡°I see that Miss Reiko has quite a fondness for hidden mechanisms made from artifacts, not that I dislike it, but is so much complexity really necessary for just a table?¡±


    Reiko replied, ¡°No, but sometimes, when one can afford a little luxury, why not indulge?¡±


    Feicui Long, as he sat down, smiled and said, ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right, sometimes it¡¯s better to indulge in a little luxury every now and then, by the way, what are we having for dinner?¡±


    Reiko, who had just elegantly taken her seat, took a sound transmission device from her pocket and sent a message that Feicui Long couldn¡¯t hear.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Before long, footsteps were heard outside the room, and several maids entered, so well-dressed that they barely even looked like servants, if Feicui Long had to put it into words, at that moment, he felt poor, very poor.


    The maids, very courteously, served the food and poured expensive wine. Seeing the wine, Feicui Long couldn¡¯t help but let a beautiful smile escape.


    He didn¡¯t know since when, but he had developed a great fondness for alcohol, perhaps the hard times he had endured in this life had turned this version of himself into an alcoholic, something that ended when he awakened his memories, but even so, that fondness remained ingrained in him, and he enjoyed having a drink every now and then.


    Reiko, seeing him smile, said to the maid, ¡°You can leave the wines here, I think Mr. Feicui Long and I are going to enjoy a good chat.¡±


    The maids, smiling cheerfully among themselves, left and let them be alone. Feicui Long took the opportunity to ask her, ¡°I''m curious, did you buy this house, or did your father?¡±


    Reiko, unsurprised by the question, replied, ¡°Technically, my father acquired this land thanks to his influence, but I bought it from him and had this house custom-built for me.¡±


    Feicui Long nodded, quite satisfied. ¡°I see that you''re not as similar to how you appear to be.¡±


    Reiko raised an eyebrow curiously and asked, ¡°And what do I appear to be? Tell me with complete honesty.¡±


    Feicui Long replied without hesitation, ¡°A spoiled girl who lives off her parents'' fame. But I don¡¯t actually see that in you. Asking about the house was more of a way to test your sincerity with me.¡±


    Reiko said playfully, ¡°Even though I, an unmarried lady, brought you to my house to be alone in a room, do you still distrust me?¡±


    Feicui Long said, ¡°I don¡¯t distrust you, I probably don¡¯t even think you''d be capable of harming a fly. What I don¡¯t fully trust are your intentions.¡±


    Reiko, slightly caught off guard, asked, ¡°Do I really inspire so little respect?¡±


    Feicui Long looked her in the eyes and said, ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. It¡¯s just that you are¡­ how can I say this without hurting you? Too innocent. You don¡¯t suspect anything and take everything literally, trusting that the other person has no ulterior motives. You let me enter here without even knowing my personality, not even if I have people I work with.¡±


    Reiko¡¯s face showed a hint of melancholy and sadness when Feicui Long mentioned that, but she didn¡¯t dare refute it¡ªor rather, she couldn¡¯t refute it, especially after what happened that night¡­


    But Reiko was a woman of great willpower, so, momentarily ignoring those events, she smiled again at Feicui Long and said, ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s keep having dinner. I have more things to ask you, Feicui Long. I think we could get along better.¡±


    Feicui Long also wanted to change the subject after seeing Reiko¡¯s reaction, and so, hours and hours passed.


    <hr>


    When it was already late at night, Feicui Long was ready to leave, but suddenly he felt a hand touching his thigh. It was Reiko, who was now by his side. She had moved closer to share drinks and talk more comfortably. Feicui Long didn''t mind and ignored it, but he didn''t expect her to take the first step.


    Seeing that Feicui Long wasn¡¯t rejecting her, Reiko whispered directly into his ear, very close, ¡°Hey, Feicui Long, would you like to have one last dish tonight?¡±


    Feicui Long, who was drunk, felt a tingling down his spine. Although he found Reiko beautiful, at this moment, he didn¡¯t want anything with her. So, he tried to resist temptation and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Reiko, I have to go to sleep so I can prepare a medicine tomorrow.¡±


    Reiko, who normally wouldn¡¯t be able to get drunk due to her cultivation, had purposely let herself become intoxicated. With agile and swift movements, she climbed onto Feicui Long¡¯s lap, wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, and whispered into his ear, her face pressed against his, ¡°Feicui Long, nothing will happen. You can stay the night if you want, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love tasting my cooking.¡±


    Feicui Long, who could also feel Reiko¡¯s legs wrapped around his back and her well-proportioned breasts pressing against his chest, struggled to control himself. But it wasn¡¯t so much because of these somewhat clumsy attempts at seduction, rather, it was because that clumsiness revealed Reiko¡¯s inexperience. It made him want to teach this pampered and protected goblin princess not to play with fire. This thought of corrupting this princess manifested into a hard mountain, which Reiko could clearly feel.


    Yet, in a moment of clarity, Feicui Long said, ¡°Miss Reiko, even if I do, I don¡¯t think you could handle my size.¡±


    Reiko stopped what she was doing and even looked a little annoyed. ¡°Are you implying I wouldn¡¯t be able to take you inside me? I¡¯m not as weak as I look.¡±


    Feicui Long, seeing that his plan had worked, said, ¡°It¡¯s not that, it¡¯s just that my friend might hurt you.¡±


    Reiko, her pride wounded, instead of letting him go, got down and took his hand, guiding him to that same room from before. Feicui Long, who thought she had given up, didn¡¯t expect the goblin girl to suddenly push him onto the large bed in the middle of the room. But what truly surprised him was that she grabbed something from a nearby shelf and then, without warning, pulled down Feicui Long¡¯s pants.


    Then, Feicui Long¡¯s penis was freed from its confinement, rising like a mighty pillar that held up the sky. Even Reiko, who had been wounded in her pride just moments ago, had to admit that even she doubted whether she could take it. But she was a woman with an iron will, so she took what she had grabbed from the shelf, a measuring tape, and prepared to measure it, determined to prove to Feicui Long that there would be no problem and that he was exaggerating.


    But she was interrupted by Feicui Long, who, upon seeing this, asked, "Why the hell do you have a measuring tape next to your bed!?"


    Reiko replied with a determined voice, "I have to take measurements for my dresses, you know? I like to modify them myself. Now stay still, let''s see if what you claim is true."


    With that, Reiko finally measured him, and when she saw the size marked as 25 cm, her eyes widened.


    Feicui Long, seeing this, said, "Are you happy now? Do you see that I was right?"


    Reiko stood up and looked at him, saying, "So what? Even if it¡¯s big, that doesn¡¯t matter anymore, Feicui Long, because I want to have you. Haven¡¯t you understood that yet?"


    Feicui Long, still caught off guard, was left speechless at the boldness of this young lady. However, his surprise didn¡¯t end there. Reiko climbed onto him again, slowly unbuttoning her shirt. As she did, Feicui Long could feel how his penis brushed against Reiko¡¯s crotch through her skirt, sending a wave of sensations that ignited his human body even more.


    At a certain point, Feicui Long couldn¡¯t take it anymore, so he grabbed her by the arms and pressed her against the bed. If it was going to happen, it had to be on his terms, and Reiko, despite having a much higher cultivation than his, did not resist.


    He leaned in, gazing at her beautiful face, and finally kissed her. Their lips met in a whirlwind of passion, and Feicui Long''s tongue explored the inside of her mouth, tasting her intensely. This only made the passion grow, as both of them could feel how they rubbed against each other.


    Then Feicui Long took his turn, slowly moving down from her face, depositing soft kisses on her skin, tracing every curve until he reached her beautiful breasts, passing by until he soon arrived at her skirt, with careful movements, he removed it, revealing a pair of delicate white panties that radiated an almost ethereal purity. Although at another moment he might have found that amusing, now it only managed to fuel the fire that burned inside him.


    He proceeded to open her legs wide, with which he could finally find himself face to face with her vagina, it was incredibly beautiful, he could see that it didn''t have a single hair, her beautiful green lips practically called to him, Feicui Long felt like tasting her, so he submerged his face in her, he could savor her, she had an incredibly sweet taste, almost like the purest nectar of a flower.


    Reiko, on her part, began to experience unknown sensations that overwhelmed her. Her body reacted instinctively, arching her back while her hands, almost without realizing it, gently pushed Feicui''s head a little closer to herself, seeking to prolong that intoxicating experience.


    When Feicui Long finally, after spending some time savoring her and causing Reiko pleasure, who was already sufficiently wet, decided it was time to stop playing, he got up and put his large friend at the entrance and told Reiko: "Are you ready?"


    Reiko responded with a slight gasp: "Ha... Hah... yes, please, do it carefully."


    Feicui Long, seeing that Reiko had temporarily set aside her pride to ask him to be careful, decided to respect her wishes. Little by little, and with slowness, he introduced his penis.


    When it barely entered, Reiko clutched the sheets a bit, Feicui Long continued in the same way until everything finally entered, then Feicui Long waited for a moment and told her: "I''ll start moving if it hurts, tell me to stop."


    Feicui Long began to move softly, with care, making sure not to hurt her, yet Reiko couldn''t help but let out a small moan from her mouth: "Ah..."


    Meanwhile, Feicui Long felt with each thrust how Reiko enveloped his penis with the walls of her vagina, as if they didn''t want to let him go. Additionally, he could notice how she twisted internally, which caused him intense pleasure.


    ¡­


    This is how the first minutes went, until at some point the two of them completely let themselves be carried away by pleasure, and Feicui Long unconsciously began to push faster, with each thrust he gave, she let out a seductive moan, which even more incited him to continue pushing, without realizing it, she also started to wrap her legs around Feicui Long''s waist.


    Feicui Long then reacted by lifting her up from behind and kissing her, with a passion even greater than when they started, and she, although inexperienced, tried to respond, their minds seemed to be turned off with only the thought of having each other at that moment.


    Then Feicui Long put one of Reiko''s breasts in his mouth, sucking it and playing with his tongue, while with the other he continued to hold her, she herself also started to move, pushing herself on top of him again and again, in a choreography full of bodily fluids.


    With this, they continued doing it, until Feicui Long wanted to change positions, Reiko gave him her back, showing her beautiful and fleshy buttocks, inviting him to enter again, Feicui Long did not reject her invitation and inserted his virility, this made her let out a loud moan, which, if it weren''t for the fact that the walls have soundproofing inscriptions, all the nearby houses would have noticed.


    Feicui Long then took her by her beautiful and short hair, pulling her towards him, and at some point, Reiko said: "Yes... Fei-Feicui Long, make me yours, make me your woman...".


    Hearing her say this only ignited the already burning flame like a star within Feicui Long, with this, he continued pushing harder, embracing her from behind and kissing her neck.


    During that night, Feicui Long made sure to mark her as his, teaching her things she never thought she would learn, whether in bed, on the desk, or standing up, they even opened the ceiling to see the stars while doing it, in all positions, with several rounds, one after another, even Feicui Long was surprised by his endurance with such a low cultivation.


    In the end, the two of them, tired, one more than the other, but tired nonetheless, lay down next to each other, ignoring the fact that the bed was covered in certain bodily fluids, hugging each other mutually.


    <hr>


    The next morning, Feicui Long woke up and saw that Reiko was still asleep, so he went to bathe, taking advantage of the fact that Reiko had a room with a bathroom. Upon entering, he saw that it was a bathtub with a "faucet," although in reality, it was a device with an inscription to collect energy from the water element and generate water, along with another inscription of the fire element to heat it. The same applied to the drainage system. It was a formation that simply dispersed these elements when activated, each with an energy crystal as its core. He had to admit that it was quite a luxury to use them just for this.

 Chapter 14 – The Lady’s Feelings

    Feicui Long and Reiko took a good shower, though they found it difficult to control themselves and couldn''t avoid having another round in the shower, which delayed their bath even more. When they finally got out, Feicui Long wondered how they could be so compatible. He didn''t understand it at all, but pushing that thought aside, he simply got dressed.


    After that, the two of them sat on the balcony on one of the plush benches, looking at the bustling city of Vienna. They sat quietly next to each other without saying a word for a while.


    Until Reiko said, "I¡­"


    She paused before continuing, "I''m sorry¡­ I''d like to apologize¡­"


    Feicui Long, who had already expected this, interrupted her, "Why are you apologizing? In the end, I was the one who agreed to this too."


    Reiko replied, "No, that''s not what I mean, it''s¡­" but she couldn''t finish her sentence.


    Feicui Long had already figured out much of what had happened and the reason for her behavior, so he spoke as tactfully as possible, "They¡­ they raped you, didn''t they?"


    Reiko, surprised and with a frightened expression, asked him in a trembling tone, "H-how d-do y-you k-know?"


    Feicui Long answered, "Besides being an alchemist, I''m a doctor. I noticed it in your behavior. Even though you invited me and seemed confident, after your conflict with Ha Neul, I could see a slight tremor. I also noticed when we returned to your house how you discreetly glanced around, showing insecurity. That''s why you wanted to walk ahead of me, so I wouldn''t notice."


    Feicui Long paused briefly and quickly resumed, "Besides that, during dinner, I could see your discomfort in the chair, not just because you were alone with a man but also because your wounds made you uncomfortable. Lastly, when I removed your panties, I saw small scars, indicating that you had been hurt and had to resort to medicines that healed them quickly. Others wouldn''t notice all this, but I have seen it many times."


    Feicui Long wasn''t lying. In his past life, he had been a doctor and a battlefield medic on Earth, which had been restored to its original form after the retreat of the Pillar of Heaven. During that time, he stood on the side of the mortal races against the superior races and, unfortunately, had witnessed many victims of rape. It was a common aspect of war, and many shared traits with Reiko, especially the aftermath of what had happened to them.


    Reiko looked at him for a moment, her head lowered, wanting to say something but holding back. She also tried to discreetly take Feicui Long''s hand but withdrew at the last moment.


    Feicui Long, seeing this, only smiled bitterly and said, "That''s why you can''t blame yourself for what happened. You are not responsible for the harm they did to you. That''s why you don''t owe me any apologies. If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that this was my first time."


    This time, Feicui Long technically wasn''t lying either. It was true that in his past lives, he had had relationships and sexual partners, but in this one, his body was experiencing sex for the first time because most of his time in this life had been spent searching for ways to heal himself or simply survive.


    That being said, instead of feeling better after hearing this, Reiko felt even worse. She couldn''t help but cry a little and apologized, "I''m truly sorry... Forgive me, Feicui Long, for having your first time with someone as tainted as me, because of that disgusting bastard... I''m really, really sorry..."


    Feicui Long genuinely felt pain in his heart upon seeing her cry, to the point that he couldn''t help but embrace her with one arm and pull her close to him. He told her, "You are not dirty, not now, not ever. You are a wonderful woman, maybe a little spoiled, but genuinely good. If you were someone dirty, your maids wouldn''t respect you so much or treat you this well. Not only do you not force them to wear classic maid outfits, but you also buy them high-quality clothes comparable to those of nobles. From the way they address you and the kindness with which they treat you, I can tell you are a good person, and that''s why they appreciate you. How could someone like that be dirty..."


    Reiko didn''t avoid or reject Feicui Long''s arm, on the contrary, she nestled more comfortably against his chest. Crying, she couldn''t help it, she began to tell Feicui Long what had happened about fifteen days ago, something she had told no one.


    <hr>


    That day, Reiko had a conflict with the first three groups, as she had obtained a rare beast through a deal, but the three groups used their influence and took advantage of the fact that her group was only in seventh place to snatch it from her by pressuring the seller and even buying it at a lower price.


    Normally, when Amanitore was around, if something happened, she herself would take the initiative to go speak with the other party along with some members of the group, since she couldn''t cause trouble for her young lady or Reiko''s father. But on that occasion, they had been assigned to kill the Spectral Queen Erzs¨¦bet B¨¢thory, in an area slightly southeast of the fortress city of Vienna.


    She was a very powerful undead and had a great legion of minions. She had been sealed by an old monk of the God of Victorious Flame after he had defeated her with great difficulty in her peak state. However, she had somehow broken the seal, though in exchange, her power had fallen to the Spiritual Palace realm. The union of mortal races had sent out the mission to all the unions in Vienna, but almost no one dared to take it, as specters were very difficult enemies to deal with.


    Amanitore was a special case. Her naturally special physical constitution allowed her to greatly reduce the damage from enemies who specialized in spiritual and soul attacks, and her supporting beasts further increased her resistance to them, making her the ideal candidate to fight her. So in the end, the mission was assigned to the seventh group, but Amanitore didn''t want to put her young lady in danger.


    It was then, after Amanitore had left, that the incident with the beast happened. Reiko tried to resolve it herself through diplomacy, but despite being popular in the union and having many supporters, this was almost exclusively among the groups ranked below the top 10. Most of the top 10, on the other hand, despised her and saw her as a spoiled brat who relied on her father''s power, with only three exceptions, her own group, the fifth group, and the ninth group, who were absolutely loyal to her father.


    So when she went to try to solve it, she was only met with pure and outright contempt. She was a strong-willed woman, and although she was not arrogant, she did have her pride. So she demanded that they return it to her since it rightfully belonged to her group, and if they didn''t, she would report them to her "uncle," a friend of her father who held the first rank in the union as an individual.


    At first, the three groups seemed willing to cooperate and told her that they would let her reclaim it if she participated in a duel against a member of their group, obviously not the leaders, since all of them were at the Spiritual Palace realm.


    She foolishly accepted without even asking where or when the duel would take place. The only thing she knew was the single condition, either renounce the beast or win it. When they told her that the duel would take place at night, in a remote arena far from the union, and that she had to go alone, in her innocence, she stupidly did not suspect anything. She believed that even though the three groups despised her, they would not stoop so low nor be despicable enough to try to harm her, nor be so foolish as to break the union''s rules.


    It was a grave mistake. When she arrived, she found the arena filled with members of the three groups, who had been provoking her the entire time with vulgar words and obscene comments about her body. She tried to ignore them and stepped onto the battlefield.


    Reiko stood on the battlefield and said, "Very well, I''m here. Let''s begin."


    Her opponent was a burly man named Ibrahim, who came from the southeast. At that moment, she knew nothing of what was said about him. If she had, she would never have set foot in the arena, because that would be the worst mistake of her life.


    Ibrahim smiled grotesquely when he saw her but said nothing.


    Without delay, Reiko summoned her beasts, especially her most treasured one, a great deep-forest stag that stood three meters tall, with a beautiful green coat and antlers resembling a tree, with leaves sprouting from them.


    The battle started well. Her great deep-forest stag was a beast at the peak of the Astral Sovereign realm, and the monsters her opponent used were not even close to being rivals. But the leaders of the three groups knew that, which was why they had cheated. Before she arrived, they had set up formations in advance.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    When Reiko realized this, she was furious, but her stubbornness made her stay in a battle that was already unfavorable, thinking that as long as she was careful, nothing would happen.


    Because this was something completely against the union''s rules regarding duels. While artifacts, talismans, and even formations were allowed, such as when an inscription master fought, these had to be set up during the battle or be embedded in artifacts. Otherwise, it would be no different from one side being thrown into a death trap.


    Unfortunately, this was yet another display of her naivety, as the despicable and rule-breaking maneuvers did not stop there. Those provocations and obscene words continued, but this time they were accompanied by spiritual and mental attacks, even using creatures with certain abilities to influence the minds of other beings, something entirely forbidden because it constituted interference in the duel.


    This clouded her mind, leading her to make poor decisions. At the same time, the formation ended up trapping her great deep-forest stag and severely weakening it, allowing Ibrahim''s Gulyabani to kill it. The Gulyabani was a member of the intermediate giant species, belonging to the monster clan, entirely different from the lesser giants of mortal races or the common giants and superior giants, the latter also known as true giants, who belonged to the divine clan.


    Although the death of her great deep-forest stag was a huge loss, causing her damage and forcing her to cough up some blood due to their deep connection, it was by far not the worst thing that would happen to her that night.


    Because when she realized she had lost, she simply accepted the loss of the beast as agreed and informed the opposing leader, "I have lost, Johannes. The beast is yours." But as she turned to leave, she heard something.


    A tall and handsome man said, "Does the princess think she can challenge us and just walk away like that?"


    Reiko frowned and said, "I have already lost, I accepted my defeat. Isn''t killing my bonded beast enough?"


    Johannes spoke in the darkness, "I don''t think it''s enough. I believe the arrogant princess should learn a little lesson, don''t you think, Ha Neul and Istv¨¢n?"


    Two other voices followed. First, a frail but unbearably arrogant woman''s voice answered with a laugh, "Yes, of course, we must teach her ''humility.''"


    Then, an old man''s voice spoke, "I think the young lady needs a little correction."


    Reiko, now worried, realized the situation she was in, but it was too late. That pig, Ibrahim, jumped behind her and grabbed her arms, throwing the already weakened Reiko to the ground due to her internal injuries.


    Like a wild beast, Ibrahim tore Reiko''s shirt, exposing her breasts to the air, and proceeded to play with them.


    Furious, Reiko shouted, "Let me go! Don''t you dare!"


    But Johannes''s angry voice hurried him, "Idiot! Do you want the guards to discover us? Stop playing and do it now!"


    Reiko''s words drowned in desperate sobs as Ibrahim ripped off her pants and underwear. The freezing air against her skin made her shiver, but it was fear that paralyzed her. For the first time in her life, she felt a terror so deep that not even words could express it. "No! Stop, don''t do it! Please!"


    But that beast Ibrahim didn''t stop. Despite her screams, pleas, and cries, he continued and continued until he couldn''t anymore, because the sun was starting to rise, and they all had to flee.


    Sore and broken, Reiko gathered the last bit of strength she had left. With trembling hands, she dressed in spare clothes she carried with her. The physical pain was nothing compared to the weight of what she had just lived through. She used the medicines she had on hand to try to soothe her wounds, but her mind remained trapped in the darkness of that night.


    Upon arriving at the union the next day, she hoped to find some refuge, but reality was even crueler. Rumors of what had happened had already spread. The mocking, pitiful, or disdainful gazes were even harder to endure than the physical pain. That night had not only stripped her of her dignity but had also shattered the image others had of her.


    <hr>


    Feicui Long felt bad, he had guessed correctly. He knew that such an innocent attitude would probably get her into trouble sooner or later, he just didn''t expect it to happen before even meeting her.


    He wondered if maybe, had he introduced himself earlier to evaluate her, he could have changed something in her and prevented it from happening, but he simply dismissed the idea. As the god of time, he already knew there was no point in thinking about what could have been. Even with the power to control time as he once had, where he could change the past, he did not do so, as time works in an unpredictable and often complicated way.


    So, instead of dwelling on what could have been, he tried to focus on the present, though ironically, he lived constantly thinking about everything he could have done in his past life to prevent what had happened. This made him laugh internally with a smile of pure irony at himself.


    Without Reiko noticing, he shook his head from side to side and focused on her. Thinking about everything she had told him only filled him with anger and fury. Feicui Long, enraged, embraced her more tightly this time, with both arms, and said, "Those damned bastards, how dare they do that to my woman? Right now, I may not have the strength to take revenge for you, but when I return, I will officially take you as my woman so that I can immediately make them suffer a fate worse than death."


    Reiko had already calmed down. She lifted her head and looked at him, half-smiling and half-doubtful. "Who says I''m your woman?"


    Feicui Long replied with an unusually serious face, "You yourself said so yesterday, all night long."


    The memory of what had happened hit her like a gust of wind, and her face turned crimson. Unable to hold his gaze, she buried her face in Feicui Long''s chest while lightly punching him with her fist.


    Reiko protested in a muffled voice, "Don''t say it so easily!"


    But Feicui Long ignored her. It was true that, in his first life, he would never have considered taking her as his partner just because of one night of mutual pleasure. In his first life, he had too many encounters and sexual partners, but none became his wife or even a concubine. However, his other lives had slightly changed his perspective.


    Now, he was somewhat more capable in what were called romantic relationships than before. Although he still did not feel love for Reiko, he could not ignore what she had done. Having faced such a tragedy and still seeking comfort in him, telling him everything without reservation, and even apologizing¡­ If after all this he was still incapable of understanding her intentions, then he did not deserve to be called a person.


    ¡­


    While Feicui Long meditated on how he himself had changed, Reiko¡¯s heart was a mess. Feicui Long did not know her, but she, on the other hand, knew him. Long before even seeing him in Vienna, she had spent some time in the sanctuary of all races, where she saw Feicui Long. At that moment, she found him incredibly beautiful, and since he was of her age, she wanted to approach him.


    But her father stopped her, as she could not get close to him. Their statuses were far too different. He was the heir of a superpower-rank force, while she was the daughter of a disinherited and self-exiled prince. It was a difference as vast as the heavens and the earth. She would never have the opportunity to even speak to him. But when she learned that he had arrived in this city at the age of fifteen, she could not help but watch him from afar for a while.


    She couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for him, how cruel fate had been to let him fall into such a miserable situation. Yet, she never had the courage to approach him. Even though she continued observing him and watching his movements, it wasn¡¯t until he decided to take the evaluation that she found the chance to approach him without seeming like a stranger or a weirdo.


    Unfortunately, she had already been tainted by a beast. But then, an idea crossed her mind. Although it might seem awful, she thought it would be fine if it were him. He could cleanse her. To her, he was an angel descended from the heavens. He would erase the traces of having been defiled by such a lowly being. That was why she decided to take a risky gamble.


    However, this thought filled her with guilt. Using Feicui Long in such a way was something she despised about herself. She had sought out her angel with a selfish intention, and even though she had managed to stay by his side, she could not help but feel unworthy of him.


    ...


    After a while, Reiko calmed down and cleared her thoughts. She gathered her courage to say something she had dreamed of for a long time, and, closing her eyes slightly, she said, "Feicui Long, I like you. I would love it if you could give me a chance to be your partner."


    Feicui Long, who was watching her, couldn''t help but think how adorable she looked as she closed her little eyes to confess. However, he didn¡¯t wait long to respond and said, "Didn''t I already tell you? You are mine."


    Reiko opened her eyes in shock and said, "But I thought you were joking¡­"


    Feicui Long replied, "I don¡¯t like joking about these kinds of things. Reiko, you are my woman. Even though, at this moment, I don¡¯t have the power to take you without putting you in danger, once I do, I will take you, and nothing and no one in this universe will be able to stop it."


    Reiko¡¯s face turned a deep shade of red as she felt her heart pounding as if it were about to leap out of her chest. Trying to hide her nervousness, she stammered, "W-when will that be¡­?"


    This time, Feicui Long smiled bitterly and said, "I still don¡¯t know, but I will achieve it. I know because whenever I set my mind to something, I get it¡­ or well, at least almost always."


    When he said that last part, he couldn¡¯t help but recall his greatest failure, but he simply buried it within his memories for the time being.


    Reiko nodded in understanding and, with some reluctance, confessed something else. "You know, I¡­ I already knew you, Feicui Long. I saw you at the sanctuary of all races. You were about ten years old, being guided and protected by several people. Maybe you didn¡¯t see me, but I was there with my father, among the crowd watching you pass by."


    Feicui Long then tried to recall if he had seen her, but he couldn¡¯t. His memories of the sanctuary weren¡¯t entirely pleasant. At that time, his mother¡¯s condition was rapidly deteriorating, and the only things on his mind were her and Huo Baoshi, who was the one supporting him through those difficult moments. Most of the people in the sanctuary looked at him in a way that made him feel too distant from them, so he paid them no attention. And his father¡­ well, let¡¯s just say he was a man with very little time.


    Feicui Long then replied, "I see. Honestly, I can¡¯t remember. My time at the sanctuary wasn¡¯t all that great."


    Reiko, though a little disappointed, simply said, "Oh, it¡¯s nothing. What do you think about having breakfast? We can keep talking while we eat."


    Feicui Long smiled and said, "That sounds perfect."


    Reiko pressed and injected energy into the stone, and the maids entered once again. However, this time, when they reached the bed, they let out surprised cries. It seemed they had forgotten to tidy up the bed for the two of them, and now they were faced with the messy sheets.


    Reiko, embarrassed, avoided looking at them directly. Instead, she took refuge once again in Feicui Long¡¯s chest, murmuring something inaudible. It seemed that gesture was becoming her usual way of hiding her face in embarrassing moments.


    Only a few of them stayed behind to tidy up Reiko¡¯s room.

 Chapter 15 – The Temple of the Emerald Dragon of Space and Time

    Feicui Long and Reiko finished breakfast at nine in the morning, after which they entered the room and sat on the now neatly made bed. It almost seemed as if nothing had happened here. They hugged in silence for a while, simply looking at each other.


    It was then that Feicui Long wanted to reaffirm his words: "Don''t worry, I will return with enough strength and take you with me. I will also take care of eliminating those bastards who hurt you."


    This time, Reiko shook her head and said, "I''m more than happy to go with you, but I won''t let you be the one to deal with them."


    Feicui Long looked at her, confused, and asked, "Can I know why?"


    Reiko looked at him with a gaze full of determination and responded with slight traces of anger in her voice: "Because I want to be the one to make them suffer."


    She paused for a moment to calm her anger and then continued: "But more importantly, I don''t want to keep depending on anyone else. I''m tired of relying on Amanitore or my father, of depending on other people. That''s why I wanted that beast. I want to show this world that I, Reiko Kurogane, am not just the daughter of Masaki Kurogane, the leader of the union of summoners, tamers, necromancers, and creators of golems and puppets, but that I am also a tamer by my own merit."


    Feicui Long looked at her and nodded happily: "That''s good, I like women like that. But how are you going to do it now that you''ve lost the great stag of the deep forest?"


    Reiko, a bit embarrassed, said, "Actually, I was thinking of asking you. After all, the sanctuary of all races specializes in tamers, summoners, necromancers, and creators of golems and puppets, so I thought you must have received a better education than me."


    Feicui Long looked at her with a serious expression, but internally, he wanted to cry. He had certainly been taught about the four main specializations of the sanctuary, but his knowledge was purely theoretical, not practical. In reality, most of his experience came from his past lives, particularly his first life. Even though he didn''t possess the taming ability or the others, he had seen their use, even from people close to him, like Marianne, who possessed the Sovereign''s Quartet.


    Reiko, thinking that she had made him angry, quickly said, "I''m sorry if I overstepped¡­"


    Feicui Long told her, "Not at all. It''s just that I found it curious that you would want my help and not someone else''s with practical experience. But anyway, to begin with, tell me which creatures you have contracted."


    Reiko''s face lit up when she realized she hadn''t upset him, and she began to show him and talk about her creatures: "The creatures I have with me are: a five-tailed elemental fox, a flashing plasma sparrow, a ten-flower blooming turtle, a moonlight bunny, a sleeping thorny rose, a legionary shadow mouse, an illusory dust butterfly, and an axolotl of the deep mud. They were ten in total with the great stag, but¡­"


    Feicui Long looked at her, placed a hand on his face, and said, "No wonder you lost, aside from the issue with the traps."


    Reiko looked at him with an innocent expression full of serious doubts and asked, "What''s wrong with my beast team?"


    Feicui Long looked at that face, similar to that of an innocent puppy, and couldn''t be too harsh with her. He said, "Look, the thing is, while from a distance your team might seem well-constructed because you have creatures from three different categories¡ªattack, support and control, and healing-support, you''re missing defensive creatures or, failing that, mixed-category ones. While we could ignore this since it''s possible to build a perfect team with only these three, we have more serious problems."


    Feicui Long paused before continuing, "Starting with the fact that you chose your creatures based on them looking cute or pretty rather than fulfilling their function or being very strong. Besides that, why the hell are almost all your creatures female, except for the great stag?"


    Reiko, a little embarrassed at being found out, corrected him, "Actually, it''s a doe."


    Feicui Long looked at her in disbelief. He wanted to say something about it, but he simply continued explaining, "Alright, let''s continue. Now, let''s go over the attackers. You should know that each category is divided into subcategories. Although the great stag was a very good attacker and a pure attacker, the other two beasts fall into different subcategories."


    He paused before adding: "The sparrow, for example, is an attacker specialized in speed. It can reach great velocity, but it sacrifices a significant part of its attack power. On the other hand, the fox is even worse. It''s designed for area attacks or crowd control. Its individual attack is weak and only truly shines when facing large groups of enemies."


    Reiko interrupted him for a moment and said, "But the fox''s seller told me it was a four-tailed elemental fox and that those were very good in individual attacks. That bastard tricked me."


    Feicui Long looked at her and shook his head, "I don''t think he tricked you. Let me explain. Each racial clan is divided into subclans. Some also simply call them races, but that''s not entirely correct. In turn, these subclans can be classified in three ways: major clans or phylum, intermediate clans or class, and minor clans or families."


    He paused to make sure Reiko was following and continued, "A major clan consists of many intermediate clans or sometimes just a specific race. Examples include the bird clan, the mammal clan, the dragon clan, etc. An intermediate clan is composed of minor clans, such as the canine clan, the arachnid clan, etc. Meanwhile, a minor clan includes only one specific race, for example, the wolf clan, the tiger clan, etc."


    Feicui Long took a breath and continued, "Each minor clan or family is further composed of genera, and those, in turn, are made up of species and subspecies. Additionally, you have to consider their variants, mutations, and other factors. You should know this much by now, right?"


    Reiko nodded, though she was still somewhat confused.


    Feicui Long paused for a moment before continuing in more detail, "Alright, so the thing is, the five-tailed elemental fox, like many others, is a species with numerous subspecies. The one the seller mentioned is the common five-tailed elemental fox, which is the most common subspecies. However, the one you have is a five-tailed elemental fox with undulating tails, a completely different subspecies."


    Feicui Long pointed out the differences in the image projection stone that Reiko used to show him the fox: "The problem is that the differences between them are very few, but these are the three main ones. The first is that the common one has smooth fur, whereas your fox''s subspecies has wavy fur. The second is that while the common one has a circular boundary where its tails start being covered by the five elements, your fox instead has a pattern resembling hills. The third is that the common one has tails like a normal fox, with slightly reduced mobility, while the undulating one has extremely mobile tails that seem to ''wave,'' hence its name, since they look like ripples. It''s very likely that the seller wasn''t able to tell them apart since the undulating ones are a rather rare subspecies."


    Reiko then calmed down, though she felt a little sad for not having realized it earlier. Even so, she nodded at Feicui Long to continue.


    Feicui Long understood and went on, "Now it''s the turn of the healers-supporters. To begin with, the lunar light rabbit is a very good support and healing beast, as it can heal and enhance the light element. The problem is that in your team, you don''t have any creature that uses the light element, so it can only heal."


    Reiko made a slight frustrated grimace but remained silent as he continued. "Now let''s move on to what would be the only beast in this category that was actually good for you, the ten-flower florid turtle. It''s a high-defense beast, comparable to a defensive-type or mixed-type beast, even though it doesn''t have any ability or trait that officially classifies it as one. Besides that, it can heal, provide support, and enhance several attributes with five of the types of its flowers, while the other five types have abilities that can hinder opponents in different ways."


    Reiko, a bit happy that her beloved turtle had received Feicui Long''s approval, made a small fist to congratulate herself for choosing it well.


    Feicui Long noticed this, which made him pause for a moment before continuing, "Lastly, the dormant thorny rose is good for support and healing, but it has a similar issue to the rabbit, its support ability only works with creatures that use the wood element. That would only include the turtle, which isn''t an attacker, the deer¡­ and the fox, but it doesn''t specialize in individual attacks or a single element. Besides that, the best thing about the rose is its thorns, which it can use as projectiles to put enemies to sleep. The problem is that it needs very strong protection, and while you could use the turtle, with your fragile attacking beasts, which also fight at a distance, it''s almost a guaranteed death to move it in order to protect a support-healing beast that doesn''t contribute much."


    Feicui Long took another deep breath and said, "Lastly, the support-control types. There are hardly any problems here since two out of the three you have are good. The illusory butterfly is very useful for distracting, drawing attention, and creating opportunities for you, while the axolotl can regenerate, a huge advantage that many don''t have. Besides that, it can use terrestrial swimming, a rather good ability that allows it to hide underground and avoid the opponent''s lethal attacks while annoying them. Additionally, its ability to create mud pools that hinder enemy movement makes it very troublesome for others."


    When Feicui Long was about to talk about the last creature, he sighed sigh and said, "The only problem is the shadow legionary rat. Its abilities shine in environments rich in shadows and darkness, as it can create shadow clones with offensive capabilities that grow stronger alongside her as more shadows and darkness accumulate, making her, in theory, a very good control support beast... But not only do you lack a creature that uses the darkness element, on the contrary, you have beasts that generate a lot of light, like the sparrow, and that makes her clones useful only as distractions, while she herself isn''t of much use either."


    ...


    A few minutes passed, and Reiko could only let out a sigh, looking at him with a defeated expression, like a scolded puppy.


    Feicui Long placed a hand on her head and spoke in a gentler tone, "This doesn''t mean all is lost. We just need to adjust your strategy and strengthen your team."


    Reiko nodded up and down in confirmation. Feicui Long then said, "Alright, then tell me, you mentioned that you only carry ten in total. That means you have others you don''t bring with you, and more specifically, there''s another one you carry but don''t use."


    Reiko took a deep breath and explained, "I have four or five others. I bought them to replace part of my team, but they''re still young, and now that you''ve told me all this, I think none of them might be useful to me. Maybe only the beast that was taken from me would be, and the other beast I carry with me is a forest anaconda, but right now, it''s just at the peak of the earthly palace realm. I keep it because it''s special to me, it was given to me as a gift, as it''s a tradition in both my family and the kingdom I come from."


    Feicui Long looked at her, resigned, and said, "Well, I more or less suspected the first part, but they''re still young, so you could sell them to buy better ones. As for the forest anaconda, why haven''t you nurtured it more? As far as I know, once they reach adulthood, they reach the peak of the earthly palace realm."


    Reiko replied, "It''s not that I haven''t done it, on the contrary, I have, and I continue to do so. But for some reason, it still hasn''t advanced."


    Feicui Long then understood. "I see, it seems your forest anaconda doesn''t have much talent, but I think there''s another way to make it progress. I saw that you have a small bottle with a few drops of green dragon blood. You could use it to evolve it into a true oriental dragon."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Reiko asked in surprise. "But how? I''ve been saving up what I could to try to evolve it into a green oriental dragon, but with this amount, it''s not enough. I''m not even sure if it would evolve into a flood dragon or a serpie, which is why I haven''t tried."


    Feicui Long, with a confident smile, told her. "With me here, I can ensure that it evolves with a 100% chance into a flood dragon or a serpie, and with a 95% chance of evolving into something even better than a green oriental dragon, a forest oriental dragon. Although, there is a way to make it 100%, but I''ll tell you later."


    With that, Feicui Long took an artifact similar to a pen and filled it with beast blood, though in reality, any blood from any energy creature would work. It was common for cultivators, especially those related to taming or inscriptions, among other close fields. He began writing on a sheet, a rune, then folded the paper and took the bottle of beast blood, pouring it into the bottle.


    Reiko, confused, asked. "What are you doing? Is it necessary to throw a paper with a rune into the bottle? How would that change anything?" She wasn''t worried about it contaminating or damaging the dragon blood. Dragons were the strongest race, and their blood was extremely powerful. Something like a piece of paper or even other things couldn''t change its properties.


    Feicui Long ignored her until the rune started glowing, and then, smiling, he said. "With this, if the anaconda drinks it, what I said will come true."


    The rune glowed brighter and brighter. This rune was the same one he used in the alchemist evaluation, but it had a slightly different detail, something very special that would make Allearys, who was interested, or any inscription master, kill for it. The difference was that this was the core rune version, though it was also called a naked rune or rune essence. It had several names.


    What set it apart was that all runes were normally inscribed with four components. The protection, the wrapping, the encryption, and the core. The core was the rune writing itself. The wrapping was a thin layer of energy that helped diffuse the rune and provided isolation from natural elements or the energy flowing through it. The encryption made the rune difficult to understand and prevented it from being easily learned, increasing its difficulty many, many times over, so it couldn''t be mastered just by copying its shape or analyzing it. This was achieved through different means, like the illusion that Allearys saw when Feicui Long created it at its peak, which, by the way, if not for Feicui Long, would have left her either insane or dead. Finally, the protection, a layer composed of different types of energy, but which always included at least vital energy, spiritual energy, mental energy, and soul energy. Besides that, it was a thicker layer, and its purpose was to protect the other layers.


    By the way, it should be clarified that this does not only apply to runes but to all inscriptions, including formations and the formation of lines or drawings. That being said, the rune that Feicui Long inserted was its core version, which meant that anyone could learn it simply by carefully observing how it was written. Normally, he would not risk someone unworthy learning it, but he needed the rune to come into direct contact with dragon blood to enhance it.


    Reiko watched, slightly impressed, until the light went out and then said: "Well, I don''t know what you did to it, but I suppose it''s not something bad. Can you tell me the way to reach a 100% probability?"


    Feicui Long felt a little embarrassed about what he was going to say, but he said it anyway: "If you take it to the temple of the emerald dragon god of space and time, which is in the city of Vienna, and make it take the blood, it is possible that the emerald dragon god of space and time will bless it. Well, more than ''possible,'' it is guaranteed that he will bless it, and that will ensure the 100%."


    Feicui Long felt that it was a bit shameless to ask a girl, who was currently his partner, to go and worship him, but he had no other choice. Although as a god with divine authority he did not depend on faith, it was still a boost that could help him in the future. Besides, both benefited from this.


    Reiko, frowning, asked with many doubts: "It''s not that I don''t trust you, but the emerald dragon god of space and time... I don''t see the point in asking things from a dead person. That''s why I don''t understand how they still worship the god of the victorious flame in the Habsburg Empire or the god of benevolent light in Great Mazovia."


    Feicui Long wanted to cry. What great disrespect he had just received to his face, and from his own woman, but ignoring it, he acted like a true gentleman and said: "While it is true that he is dead, his divine will still exists. You see, I don''t know if your father ever told you, but cultivators can leave behind their remnant will."


    Reiko said to him: "But wasn''t that exclusive to at least the astral anima realm? And wasn''t it only in an object?"


    Feicui Long looked at her and shook his head: "To understand it, what you say is true and at the same time not. Starting from the astral anima realm, a cultivator can leave their will even without leaving a part of their mind, body, spirit, or soul. At the beginning, in the astral anima, it can only be in objects no larger than small size, typically ranging from a ring to a small weapon. Then, in astral spirit, it increases to medium-sized objects, like large weapons or medium-sized statues. In astral soul, it extends to large statues, and so on, with an increasing area that can hold the will without weakening. For example, in the sacred realm, it can directly manifest in a room, in the earthly immortal realm in a building, in the true immortal realm in a small pocket dimension or an area like a forest or even a country, in the celestial immortal realm across an entire continent or a medium-sized dimension, and the strongest ones can even cover multiple continents."


    Feicui Long paused and looked into her eyes: "A divine palace or demigod, whichever you prefer to call it, can extend it to an entire planet, a star system, or a very large dimension. The strongest ones can even extend it to multiple star systems. A terrestrial divine realm can cover multiple star systems up to half a galaxy. The strongest can cover an entire galaxy. Celestial divines can cover multiple galaxies or even entire small-sized planes, and it keeps increasing, as the area they cover with their strength expands."


    Reiko was quite surprised by this fact. She had never heard anything like it before, or maybe her father had told her, but she hadn''t paid attention.


    Feicui Long hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should explain this, but he did so anyway: "Of course, this depends on the level of the universe. I know it may sound confusing, but universes are also classified in different ways. The main classification is based on who created them. From the terrestrial divine realm, or terrestrial god as you prefer to call it, it is possible to create a universe, and as one''s strength increases, the universe or universes that are created will be stronger, larger, expand more rapidly, and have better resources, laws, and energy concentration, among other things. So, depending on who creates it, they are classified as follows."


    Feicui Long walked a bit until he reached the bed and continued speaking: "If any divine realm creates it, it will be a mortal or inferior universe. If any universal realm creates it, it will be a normal universe or simply a universe, also called an intermediate universe. If a celestial realm creates it, it will be a superior universe. Some call them celestial, but that is incorrect and misleading, as they do not even come close to the true ones. Lastly, there are the supreme universes, created by any absolute realm."


    Reiko watched him intently, though a shadow of confusion crossed her face.


    Feicui Long then sat down and looked at her while continuing his explanation: "Of course, what I am telling you is a very simplified version, and I won''t go into too many details. But the reason I am explaining this to you is that the one who creates a universe determines its maximum strength limit. It''s not that surpassing it is impossible, but it will be many times harder compared to being in one with a higher limit. Additionally, a universe can increase its limit if someone surpasses it¡ªit doesn''t necessarily have to be its creator. All of this matters because the maximum reach depends on the maximum strength."


    Feicui Long looked at her seriously as he finished his explanation: "For example, in a mortal universe created by a peak terrestrial divine realm, someone at the terrestrial divine realm can expand their will throughout the entire universe. Although many would not do so because their will would be weakened, there are some whose will would not weaken. These are those who are also at the peak of the terrestrial divine realm and, in addition to that, are at the pinnacle of strength in that universe. Although the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time is countless realms higher than the terrestrial divine realm, this example applies to him, as it is no coincidence that he was the first among all supreme gods. Therefore, his will can cover this entire universe without weakening in the slightest."


    Reiko then understood everything, yet she still did not seem convinced to go. It did not take her long to speak and explain to Feicui Long why: "Alright, I understand what you''re saying, but even so, I wouldn''t like to go ask a favor of a god I don''t know much about, to be honest. Besides, it would feel like taking advantage since I''d be doing it without giving anything in return, like worshiping him or something."


    Feicui Long understood that she did not want to feel like she was using him, so he said: "If that worries you, why don''t you make a donation? You have money and resources, and your father has even more. You could leave them a donation, which would help them a lot since, ever since their god''s fall, they have gone through a difficult situation and now have very few believers."


    Reiko shook her head, and this time it was her turn to explain something to him: "It''s true that the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time has few believers in the Habsburg Empire, and therefore there are few temples, and the ones that exist are only in major cities and look quite poor. But we must take into account that the main god of the Habsburg Empire is the God of the Victorious Flame. However, in reality, the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time is a god with many believers among mortal races. Throughout the direct territory of the union and the nations that comprise it, he is the third most worshiped god with the largest number of believers and temples, only behind the Supreme Goddess of Life, who is the first, and the Supreme Goddess of Mystical Energies, who is the second."


    Reiko continued: "Moreover, three of the supreme forces have him as their sole and main god, and he is highly worshiped in small villages. Even the union itself protects him, and he is essentially the only religion protected by the union in a generalized and direct manner. The others are only protected because they have believers among the mortal races."


    Feicui was very confused and surprised this time and said to her: "But why do they worship him so much?"


    Reiko answered his question: "Because of all the protection he gave to the mortal races when he was alive. He was practically the only one who protected us and specifically favored us. It wasn''t until his death that the mortal clan began to be persecuted with the intention of wiping it out throughout this universe. Besides that, specifically in this system, he created a protective formation that also suppresses and limits the cultivation of those who can enter to a high level in the Spiritual Palace Realm. So far, no one has been able to break it. That is one of the reasons we have not been exterminated in this world."


    Feicui Long then understood. He found it curious since he had done it at the time because of a promise to his master that he would be the protector of mortals, as his master was precisely a mortal, an elf. And what he did for this world was purely by chance, as he simply wanted to protect the beloved world of his most precious younger brother, his best friend...


    With that clarified, he said to Reiko: "Then, what do you think? That way, you won''t feel like you owe him something or that you got it for free."


    Reiko still did not look convinced and said: "That would seem fine to me, but even so, I am not entirely convinced. Honestly, I don''t have a very good opinion of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, because many people forget that he is also the god of power, which attracts people full of ambition, with evil intentions, who seek power without caring about anything else. Of course, I know that not all his believers are like that, but I wouldn''t doubt that half of them are, and if half are, it must be because their god grants them that desire, as you say."


    Feicui Long was screaming internally. He was being slandered and attacked again and again without having done anything to her. Calming himself down, he slowly explained: "It is true that he is the god of power, but he does not grant a blessing, a divine gift, divine grace, or power to just anyone, only to the worthy."


    Reiko said to him: "But how do I know that to be ''worthy'' they can''t be like that?"


    Feicui Long responded in defense of his honor: "The Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, although he is not someone of the righteous path, is also not of the demonic path. He is more of a neutral path, slightly inclined towards righteousness. Moreover, there are only three ways to be considered worthy. The first is to obtain the blessing or whatever it may be through your own merits and abilities. For example, if you are going to take, let''s say, a rune, you must understand it by yourself. Cheating, such as bringing objects or having someone else help you, is not tolerated. Or if you want power, you must fight and overcome yourself."


    Feicui Long stopped for a moment and said, "The second way to be worthy is how much you are willing to sacrifice, but this sacrifice only applies to yourself. You cannot sacrifice someone else or your loved ones. It has to be something like your arms, eyes, an ability, among other things. The third is being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to obtain power for others. This sacrifice can mean being willing to give your life for them or dedicating your entire life to the service of the god, whether to protect your family, a town, or whatever it may be, or also to avenge your parents, among other things."


    Reiko replied, "But that doesn''t eliminate the possibility of people with bad intentions."


    Feicui Long patiently refuted her, "Although it may seem that way, he does not grant power to someone who comes with frivolous reasons, so they can''t even get to test one of the three. People who come solely to obtain power or simply because they covet something without a purpose, in other words, not just anyone can come and obtain this. Especially those, as I said, who are crazy for power and desire it but will find nothing but his contempt. So, while it''s true that he doesn''t grant power only to the just, it doesn''t mean he grants power to all evil people or to those who worship him just because they want power. Besides, what is right and what is wrong are both subjective."


    Reiko finally couldn''t find more words to refute him and said, "Alright, I''ll go and do what you told me, including the donation. But I''m surprised that you know so much about him without being a believer. I''ve never seen you go to his temple."


    Feicui Long didn''t understand how she knew he had never gone to the temple in this life, but even so, he simply changed the conversation to divert the topic, "Alright. By the way, I also wrote this. It''s for Amanitore. Although she hid it very well, I saw that she suffered severe soul damage. She''s only in such good condition because of the crystal released by the spectral queen. This is a list of ingredients that don''t require an alchemist. If they are eaten together in a soup, the entire soup must be consumed, it will allow her to fully recover, thanks to the crystal and her special general constitution."

 Chapter 16 - The Rainbow Slime and the Rare Bird

    Feicui Long knew he had to leave, but before doing so, he leaned towards Reiko, taking her by the waist and pulling her close. Their lips met in a passionate, deep kiss that made time seem to stop. Their tongues intertwined in an intimate dance, while his hands moved down to rest on the perfect curves of Reiko''s backside, firm and shaped like the sweetness of a peach.


    Reiko, surprised at first, quickly took the initiative. With a defiant look and a playful smile, she reached down, decisively touching Feicui Long¡¯s "great friend." This made him tense for an instant, feeling the heat between them becoming almost uncontrollable.


    The kiss, although they both enjoyed it, had to be broken. They gazed at each other, slightly panting, cheeks flushed, and a sparkle in their eyes that revealed everything they wanted to say but couldn¡¯t express in words at that moment.


    Feicui Long took a deep breath and, with a smile full of emotion, bid farewell:


    "Well, Reiko, see you later. We¡¯ll meet again another day."


    Reiko looked at him, still feeling the warmth of his hands and the tingling on her lips, and replied in a soft but determined voice:


    "Alright, take care. But... could you accompany me when I go to the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time?"


    Feicui Long nodded firmly, approaching one last time to caress her face.


    "Of course, why not? For my woman, I¡¯d do anything."


    ¡­


    Feicui Long left Reiko¡¯s house and entered the UIDNCGM. Just as Reiko had told him yesterday, someone was waiting for him. It was a member of the union who guided him to a room similar to the one in the UMIARH, with the same artifact at the back. Apparently, they called it a space dispatch station.


    The assistant carried out the same procedure and handed everything to him in a special spatial bag. This time, it was different from the one given to him at the UMIARH. If the one from the UMIARH was of a higher quality, prioritizing function over appearance, this one was entirely different. It was very beautiful, made from the pelts of space dust rabbits, and bore the symbol of the UIDNCGM.


    The space dust rabbit was a beast from the elemental realm of the "spatial" attribute, though it actually had no control over it. It was only thanks to the dust motes that it could perform "jumps," which was its greatest ability. It had nothing else, but its pelt was highly useful for these types of bags, giving them great aesthetic value, especially due to the natural inscriptions formed by the space dust motes. He had to admit it was truly beautiful.


    As for its contents, they were very similar to those given by the union, except that it lacked tools, and the books were about creatures from all clans. There were also maps, and the crystals were only 25, with just 3 essences. The rest was the same: energy stones, money, etc.


    He was somewhat satisfied. It was less than what the UMIARH had given him, but something was better than nothing. Just as he was about to leave, the union member stopped him and spoke, "Sir Feicui Long, please don¡¯t leave yet. You still have to choose your first creature. The union gifts a creature to tamers and summoners, while the other two receive kits that can help them. Since you are a special case, you can take two creatures and both kits. In fact, those with more than one ability can also do so, depending on how many abilities they possess."


    Feicui Long paused, curious, and said, "Alright, I suppose you¡¯ll be the one guiding me, right?"


    The member shook his head and pointed at a girl who was also a support member. It was obvious that she held a higher rank than this man. She was a goblin girl, greeting him with great familiarity, though he personally did not recognize her.


    Feicui Long followed her and listened as she spoke, "Alright, young master Feicui Long, the lady has assigned me to be your guide. Currently, we have three zones within the creature distribution building for members."


    The union member continued her explanation, "The first is only for apprentices and those who passed the exam or the standard evaluation with average talent. The second is for children or relatives of mid to low-rank direct members, as well as those who obtained medium to high scores or talents. The third is for children or relatives of high-rank or superior members. It is also designated for people with very high talent, exceptional affinity, or multiple abilities, especially those with the Sovereign Quartet."


    As they passed through different rooms, the union member continued her explanation, "The first zone contains very basic creatures, most of them being slimes or beasts from the elemental realm. The second zone has slightly rarer and variant creatures, along with mutated creatures, but of the more common types. Lastly, the third zone contains the rarest variants and mutations, as well as more exotic and unique creatures. Even so, everything remains within an acceptable range for the union, as these are supposed to be starter creatures."


    Knowing that this might be misinterpreted by Feicui Long, she clarified, "By the way, the mortal races union is the one that imposed this policy in all UIDNCGM branches. This particular union does not have many direct members, as it relies mainly on abilities, and these are difficult to learn. To encourage members to invite their relatives or close ones, they ensure that the basic creatures are slightly better."


    Feicui Long nodded. For a moment, he thought Reiko''s father was promoting nepotism, but it seemed the union was simply short on members in the UIDNCGM.


    ¡­


    Soon, they arrived at a room that appeared to hold the kits for golem and puppet creators as well as necromancers. He could choose between several types, including the most expensive ones.


    The guide pointed to a few in particular, "This one here is among the most expensive and rarest. It contains an energy stone core, along with special materials to craft a customized black steel core, as well as instructions for creating personalized cores, among other things. And this one, in turn, is just as rare as the previous one but for necromancers. It contains a soul energy crystal essence, an undead energy pearl, a vial of death aura, along with an instruction manual for creating personalized undead, as well as other items. I can assure you that there are currently no better ones than these two. Only a few come close, but I don''t think they are worth it, especially because the manuals in these two range from beginner to advanced level and were written by experts from the astral soul realm union."


    Feicui Long grabbed them without hesitation, not for the manual but for the soul energy crystal essence and the energy stone core. These were very valuable things, the rest was just a bonus.


    Then, they walked down a hallway that had three doors, each leading to the three areas described earlier. The guide entered with Feicui Long through the door at the very end. Curiously, the doors were made entirely of an energetic material, an energy glass refined from a type of energetic sand that he couldn''t identify. However, its transparency allowed him to see that there were many creatures inside the two rooms, all in small enclosures. Since they were all young, it didn''t feel like they had too little space.


    Inside, the guide explained further, "This third area is subdivided into several zones. The first one contains the least rare and powerful creatures and is reserved for the relatives or close ones of high-ranking members, as well as those who hold high ranks in the union''s rankings. Groups that are in the top 10 can take a beast from this zone for their new members. Those ranked between 11 and 50 can only take one per year, and those in the top 51 to 100 can take one every five years. Of course, to be fair, they receive more allocations in the second area."


    Feicui Long scanned his surroundings and observed with curiosity the great order that this room had. It contained interesting variants, and they were only in the first subdivision, he wanted to see what lay beyond.


    Then, she pointed to another subdivision, "The second subdivision is for those who already hold rankings. For example, the leader of a group or those in the individual ranking can take a creature from this zone every three years. Likewise, the relatives of the highest-ranking union members can take one if they join. It is also where those with a high score, exceptional talent, and strong affinity can claim theirs."


    As they neared the end, she spoke again, "This is the third and final subdivision. It is reserved only for those with the highest scores, those with incredible talent and affinity, those who possess multiple abilities and have exceptional talent, or those who own the Sovereign''s Quartet. Though currently, you are the only one who has entered for three of these reasons. Additionally, those who place first in competitions organized by the UIDNCGM or the union itself can also obtain a creature from here, if the competition is special enough, of course, since not all would be worthy of this prize. Those who place second or third, or those who win competitions that do not qualify for this reward, may receive one from the previous two subdivisions or even from the second area and its subdivisions."


    Feicui Long nodded in satisfaction. The mortal races union truly knew how to promote competitiveness and encourage strength growth. It was no wonder they continued to sustain mortal races despite the overwhelming disadvantage they faced. However, a sudden doubt crossed his mind, so he asked, "You know, I noticed that you have a lot of creatures, but most of them are beasts. Where do you get so many young ones?"


    The girl guiding him replied, "It''s simple, we bring them from the beast sanctuaries."


    Feicui Long was in a state of shock. He was the Dragon God and the Supreme Dragon Sovereign, both of whom, in the end, were part of the Beast Clan, even though the Dragon Clan had been created earlier. As such, he had full knowledge of what a Beast Sanctuary was. It was a place rich in energies or a specific type of energy, also abundant in laws or a single one, filled with a great number of resources and possessing a kind of calming aura for the Beast Clan. This aura soothed the wildest instincts in savage beasts or those that had not yet awakened intelligence equal to or greater than that of a human, but it was also capable of calming even those that had already reached such intelligence or had awakened it.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Because of this, many types of beasts could coexist in these areas, even carnivorous and herbivorous ones, without killing each other. And despite what it might seem due to the immense size of some beasts, an energy beast did not actually consume much food since most of its sustenance came from the energy it absorbed from its surroundings. These areas made it so that carnivorous beasts had almost no need to devour other creatures and, even more so, encouraged them to shift their focus to other living beings, such as plants. After all, carnivorous energy beasts could digest plants, unlike regular animals, they simply avoided them due to their taste. Likewise, herbivorous beasts were also capable of digesting meat but refrained from it for the same reason.


    However, the true importance of these areas lay in their role as breeding grounds, as their very nature increased the survival rates of young beasts. This did not mean that beasts could not reproduce outside these areas, considering that most were actually born elsewhere, but those born in a sanctuary fared much better. They were safer, grew faster and became stronger, making them incomparably valuable within the Beast Clan.


    In fact, this was the very reason his brother had named this world "Beast Sanctuary," because his dream was to turn it into precisely that. And he had succeeded in his time, although now it could no longer truly be considered one. At its peak, this world allowed beasts to live in peace and expand throughout the universe.


    Moreover, these areas were not exclusive to this universe, they had existed since the creation of the Beast Clan. Curiously, they were also known as a nursery or paradise for beasts.


    That was why Feicui Long, still in shock, asked, "H-how is this possible?"


    In contrast, the guide responded kindly and calmly, "Well, it''s simple. There are four main reasons why we have not gone extinct in this world. The first is the formation of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time. The second is the union. The third is the resilience and perseverance of the mortal races. And the last, the second most important after the Dragon God, is thanks to one of the factions of the Beast Clan."


    The guide continued explaining, "About 50,000 years ago, more or less, the Beast Clan was still united in its faith in the Supreme God of Beasts. No one knows how or when, but someone managed to sow discord among them. Fortunately, they did not succeed in turning them all against us. The only thing they accomplished was dividing them into three factions. The first and strongest, comprising 50% of all beasts, is the neutral faction. These beasts left and abandoned their belief in the Supreme God of Beasts. They have several leaders who work together, and each one claims to be the heir of the Supreme God of Beasts."


    Feicui Long at that moment felt a bit disappointed, his brother had done everything to ensure that the Beast Clan would prosper, and this was how they repaid him, discarding him at the first opportunity¡­


    The guide did not notice this and continued, "The second faction was one that not only rejected him but also wanted to claim the inheritance for itself and, moreover, is completely hostile to the mortal races. Fortunately, only 25% of the beasts support it, while the remaining 25% are loyal to the Supreme God of Beasts and support his will to maintain the mortal races. They believe that if he decided to introduce them, it was for a reason, and that is why they cooperate with us."


    Feicui Long felt a bit better knowing that part of them still believed in his brother. He also understood more why the mortal races had not been wiped out, especially considering that this world was mostly occupied by the Beast Clan.


    The guide then resumed the explanation, "Now, the reason why we can take beasts from the sanctuaries is due to a special treaty we made. In exchange for being able to take a few beasts, we take responsibility for increasing the protection of these areas, providing them with resources we have, and giving them some food. This allowed the union to have five types of sanctuaries. The first category consists of those that are natural and controlled by beasts. These can belong to multiple races or clans or to a single one, or they may contain multiple energies or just one. In these cases, depending on who the owner is, we can only take beasts that voluntarily choose a companion or up to a limit set by the lord of the area."


    The guide pointed to some examples on a map that was near a desk located at the boundary between subdivision three and two, then continued, "The second category consists of those that were created by beasts that dominate an area. In these, the requirements are the same. The third type is an area that has the potential to become a sanctuary and was discovered by the mortal races. According to the treaty, the limit can be higher in these areas, but since they are still natural, they must still have a restriction."


    With that, the guide continued pointing out some sanctuaries as examples, "The fourth category consists of those restored by the mortal races. These are divided into three types: those that were restored because they were destroyed in the war of division of the Beast Clan, those that were devastated by a natural disaster, and those that were destroyed by the abuse of invaders. In this type, we can manage them freely because we were the ones who provided the resources for their restoration. The fifth category consists of artificial sanctuaries created by us. These are also divided into three types: those that were created in a pocket dimension or in a separate plane, those that were made in a natural or wild area, and those that are near a city. In this case, we can decide the limits we want according to the treaty. The only ones with a small limit are those in a pocket dimension or a different plane because their ecosystem is more delicate."


    Feicui Long had to admit it, this union of mortal races had given him several surprises. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that they would take the initiative to create beast sanctuaries in order to obtain tamed beasts and at the same time help the beasts of the favorable faction gain power. Because it was obvious, no one would build so many just to tame beasts, especially given the small percentage that tamers and summoners represent. The only other reason would be precisely to help them grow in numbers and thus change their situation more easily.


    The guide made one last comment and said, "By the way, several of the creatures we have here also come from those sanctuaries."


    Feicui Long was not surprised. It was normal for other clans to enter these zones, that¡¯s where the remaining food for the carnivores came from. The funny thing was that each clan had very similar zones, though with obvious differences, of course.


    Having finished the explanation, the guide said, "Well, with that clarified, let''s go to the last division so you can choose the two creatures you want."


    Feicui Long followed her, passing by one creature after another. He saw several interesting ones, including many with dragon blood. Inwardly, he thought that if he didn¡¯t find anything more interesting, he would take those, because despite everything, in his current state, he was still the Supreme Dragon God, and it was his duty to watch over all dragons and dragon-blooded beings.


    ¡­


    They continued browsing the selection until his eyes passed over a very special creature in an enclosure similar to the others. His gaze was immediately drawn to that tiny thing. It had a body that resembled a jelly of all colors, constantly shifting from one to another. He already knew the species from the sign on the enclosure, but he wanted to see more information, so he asked the guide, "Do you know if I can use my Third Eye to evaluate the creature?"


    The guide smiled and said, "Of course you can, we¡¯re not going to force you to choose without knowing what you''re picking. Besides, this is one of the few that still hasn''t been evaluated like the others."


    Feicui Long immediately activated the Third Eye. A crack began to open on his forehead, revealing a very peculiar eye. The Third Eye ability granted an extra eye with a vast range of capabilities, including evaluation and the ability to see illusions. It was a very rare and difficult ability to learn, as well as painful, since the eye had to connect to the brain, soul, spirit, mental realm, and the rest of the body, though only during the first time. In these past three months, he had decided to use it for the first time and activated it, as it was an extremely useful and precious ability.


    That said, his Third Eye was very similar to that of a dragon, perhaps due to his special soul. Finally, when the eye focused on the slime, a status window appeared:


    ¡°Name: None ¨C Sex: Female ¨C Age: 15 days


    Racial Clan: Magic Clan ¨C Slime Clan ¨C Species: Mystic Rainbow Slime/Prismatic Mystic Crystal Slime


    Variant: Prismatic Mystic Crystal


    Mutation: None


    Bloodline: Mystic Rainbow Slime


    Type: Leader ¨C Rank: Knight ¨C Grade: Divine


    Special Soul: Soul of Prismatic Mystic Crystal Slime


    Special Constitutions: General Special Constitution of the Prismatic Mystic Crystal Slime


    Abnormal State: Scared


    Cultivation Realm: Elemental Realm ¨C Grade 1 ¨C Initial Stage


    Cultivation Path: Not chosen


    Skills: Prismatic Mystic Crystal, Energy Adaptation, Mastery of the Four Mystic Energies, Mystic Absorption, and Changing Rainbow, <to awaken>.


    Cultivation Techniques: None


    Battle Techniques: None¡±


    Feicui Long wanted to scream with joy. Of all the ones he had seen, though there had been interesting ones, the best had been the dragon-blooded ones. He hadn¡¯t expected to find a treasure here. Without hesitation, calming himself internally, he said, ¡°I would like this slime here.¡±


    The guide looked at him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Feicui Long nodded without delay. Then, the guide let him enter the enclosure. Just as she was about to explain how to form a contract, Feicui Long crouched down and brought his hands together, taking out a new contract. The slime was hesitant, but Feicui Long gently picked her up and brought her closer. For some reason, this calmed her down a little, and she extended a kind of "tentacle" to touch the part where the other party had to sign, accepting the contract.


    The guide''s jaw almost dropped. It had been the simplest contract ever, so much so that Feicui Long didn¡¯t even have to use taming a single time, when newcomers usually needed to use it about five to ten times.


    Satisfied, Feicui Long stored her directly, making the guide¡¯s eyes widen even more, as she hadn¡¯t expected him to already know how to use the spaces for contracted creatures either.


    Feicui Long then looked at her and said, ¡°Alright, we can go to the next one.¡±


    A bit dazed, the guide led him to continue looking at the other creatures, but internally, her heart was in turmoil. This proved that her lady had not been wrong in choosing a man.


    ...


    Soon, Feicui Long found another creature that caught his attention. He had been observing them all with his third eye, but this one seemed curious. It was nowhere near as good as the slime, but it was certainly worth considering. Its status unfolded before him:


    ¡°Name: None ¨C Sex: Female ¨C Age: 21 days


    Racial Clan: Beast Clan ¨C Raven Clan ¨C Species: Giant Raven with Black Steel Feathers / with Deep Darkness Obsidian Heart


    Variant: Deep Darkness Obsidian


    Mutation: None


    Bloodline: Giant Raven of Deep Darkness Obsidian


    Type: Civilized


    Special Soul: Soul of the Giant Raven of Deep Darkness Obsidian


    Special Constitutions: General Special Constitution of the Giant Raven of Deep Darkness Obsidian


    Abnormal State: None


    Cultivation Realm: Elemental Realm ¨C Grade 1 ¨C Initial Stage


    Cultivation Path: Not chosen


    Abilities: Black Steel Feather Rain, Deep Darkness Shot, Merging into Darkness, Obsidian Piercing Rain, Black Steel Armor, Shadow Decoy, Deep Darkness Obsidian Heart, <To Awaken>


    Cultivation Techniques: None


    Battle Techniques: None¡±


    It was certainly more common than the slime and less powerful, but it seemed interesting as a combat and exploration beast. Moreover, it was a civilized-type beast. Although it lacked the power and overall strength bonus that leader-type or wild-type beasts had, it had the same intelligence as a human, which was already a great advantage for him.


    Feicui Long approached and said, ¡°Come here, little one, sign the contract with me.¡±


    The raven, curiously, replied, ¡°Little mortal, do you not fear me? I am three million years old!¡±


    Feicui Long was confused and looked at the guide, who covered her face with her hand and said, ¡°Sorry, this raven is a bit weird. I don¡¯t know where she heard that, but she keeps repeating it. I even thought she was a reincarnated being, but no, her soul is new.¡±


    Feicui Long found this quite amusing and definitely decided to take her. ¡°Come on, if you accept the contract, I¡¯ll give you some good nuts.¡±


    The raven hesitated, staring at him for a while, but then approached and pressed her beak against the signature, sealing the contract.

 Chapter 17 – The Unknown Twins

    Feicui Long happily thanked the guide and bid her farewell, while she sat at her desk at the boundary between the third and second subdivisions. But before he left, she called him and handed him a small bag with energy stones, saying, ¡°Here, take these energy stones. They are normally used as rewards for the creatures stored here, but I have plenty more anyway. They will help you bond better with the ones you acquired today.¡±


    Feicui Long accepted the small gift and said, ¡°Alright, Miss Guide, thank you very much for everything. If you ever need a favor, you can find me at my alchemy stall. It''s a bit far from here, but you''re more than welcome.¡±


    The guide, a bit confused as to why this boy claimed to be an alchemist, didn¡¯t give it much thought, so she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, take care, and please don¡¯t make my lady suffer too much. I know she can be a bother sometimes.¡±


    Feicui Long left this area and went to the shopping zone. He had been planning to buy some slime eggs for a while since he intended to create his own bathroom. He was tired of having to walk so much to take care of his needs, and aside from all the materials, slimes were the best way to manage waste. Especially the two most common types of slime, the acid slime and the alkaline or basic slime. They could break down almost any organic matter with their powerful abilities and would consume everything, including bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, as well as other organic material. This made them extremely useful for disinfection, and they were very clean creatures by nature since microorganisms couldn¡¯t grow on them. Moreover, they helped reduce odors along with everything else.


    They were widely used in many places, especially in aqueducts where they were released. They were also very peaceful and tended not to hunt or attack beings of a certain size or other creatures, such as mortal races, unless one got too close to their nest or disturbed or attacked them. So, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to buy some to create a latrine.


    Feicui Long then paid for everything and took the eggs with him. They had a curious structure, resembling gelatin, but they were quite hard to the touch. Their core was very undefined and underdeveloped. He stored them in a spatial bag adapted for living beings, which he also bought since, without a contract, he couldn¡¯t yet keep them in creature spaces. So, he needed an external means to carry them.


    ¡­


    Finally, Feicui Long walked back home. On the way, he bought some more herbs to finish the medicine that Hilda needed. He planned to prepare it today and treat her a little later since the process would be time-consuming and would require him to take several energy recovery pills.


    But as he approached his home, he noticed two people waiting at the edge of the enhanced protective formation. He had made several improvements to it over the past few months to increase its security and protect his belongings, so he wasn¡¯t worried about them trying to rob him. He was only wary of their intentions, especially because he had put up a sign indicating that he wasn¡¯t currently in his shop before leaving.


    As he got closer, he was surprised. It appeared to be two girls around 10 to 12 years old, poorly dressed, with clothes full of holes here and there, and clearly malnourished. He wondered what they were doing waiting in front of his shop, but even more, he questioned why there were two young girls alone in an alleyway in a district that, while safe, was still part of one of the poorest areas of the city.


    Feicui Long continued walking toward them, and just as he was about to ask what they were doing, they spoke first, saying, ¡°Are you Uncle Feicui Long, the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time?¡±


    This time, Feicui Long was truly shocked, almost to the point of fainting. He quickly grabbed them by the arms and took them inside the formation and into the shop. He did all this because, in the improved formation, he had added features like a barrier that prevented sounds from being heard, blocked spiritual senses, and included several protections against espionage.


    ¡­


    Once inside the shop, Feicui Long shot them a cold look, but the girls didn¡¯t even flinch. So Feicui Long asked them in a serious voice, ¡°Well then, who are you two?¡±


    The twins looked at him and asked again, ¡°Are you Uncle Feicui Long, the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time?¡±


    A bit annoyed that they had ignored his question, Feicui Long replied, ¡°What if I say yes? Will you answer my question? Besides, my only nieces are safe with their mother somewhere else, and they are already adults.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the twins'' faces lit up with joy, and they quickly approached him, hugging him from his left and right sides as they exclaimed, ¡°Uncle Feicui Long!¡±


    Feicui Long was somewhat irritated but even more confused. Since when did he have such young nieces? His only nieces were the daughters of the Supreme God of Beasts, his younger brother. He had personally helped them hide with their mother to escape their father¡¯s fate, and that had been about 2.1 million years ago. There was no way they could still look this young.


    Besides, he could clearly remember the adorable faces of those little troublemakers calling out to him: ¡°Uncle Feicui, Uncle Feicui! Can we go with you to the Emerald Dragon Palace?¡± And these faces were nothing like theirs.


    As for them being daughters of his siblings from this life, that was impossible. He was by far the eldest. His closest brother was only 20 years old, he would have had to father children at 8, and it was impossible that they knew about his original identity.


    Clearing his mind, Feicui Long looked at them and said, ¡°Are you going to tell me who you are or not?¡±


    The sisters looked at each other. The first twin spoke, ¡°My name is Melina T¨¦los.¡±


    The other followed right after, ¡°And I am Callista T¨¦los.¡±


    Feicui Long narrowed his eyes, trying to recall where that surname came from¡­ Suddenly, his eyes widened as if he had figured it out, and an image appeared in his mind, a man with silver hair, Ai¨®nios T¨¦los, one of his younger brothers and the Supreme God of the End.


    But that was impossible. He had never heard that Ai¨®nios had children, let alone a partner. Moreover, he had died during the multiversal invasion of the Feilou Clan¡­


    Feicui Long looked at them with growing suspicion and asked, ¡°Who is your father? Or mother?¡±


    The twins exchanged glances again and said, ¡°Our father is the Eternal End, Ai¨®nios T¨¦los, Supreme God of the End and of the End Clan. As for our mother, we don¡¯t know. Father told us we would only learn who she was when we had enough strength.¡±


    Feicui Long still looked at them with suspicion and said, ¡°Alright, then why did you come looking for me? Ai¨®nios and I were never that close. It¡¯s true that I loved, raised, and protected all my siblings, but only four of them were truly close to me, and Ai¨®nios wasn¡¯t one of them.¡±


    The twins responded firmly, almost in unison, ¡°It¡¯s because we want you to help us take revenge against the Supreme God of Origin, Adolf. He was the one responsible for our father¡¯s death.¡±


    Feicui Long raised an eyebrow and said with amusement, ¡°I certainly plan to kill Adolf with my own hands. A traitor like him doesn¡¯t deserve forgiveness. But why do you say he¡¯s responsible for your father¡¯s death? Didn¡¯t your father die fighting someone from the Feilou Clan?¡±


    The twins shook their heads. ¡°Father suspected Adolf. He felt that he was plotting something, but even though he tried everything, even seeking help from the Supreme Goddess of Fate and Reincarnation, he couldn¡¯t uncover what he was hiding. When the Feilou Clan invasion happened, his suspicion grew, and he had a premonition that something was about to occur. That¡¯s why he left several messages for us and hid us.


    When the moment came, Father was fighting against the Feilou Clan when suddenly he found himself surrounded by three incredibly powerful enemies who kept him from paying attention to his surroundings. That¡¯s when Adolf struck him from behind, wounding him. Father managed to escape, mortally injured, and recorded one final message. In his last words, he said, ¡®Adolf betrayed us. I regret not being able to kill that bastard. Forgive me, my daughters.¡¯¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Feicui Long, still doubtful, said, ¡°And how do I know you¡¯re not lying to me? Ai¨®nios and Adolf always hated each other to death. You could be making all of this up to try to convince me he¡¯s your father. In fact, I have no real way of confirming this unless I examine you with the Third Eye.¡±


    The twins dropped several recording crystals onto the shop''s floor, a more advanced version of the recording stone. There were also regular recording stones and even the rare, highly coveted recording gems. An aura emanated from these crystals, an aura that felt as if it could bring everything to an end, leaving nothing behind, an aura far too familiar to Feicui Long. It was undeniably the aura of his brother Ai¨®nios. After all, he was the oldest of all the gods and had raised them. For Feicui Long, it was impossible not to recognize his siblings'' auras.


    But how and why were these here, in the Sanctuary of Beasts?


    Feicui Long, accepting the fact that they were indeed his brother''s daughters, asked, "Why are you in this world? Ai¨®nios couldn''t have broken my formation, no one in this universe could."


    This time, the twins trembled slightly, partly from the cold due to their crude clothing, but also out of sorrow. Though they tried to control themselves, their eyes welled up with clear signs of wanting to cry. Even so, they held each other''s hands tightly and said, "As we said, our father sought help from the Supreme Goddess of Fate and Reincarnation. He learned of the invasion, and with his strong suspicions, he decided to hide us. He thought this place was the best choice since he saw that you would place a barrier, preventing anyone from finding us.


    But more importantly, in the goddess''s prophecy, it was foretold that you would fall... but that you would return on the seventh day, of the seventh month, in the seventh year. That promise, that you would return, was what drove him to hide us here. Father sealed my sister and me when we were newborns in a secret area of this world, surrounded by his followers. We awoke, and the seal was broken twelve years ago."


    Feicui Long thought to himself, That kid prepared himself very well. I hope his soul survived.


    Even so, Feicui Long had little intention of taking care of two unrelated girls at the moment and said, "Alright. But even so, he and I weren''t that close. He wouldn''t even visit me unless he had a special reason."


    The twins shook their heads again. "Father admired you more than anyone, Uncle Feicui. You were the most respected and beloved person to him. Even though he didn''t like to show it, he held you in the highest regard - so much so that several of these crystals are specifically addressed to you.


    The members of the Supreme God of the End''s temple explained to us that 90% of them have restrictions, such as curses or various types of inscriptions, as well as locks on the soul, mind, spirit, and life energy. Of all the crystals, about 30% can only be opened with your power, another 30% require our cooperation with you, and the remaining 30% are designed for us to open."


    Feicui Long, still doubtful, turned his gaze back to the crystals and was astonished to realize they weren''t lying. He could see several crystals, stones and gems emanating auras identical to his own. In the field of inscription mastery, this was known as an affinity lock. Only someone with an affinity, similar power or, as in this case, exactly the same power could open it.


    Not many knew this, but every cultivator had a unique energy resonance, much like human fingerprints or even soul imprints. It was unique to each individual, and while it could be imitated to a certain degree, almost to perfection or even perfectly, it was extremely difficult. The stronger the person, the harder it became to replicate.


    Feicui Long finally admitted defeat and said, "Alright, I admit it, you are Ai¨®nios'' daughters. But even so, what makes you think I can help you? Can''t you see my state? I live in an alley with nothing. I''m not a dragon, I don''t have my constitution and my divine authorities are dormant along with my dragon soul. It would be extremely difficult for me to even help you move forward."


    The twins looked at him with confidence in their eyes and said, "That''s not true. Father told us. He said that if there was anyone who could achieve the impossible, it was you. You were the only person in this entire universe who could help us, save us and save this universe. There is no one like you, Uncle Feicui Long. You are the only one who can do it and right now... you are also our only family."


    As they said that, the twins made faces as if they were about to cry.


    Feicui Long had lived for a long time, longer than people could imagine. He had seen everything and faced everything. But if something could be considered his greatest weaknesses, there were only three things.The first was his master, his duty, and the promises he had failed to fulfill.


    The second was his family, whether in his first life or in this one. Even if they weren¡¯t his blood siblings, he loved and cherished all his brothers in his first life. The same applied in this life to his mother and Huo Baoshi. Even if it had only been twenty-five years compared to the rest of his life, it still meant a lot to him.


    And the third and last was seeing a little girl cry. He simply couldn¡¯t bear it. Whether because it reminded him of Mariane or for another reason, it always shattered his heart.


    Feicui Long couldn''t take it anymore. He gave them a small hug, which took the two twins by surprise, and said, "Alright. I''ll let you stay with me. But you''ll have to sign a contract."


    Without wasting any time, Feicui Long created a contract with three names and said, "With this contract, you will not be able to betray me or cause harm to me or my loved ones. If you do, you will lose all memories of ever having known me, of everything I taught you and you will never again be able to approach me, severing all fate you once had with me."


    The twins didn''t hesitate and signed it without even reading the document. Feicui Long couldn''t help but admire their determination. He had never seen anyone trust the contents of a contract so blindly, solely based on another person''s word.


    With this, Feicui Long nodded and said, ¡°Alright, now I just need to examine you with the third eye to verify your condition, and when you reach a safe age for cultivation, I will personally guide you.¡±


    Feicui Long activated the third eye and observed each of the twins. The status window of the first one appeared:


    ¡°Name: Melina Telos ¨C Sex: Female ¨C Age: 11 and a half years old


    Racial Clan: Mixed ¨C Clan of the End and Mortal Clan ¨C Species: Winged Sacred Herald of the End and Human / of the Sweet End


    Variant: Winged Sacred Herald of the Sweet End


    Mutation: None


    Bloodline: Winged Sacred Herald of the End


    Type: Civilized


    Special Soul: Soul of the Winged Sacred Herald of the Sweet End


    Special Constitutions: General Special Constitution <Sealed>


    Abnormal State: Cursed ¨C Curse of Progress


    Cultivation Realm: None


    Cultivation Path: Not chosen


    Abilities: Divine Eyes of the Soul, Crystal Spirit of Protection, Ethereal Steps, <Sealed>


    Cultivation Techniques: None


    Battle Techniques: None¡±


    Feicui Long, although he no longer suspected them, could once again confirm that they were Ai¨®nios'' daughters. However, he felt curious about the mortal whom Ai¨®nios had fallen in love with. He had never seen much attachment from any of his brothers towards mortals, and he least expected it from someone as cold and reserved as him. With this curious doubt, Feicui Long turned his gaze to the other twin:


    ¡°Name: Callista Telos ¨C Sex: Female ¨C Age: 11 and a half years old


    Racial Clan: Mixed ¨C Clan of the End and Mortal Clan ¨C Species: Winged Sacred Herald of the End and Human / of the Beautiful End


    Variant: Winged Sacred Herald of the Beautiful End


    Mutation: None


    Bloodline: Winged Sacred Herald of the Beautiful End


    Type: Civilized


    Special Soul: Soul of the Winged Sacred Herald of the Beautiful End


    Special Constitutions: General Special Constitution <Sealed>


    Abnormal State: Cursed ¨C Curse of Progress


    Cultivation Realm: None


    Cultivation Path: Not chosen


    Abilities: Ears of the Tyrannical Devil''s Body, Platinum Mental Shield, Spectral Steps, <Sealed>


    Cultivation Techniques: None


    Battle Techniques: None¡±


    Feicui Long nodded in satisfaction, but suddenly realized something, if he was going to take them in, he would need a bigger place. His tent was a personal one, he would need to buy a military-style or multi-person tent. Although, thinking about it, perhaps he should build a house instead. The problem would be purchasing this piece of land from the city. If only he knew someone with a high position in the city...


    Wait, he did know someone, the captain whose daughter he had healed. Maybe if he asked him for a favor, he could help him negotiate the purchase. In the meantime, he should buy the large tent. After all, there was no way he was going to sleep in that tiny tent with two girls.


    ...


    Feicui Long had to leave the twins for a while and go buy the tent. It took him a bit to find one that interested him, but he finally found it. It was quite large, divided into five areas, two decently sized ones at the back for sleeping, then a hallway with two rooms facing each other. He planned to use one as a kitchen and storage for certain things and the other as a bathroom. Then there was the entrance area, which could be used for various purposes. It was made from materials of both energy beasts and monsters, with inscriptions for different functions, some, for example, regulated temperature and similar things.


    With this, they could live comfortably until he could buy the land and build the house. Besides that, he bought several blankets, clothes, more kitchen utensils, and other necessities for a decent life. He even bought an image projection artifact from the Mortal Races Union. Apparently, they were extremely cheap, just 25 silver coins for one. He bought it to stay informed and so the twins could watch some of the few available channels. The Union didn¡¯t just use it for news and announcements but also for education. He thought it would be good for them to watch these channels to have another perspective besides his own.


    Among other things, he bought books, many books, both for himself to read and for the twins to read. He also purchased some permits and ingredients. Along the way, he found out where the captain lived. It seemed he had underestimated him, his name was Vincent Williams, and he was actually one of the ten commanders. Though he was one of the youngest and weakest, it was said that he had a promising future. Feicui Long asked him for a favor, to inquire about the cost of that alley. Vincent happily told him that he would speak to the person in charge of the area to sell it to Feicui Long, assuring him that it would happen and that he should wait until the next day when the official would come with the deeds. Feicui Long didn¡¯t know where Vincent¡¯s confidence came from, but he happily accepted.

 Chapter 18 – A Nostalgic Visit

    The next day, when Feicui Long woke up in his new home, the land officer assigned to this area of the city arrived, just as the commander had said. He brought the deed, which stated a price of 25 silver coins. Feicui Long almost widened his eyes, he was practically being given such a large area for nothing. Without hesitation, Feicui Long handed over the money and filled out the deed. The officer smiled and nodded, thanking him for his work as an alchemist.


    With this, he could build his house, but that would take time. He had promised to create Hilda¡¯s medicine and needed to prepare it today to help her with the poison. The medicine he had in mind, while it had the potential to cure her, was not an ordinary medicine, it needed to be controlled by the alchemist, unlike common medicine. This was the only recipe he knew that could help her, so his goal with this was only to eliminate her symptoms and keep Hilda¡¯s poison under control. That way, she could live a normal life until Feicui Long had enough power to completely eradicate the poison.


    The process, as always, required ingredient preparation. This medicine was called Spiritual Frozen Tide. Originally, it was a third-grade Spiritual Palace-quality pill, but he was creating a lower version, something entirely possible if one knew the superior version. This modified recipe included three energy crystals of the ice element, one of the water element, a very rare fruit he had acquired at a very cheap price called the Millennial Snow Fruit, three ice flowers, a frozen heart from an ice elemental, and lemon grass, a very simple supporting herb that helps accentuate the medicine.


    Feicui Long carefully carried out each step. Each ingredient had to be mixed to form a solution, and with each step, he had to take an energy recovery pill. When he finally reached the final step, he added the frozen heart and carefully poured water. Now, he only had to mix it for half an hour before beginning to inject the inscriptions.


    ...


    Half an hour later, Feicui Long began casting all kinds of inscriptions with his hands. In this case, he mainly focused on seals, as he needed to keep the energy contained within the potion. Finally, the last one, a Frozen sigil, was the final addition. Feicui Long hurried and grabbed the Frozen Pearl Bottle. This small bottle had cost him 1 gold coin, but it was necessary to store the medicine without losing its effect or breaking the container.


    With that, he carefully sealed it and informed the twins to accompany him. He planned to let them play with Olivia. Although the twins were, to say the least, quite curious, Melina and Callista were still children after all. He didn''t think they would get along badly with Olivia.


    So, he took the medicine and left with both girls for Hilda¡¯s Bar and Restaurant. It hadn¡¯t opened yet because they had already been informed that he would be coming today, so he had to knock on the door.


    Knock Knock


    Hurried footsteps were heard, and soon the door opened. It was Olivia, excited. When she looked behind Feicui Long and saw two girls, almost identical in every way, with pale white skin but different hair colors, she was surprised. One had entirely silver hair with some black strands, while the other had jet-black hair with silver streaks. Their eyes were also different, one had a silver right eye and an olive-green left eye, while the other had an olive-green right eye and a silver left eye. Both were very beautiful but were clearly malnourished, given their thin bodies. However, they were well-dressed, wearing new clothes.


    Olivia, both confused and curious, wondered who they were, but that could wait. So, she said to Feicui Long, ¡°You¡¯re here, Feicui Long, we were waiting for you. Mom is already prepared, so please come in.¡±


    Feicui Long looked at her, slightly amused. This girl had never spoken to him so formally, he had never even heard a ¡°thank you¡± or ¡°please¡± from her. But now that he was accompanied, she was acting more polite. Choosing to ignore it, he simply said, ¡°Alright, Olivia, I¡¯ll go see your mother. Can you please entertain Melina and Callista in the meantime? They¡¯re new around here, so they¡¯re not very good at communicating or dealing with strangers, so be patient with them.¡±


    Olivia simply nodded and took them with her to the living room, while Feicui Long went deeper into the house until he reached Hilda''s room. She was facing away, without any clothes. Although normally this might have awakened the desires of this life''s self that were buried within, right now he couldn''t feel anything as he needed to stay focused.


    He carefully prepared everything and placed the tools he would need to one side. On the other side, he placed the potion and several, several recovery pills. This would take a few hours to complete. He sat cross-legged and took a brush, which he then dipped into a mixture of beast blood, medicinal plant extract, and energy stones, and began drawing a formation on Hilda''s back.


    When everything was finally done, he took a set of platinum gold needles, seven in total, and placed them at the edges of the formation, within the clear circles he had left for them. After that, he partially activated the formation, causing the needles to fall on their own. Feicui Long quickly opened the bottle and, using his psionic powers, guided the contents into the small openings. He carefully and slowly directed the liquid inside Hilda''s body. Although it might seem simple, in reality Feicui Long''s back and body were drenched in sweat. This was draining all of his mental energy and internal energy at an astonishing rate.


    From the doorway, several eyes were fixed on them. Olivia, unable to bear not knowing what was happening to her mother, watched intently, as did her younger sisters. Meanwhile, Melisandre and Callista remained focused on reading a book Olivia had lent them.


    Feicui Long hadn''t noticed, as all his attention was on directing the potion to where it needed to go. When he finally located it, he could feel the burning poison scorching even psionic energy. Feicui Long snorted. He wasn''t about to let a mere pseudo sentient fire, a remnant of a dead beast, defeat him. He then placed his hand at the center of the formation, which responded by rapidly absorbing the energy from the surroundings.


    Feicui Long began to envelop the poison with the potion. The poison attempted to escape thanks to its nature close to spirituality, but it was too slow and the freezing energy accumulated from the Millennial Snow Fruit was far too tyrannical. It managed to suppress and enclose the poison. However, the poison, with its pseudo spiritual nature, wasn''t going to surrender so easily. This was precisely why the formation was there.


    Once he was certain it was completely sealed, he finally withdrew his hand. Then, forming a symbol with two fingers on both hands, one hand pointing upward and the two fingers of the other positioned vertically in front, he shouted, "Activate!"


    Following a brilliant light from the formation, which seemed to be like chains, enveloped the potion, compressing it while it hardened with force and implanted the same inscriptions from the formation onto the newly formed hard surface. With this, the compression of the now hardened envelope accelerated rapidly, gradually reducing its size until it changed from the size of a fist to a small crystal pearl, which shone and disappeared from Hilda''s physical body.


    With this, Feicui Long wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to her, "Congratulations, Miss Hilda, with this, you will no longer be at risk of dying and your life will be extended. Additionally, all the other symptoms will no longer affect you, although it''s possible that a little bit of painful sensation may remain due to the fire still fighting within your personal space."


    Hilda, who had personally felt everything, nodded her head in a polite manner, but internally, she was very happy. Although she didn''t understand why the sealed pearl had been sent from her body to her personal space, she was now truly happy to be able to see her daughters grow and no longer fear that the poison would consume her at any moment.


    Hilda''s twin daughters, who were around 7 years old at the time, ran out happily to hug their mother upon hearing Feicui Long''s words. When they arrived, they jumped onto her, and Hilda, surprised, turned slightly, forgetting that she was naked from the waist up, accidentally showing her beautiful white breasts to Feicui Long.


    Although he caught a glimpse of them, he turned around out of politeness to avoid looking, which made Hilda realize what had happened, and she quickly put on her bra and shirt.


    Then Hilda looked at him and touched his back, and Feicui Long turned around only to receive a kiss on the cheek and see Hilda say to him, "Thank you very much, Feicui Long, I really appreciate it."


    Feicui Long shook his head. "It¡¯s not necessary, I¡¯ve already been paid. Besides, I haven¡¯t cured you, I¡¯ve only sealed and suppressed the poison. Unfortunately, I also wasn¡¯t able to add an effect to restore the vitality and years of life lost to the medicine."


    Hilda felt a little disappointed, but at least she was no longer in danger of further decline.


    Feicui Long continued speaking and said, "However, the formation I imposed to seal the poison will slowly help restore it. But with my power and the materials I had, it will only be able to recover 75%. The formation essentially absorbs the strength that the poison took from you and part of the remaining power of the poison itself. So as an added benefit, you will also recover some of your cultivation, and your flame powers will increase."


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Hilda went from feeling slightly disappointed to being impressed. Even if it had only been 25%, she would have been happy, let alone 75%. So she said once again, "Thank you very much again, Feicui Long. You don¡¯t have to be so modest. You¡¯ve done too much for me with this. Besides, you used a great master formation, didn¡¯t you? I don¡¯t know much about inscriptions, but for it to have so many complex functions, perhaps only a master formation could achieve it."


    Feicui Long only nodded in affirmation. He didn¡¯t want her to feel even more grateful, as in reality, it wasn¡¯t just one master formation but three. One was to suppress the poison and was the one that injected energy chains, another was a master formation that allowed another stored master formation to be imprinted, and the last one was for sealing and absorption.


    Feicui Long simply added, "By the way, soon I will prepare some medicines to further help restore your vitality and make it easier for you to recover the portion of your cultivation that was lost. It will also help with the pain, since, having been sealed in your internal space, it may cause some minor discomfort."


    Hilda said, "It¡¯s not necessary, you¡¯ve already done too much. A little pain is nothing compared to what I¡¯ve been feeling until now, although I¡¯m curious why you decided to send it to the internal space."


    Feicui Long replied, "Consider it payment for taking care of Melisandre and Callista, since I plan to leave them here while I go do something. As for your question, it¡¯s because this way, you won¡¯t feel the cold, nor will it cause you harm."


    Feicui Long had already planned to seal it in the internal space. This space was a unique place that connected the four essential parts of a living or non-living being, the mental realm or mind, the spirit, the soul, and the body with cultivation and the three dantian. So it was truly a unique and safe place that wouldn¡¯t cause as much discomfort.


    Hilda, who knew nothing about these girls, asked doubtfully, ¡°Who are these girls you¡¯re talking about?¡±


    Feicui Long said, ¡°They are my nieces. I¡¯m taking care of them because their father is no longer with us, and their mother is unknown. I brought them with me because I had nowhere to leave them.¡±


    Hilda then nodded. She was already taking care of two girls and a teenager, so taking care of two more wouldn¡¯t make a difference.


    Meanwhile, Feicui Long felt relieved. He wouldn¡¯t have trouble leaving them once he had his own house and the formation was a bit stronger, but at this moment, he was worried about leaving two 12-year-old girls alone in a tent with a fragile formation.


    ¡­


    Then, Feicui Long took a bath for the first time at Hilda¡¯s house. This time, the bath wasn¡¯t as elegant as Reiko¡¯s, but it was enough for its purpose. After bathing, he changed clothes and left to meet Reiko in the city center and go with her to the temple of the emerald dragon god of space and time.


    When he arrived, Reiko was there, dressed in an elegant pink kimono with embroidered flowers of various colors. At her side was Amanitore, wearing elegant armor, very different from the one he had seen her in before.


    Feicui Long then realized that maybe he should have dressed up more, but he never thought that going to his temple would require fancy attire or be an event that demanded elegance.


    Reiko saw him and ran to hug him, creating a striking scene of a beautiful goblin woman embracing a handsome human man in the middle of the central plaza. She wanted to say something but remembered the large crowd around her and held back. Meanwhile, Amanitore simply nodded at him as a greeting.


    Soon, the three of them headed toward the temple, walking through the intricate streets, making their way southwest. Curiously, the temple of the emerald dragon god of space and time in this city was located right next to the church of the Supreme Goddess of Life.


    On the way, they saw several believers coming and going. Most of them belonged to the Supreme Goddess of Life, Feicui Long could tell because they wore her distinctive symbol: a crystalline heart made of an energetic crystal imbued with life energy, which was cut into extremely thin layers and mixed with glass, quartz, or other crystals to form a heart called the Heart of Life.


    He had to admit that his sister had always been very cheesy about these things, but even so, he still didn¡¯t understand why his temple was right next to the church of his sister, Heidi Rosenberg. She was one of the four Supreme Gods closest to him, along with Yun Hua, Catherine and the god of beasts, Fernando Vel¨¢zquez. But in the end, despite all that, Yun Hua, Catherine and Heidi betrayed all of Feicui Long¡¯s beliefs, breaking the balance of the universe and dragging it into war once again, forgetting all his teachings and the wishes of their master, and ultimately joining forces to kill their other siblings, including him.


    That is to say, he died fighting against them. It made no sense for his temple to have been built next to one of his enemies, but that no longer mattered, at least not at this moment.


    ¡­


    When they finally arrived, they realized that it stood on a small hill, with modestly carved marble stairs and little else. Unlike the church on the hill beside it, which had enormous stairways adorned with gold, energetic marble and grand inscriptions, these stairs were made purely of marble with simple yet meaningful carvings.


    As they climbed, they clearly noticed that they were the only ones heading up to this temple, a scene that once again contrasted with the church next to it, which looked like a bustling commercial plaza with people coming and going. Reiko and Feicui Long walked together, holding hands at Reiko¡¯s request, until they finally reached the top of the stairs.


    At last, they could clearly see the temple. It was a small, very modest temple, yet it exuded great elegance and an imposing presence, particularly due to the four statues, two beside the door and two at the temple¡¯s corners, as well as the door itself.


    The statues depicted four dragons, two Western and two Eastern. They were clearly made of emerald-green marble, a rare and costly material. Even from the bottom of the stairs, the incredible level of detail was evident, even the scales were carved to perfection with an impeccable texture. Their four golden horns rose like peaks toward the sky, along with three gems on their foreheads, an amethyst on the right, a topaz on the left and an emerald in the center. Additionally, the lower scales were made of gold, while their claws and fangs displayed incredible craftsmanship.


    This applied to both the Western and Eastern dragon statues. The main difference between them, aside from their forms, was that the ones guarding the entrance were the Western dragons, standing tall with their chests puffed out, looking ready for battle. Meanwhile, the Eastern dragons stood at the corners, appearing as though they were about to take flight, coiling like a powerful tornado. Another shared detail between both sets of statues was the inscriptions, there were numerous engravings that made them look even more lifelike.


    But the most mysterious and mystical detail was those eyes. Each statue had a pair of eyes that were vertically divided, one half emerald-colored and the other amethyst-colored, with a black dragon''s pupil acting as a rift separating the two halves. From the center of this pupil, golden clock hands extended, moving as one. Around the circular edges, several golden symbols could be seen, which could easily be deduced as numbers. Each statue had this same pair of eyes.


    Feicui Long nodded internally, satisfied. They had respected his eyes. He had thought that perhaps his believers would forget the eyes of the emerald gold dragon of space and time.


    Reiko was in awe of such beautiful artistry, yet still doubtful, she asked, "It''s beautiful, magnificent and imposing, but wasn''t he supposed to be an emerald dragon? Why do his lower scales have a golden color?"


    Feicui Long replied, "That is because, although he is known as the emerald dragon god of space and time, in reality, his species is the emerald gold dragon of space and time. It is a subspecies of the emerald dragon of space and time."


    Reiko then understood the appearance and said, "Well, let''s go. What are we waiting for?"


    As they approached the door, Reiko let out a small gasp of surprise upon seeing it. The door depicted two dragons, one Eastern and one Western, bearing the same details as the statues, but it contained countless inscriptions and was made of an extremely strong alloy of energetic metals, emanating a great amount of power. But what surprised her the most was what lay at the center, a pure crystal core of dragon energy. She couldn¡¯t identify its quality, which meant it was almost certainly at least at the spiritual palace level. At its very center, it contained a single rune, the same rune that Feicui Long had inscribed on the paper inside the bottle of green dragon blood he carried with him.


    Feicui Long laughed internally at how innocent Reiko seemed. It was almost like watching a child see something exciting for the first time. Still, he liked that innocent and pure maidenly side of Reiko, but at the same time, he thought he should teach her more about the real world. He worried that something might happen to her because of this unchecked innocence.


    Feicui Long then placed his hand to open the door, when suddenly, his mind was transported elsewhere. It was a vast hall with a great throne upon which sat a tall man, an incredibly handsome figure with imposing and bold features, a body that radiated power and emerald green hair. The figure had his eyes closed, resting his head on one hand. Before him stood a figure clad entirely in armor, from head to toe.


    It was a fleeting moment, but the figure smiled slightly for an instant, just enough to reveal ivory white teeth, with an amused expression. Then, the figure opened his eyes, an incredible sight. When you looked into them, you felt as if you could see yourself, your future, your past, and your present. You could see any place or part of this universe, perceive the flow of power, the force that sustains everything, and its very nature. It was an overwhelmingly powerful gaze. The kneeling person seemed to understand this, yet still, they raised their head and looked directly at him. This made the figure on the throne smile fully in delight. Just as he was about to speak, Feicui Long suddenly felt slightly dizzy and snapped out of the trance.


    Feicui Long smiled inwardly, this was his will. His will had regained its connection, and as for the other person, he knew everything the moment the lost connection was restored.


    Suddenly, the firmly shut door opened completely, revealing a person. A person clad in armor. Inscribed with intricate carvings, the armor radiated authority. On their back, they carried a shield, and at their waist, a sword, both crafted from the remains of rebellious dragons, sinners. Even though the figure was not intentionally releasing their aura, the small amount that leaked out was overwhelmingly oppressive. Reiko¡¯s expression changed, and Amanitore began to sweat coldly, nearly drenched in sweat.


    Only Feicui Long remained unaffected. But not only was he unaffected, he grew stronger instead. On the contrary, when the aura touched Feicui Long, it was the armored figure who felt a slight tremor, though they couldn¡¯t tell what had caused it.


    But the figure did not care. They simply continued walking as if nothing had happened, vanishing down the same steps Feicui Long and Reiko had come from.

 Chapter 19 - The Forest Dragon

    Reiko recovered shortly after that person left, a little scared she asked, "What was that!?, such a terrifying aura, not even my father¡¯s aura is that frightening."


    This time Amanitore answered her, "He is a paladin of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, specifically a draconic paladin, and as for his aura, he is a Spiritual Palace grade three, advanced stage, what I don¡¯t know is why he emanates such a powerful aura."


    Feicui Long looked at Amanitore with interest and said, "I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much about the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, by the way, that girl, even though she is only at the Palace Realm grade 3, could defeat all the peak Spiritual Palace experts in this city, including the duke."


    Amanitore said doubtfully, "How do you know?"


    Feicui Long answered, without explaining everything, he only gave her a half-truth, "Because that shield you see is made from a sinful dragon, that dragon on her back is an obsidian dragon, and it was a variant, a reactivated obsidian dragon, she killed it recently and came to receive its blessing at the temple, based on the power it emanated, it must have been at the peak of the seventh grade of the Spiritual Palace, and that girl killed it alone."


    Amanitore thought for a moment and suddenly recalled a wild dragon that had been attacking villages behind Vienna, it was called the Obsidian Nightmare, it was too powerful and dangerous, no one dared to hunt it, and the Union had sent several experts, but none had returned, it wasn¡¯t until yesterday that news arrived stating that a mysterious expert had eliminated it overnight, everything matched with this girl since she had never seen her before, although there were several Spiritual Palaces in Vienna, there were actually very few, for a city of 3 million inhabitants, there were barely about 250, and each one was well-known throughout the city, she didn¡¯t know any like her.


    Feicui Long added, "What I find interesting is that with that enormous talent, she could have easily passed through the first method to be worthy, but still chose the third method."


    Amanitore, after thinking carefully, realized that Feicui Long¡¯s statement was true, which only confused her even more. Frowning, she said, "If that''s the case, then why the hell would someone with such monstrous talent and combat power choose to be a paladin of the God of Power, to obtain power?"


    Reiko looked at them even more confused than they were, not understanding much, and said, "What''s so strange about choosing to be a paladin? And what is so special about being able to pass the first method to prove if one is worthy or not?"


    Amanitore patiently explained to her, "My lady, the thing is that out of the three methods, the most difficult is the first one, because the trial must be passed without tricks, without special artifacts, with nothing but what the Emerald Dragon God grants you. And that trial is against yourself, you will face yourself at the exact same power level, a version of yourself from just a few seconds ago. It¡¯s extremely difficult because both of you know what the other will do, your fighting style, and your weaknesses. Very few have ever passed it."


    Amanitore added shortly after, "So few, in fact, that only a handful of people in all 35,000 years of the Union have passed this trial, and all of them have become great figures. One of the known ones is the Dragon Empress of the Oceanic Divine Dragon Empire, a Supreme-rank force. Two other leaders of Supreme forces have also passed it, and they too belong to the neutral faction. But perhaps the most talked about case is that, according to legend, the founder of the Union passed the evaluation with the highest possible rank, obtaining a great blessing that allowed her to forge the body of a dragon and enhance her already supreme general special constitution. Although the full evaluation and reward remain unknown, what is certain is that she entered a temple, underwent the evaluation, and emerged more powerful than ever."


    Feicui Long, upon hearing this, was quite intrigued. He didn¡¯t know about this, and it filled him with a mix of curiosity and a slight sense of fear to meet this founder. Passing the evaluation with the highest score... perhaps only a handful of people had done so when he was alive. The first to pass it in such a way back then had become someone extremely powerful, with great influence and renown throughout the entire universe... and that person was also one of his disciples.


    While Feicui Long was analyzing that, Amanitore continued explaining to Reiko, "Besides that, the first method has the advantage that the power obtained is gifted and can be used freely, while in the second method, you have to sacrifice a part of yourself, something that can be difficult to recover. It can only be restored with pills created by yourself or an expert alchemist, incredibly valuable treasures, or by reaching the Pure Realm to reform your body, none of which are easy. As for the reformation, it can only be done once. Technically, you could use other methods, such as the Goddess of Life, but you would lose your powers for receiving external assistance."


    Then Amanitore looked down the stairs and said, "The third method is the second-best option after the first because the second method has another weakness: the power granted is very limited or small in proportion to what you sacrifice. On the other hand, in the third method, you are given immense power, so much that it is very likely to kill you. Although the third method involves being willing to give up your life, it is not an instant death after achieving your goals. Instead, there is a 95% probability that your body will not be able to withstand the damage caused by the power overload. Most people do not choose it unless they are desperate, due to their innate desire to survive. And yes, those who survive can keep the full power, as they are considered worthy of carrying it for being able to endure."


    Feicui Long, after finishing his analysis of the possibility of encountering the founder, heard this and added something else, "There is also another possibility with the third option, and that is to offer one''s life to the Emerald Dragon God, though this is the least desired choice."


    Reiko looked at him and said, "I suppose offering your life basically means serving him, but why would it be the least desired?"


    Amanitore replied, "That is because there are several ways to join the Temple of the Dragon God of Space and Time. The four main ones are as a core member, inner member, outer member, and through this third method. If you chose to serve as an inner or outer member, you would have some or a lot of freedom. But for the core membership and this third method, the circumstances are similar, you have to sign a contract. It is an improved slavery contract, meaning it lacks some restrictions but is even stricter in others, making it slightly worse in some ways. Most people would not choose it."


    Then Amanitore continues: "Additionally, depending on the area in which you requested power, you would end up joining different divisions. These range from joining the war division as a combatant in some role, becoming a paladin, or taking on a supportive worship role like priests or priestesses. You could also enter the administrative, commercial, judicial divisions, or support roles such as alchemy, among others."


    Amanitore quickly added to avoid being misunderstood, "I don''t mean that all of them have to sign this contract. In fact, many of the draconic paladins don''t have these restrictions or such a severe contract. From what I understand, only a third of them do, and that includes those who are part of the core members and those of the third method. Meanwhile, another third has a much lighter contract, though still very strict compared to those of other gods, and the last third has the lightest one of all, but they are also the ones who receive the least power and blessings. That is why choosing the third method is to become something worse than a slave. You will have to serve the Emerald Dragon God for your entire life or eternity in exchange for that power. That¡¯s why it makes no sense for her to choose the method that harms her the most."


    Feicui Long coughed Cough and said, "I want to clarify that the temple does not only have that type of paladins. The temple is divided into four branches, each representing an individual aspect that the Emerald Dragon God governs. That is, dragons and power, space and the Space Clan, time and the Time Clan, and finally, the leading branch, which encompasses the general aspect, merging everything."


    Feicui Long then explained in detail the reality of the temple, "Each branch has its own types of members and paladins with different names. Certainly, they also sign a similar contract, but in the case of space and time, those of the lowest rank have the fewest restrictions, being much freer than the draconics, though they still have a contract. The ones with the most restrictions are actually those of the main branch, but they are responsible for protecting the most important places or carrying out the orders of their god. Besides, it is a fair price. No other god will grant so much power without something similar, or they simply won''t do it at all."


    Amanitore wanted to deny it, but she knew that Feicui Long was telling the truth. After all, obtaining such power for free would be difficult. Unless you were the god¡¯s child or chosen one, they wouldn¡¯t give it to you without any conditions, not even in dreams. Many, even if they were capable of doing so, wouldn''t, since gods are not obligated to be generous.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Seeing that the explanation was finally over and now understanding everything, Reiko asked Feicui Long one last question, "I don''t understand, but why does the Emerald Dragon God allow one of his paladins to kill someone they are supposed to protect?"


    Feicui Long looked at her and calmly said, "That is because his duty is to protect the entire dragon race and ensure its well-being, not individuals. Besides, it is not so frowned upon to kill a dragon within the Dragon Clan. The hierarchy of the Dragon Clan is complex and I won¡¯t explain it in detail, but one of the five things they value the most is strength and power. If someone has enough strength to kill a dragon, then that simply proves that the dragon was weak. Furthermore, it would be unfair for the temple to hunt down those who kill dragons. Imagine killing a dragon to defend your kingdom from being destroyed, would you then be hunted down and killed alongside your kingdom just for protecting it? For these two reasons and a few more, it is not forbidden for members, even those from the Space or Time Clans, to kill dragons. However, it would be a different matter if it were a dragon hunter who only killed dragons. That would make them an enemy of the temple."


    Feicui Long added something else, "Besides, that dragon was a sinner, a savage, a barbarian."


    Reiko looked at him and curiously asked, "So, does that mean dragons hate wild-type dragons?"


    Feicui Long shook his head, "No, they don¡¯t hate wild-types. The Dragon Clan, along with some beast clans, shares the same proportion as the Divine Clan and others, where the majority are civilized types. That is true, but it doesn¡¯t mean they see their wild brothers as inferior. They see them as equals because they still represent the essence of what it means to be a dragon."


    Feicui Long then provided more context, "On the contrary, sinners, savages, or barbarians, depending on what you want to call them, are those who go against everything that it means to be a dragon. Not only that, but they also destroy or cause harm to the most important things for the Dragon Clan, such as dragon veins, dragon fruit trees, or dragon blood fruit, among other things. They are hated by every member of the Dragon Clan, regardless of their inclination. Perhaps you don¡¯t know this, but even though the Dragon Clan was created by the Clan Above the Skies, it is a clan inclined toward the neutral path. However, there are also species or individuals inclined toward the demonic or righteous paths. But even so, regardless of their path, they all hate them. Even those on the demonic path would be willing to stop whatever they are doing just to kill them if they are nearby."


    Feicui Long concluded his explanation, clarifying the matter of the paladin, "That is why that girl killing that dragon would not only not be frowned upon for the previous reasons, but she would also be even more respected and it would be expected of her to do so."


    Reiko was satisfied with the explanation and took Feicui Long''s arm, pulling him closer to her.


    But then, a pale woman with a delicate and graceful appearance emerged. Although she was not a great beauty, she was not ugly either. The woman wore embroidered robes with the same colors as the statues and figures on the door.


    This woman asked them, "Good morning, do you need anything?"


    Feicui Long politely replied, "Yes, priestess, we have come to visit the statue of the Emerald Dragon God. We hope we are not disturbing you."


    The priestess, happy, said, "Very well, you may enter. You and the girl who came yesterday are practically the only ones who have visited. I¡¯m glad that there are still people interested in coming to see the Emerald Dragon God."


    Feicui Long nodded, and along with the two women accompanying him, he proceeded to enter. On the way, Feicui Long said to Amanitore, "Miss Amanitore, I didn''t expect you to know so much about the temple of the Dragon God of Space and Time."


    Amanitore, slightly embarrassed, said, "The thing is, in the land I originally come from, the only god worshiped was the Emerald Dragon God, and I grew up believing in him like everyone else. I still worship him, though not as much as before."


    Feicui Long, curious, asked, "Oh, I see. But have you never been to this temple before?"


    Amanitore replied, "No, I haven¡¯t, because I don¡¯t always have free time, and I also have my own altar dedicated to him that I brought with me from my homeland."


    Feicui Long, satisfied with his curiosity, and having arrived, pointed to a statue similar to the ones outside but much more detailed and larger, emanating bursts of power. He then said, "Alright, Reiko, you''re going to do as I say. Sit in front of the statue and take out the Forest Anaconda and the bottle. I will sit below the statue, and you will imitate everything I do, understood?"


    Reiko looked at him, concerned, and responded, "But wouldn¡¯t it be disrespectful to climb onto the temple''s statue?"


    Feicui Long looked at the priestess and asked, "If I manage to climb up and sit, will there be a problem?"


    The priestess said, "If you manage to do it, no, there will be no problem, as it would be the will of the Emerald Dragon God."


    Feicui, without waiting any longer, simply approached the statue. The bursts of power emanating from it, which were strong enough to disintegrate him, did nothing to him. They let him pass as if nothing had happened, and Feicui Long then placed his hands on the statue''s platform and climbed onto it. He then sat cross-legged, facing Reiko.


    Reiko and Amanitore looked at him with wide eyes, though for different reasons. One because she hadn''t expected permission to be granted so easily, and the other because she hadn''t thought Feicui Long would be able to withstand the emanating bursts of power.


    Reiko quickly obeyed, sitting in front of the statue and taking out her anaconda. It was a very large snake, about 7 meters long and approximately 25 cm wide and tall. Its body was green, covered in vines, and above its eyes, it had something resembling horns. Its tail ended in a leaf.


    Reiko carefully took out the bottle and looked at Feicui Long, who signaled her to pour it into the snake''s mouth. The snake, without hesitation, opened its mouth wide and drank all the contents, including the paper.


    At that moment, a glow began to radiate from the snake as energy started to gather around it. Feicui Long then began to make hand signs. Reiko, having been distracted for a few seconds, immediately started copying them. With each symbol, the energy accumulating around the snake grew stronger until a thick layer of dragon energy, a clearly visible green color, formed a kind of cocoon that covered the snake¡¯s entire body.


    But Feicui Long did not stop. He continued making several hand signs, and Reiko did the same, though she found it difficult to keep up with his pace. Despite being several realms above Feicui Long, his speed was such that by the time she looked, another symbol had already been formed.


    This continued until, at a certain point, Feicui Long began to float while still seated without realizing it. The energy gathered around him, lifting him like a floating platform. At the same time, he suddenly began to recite words incomprehensible to Reiko, "Mehset, Unsate, liberum, Uhm greazen admirirla, so delu almutan thes dalehzo zet bimir suprameh, uhm am renacitment alzi muhtahar al dracomir, tehala nadmicir!"


    Each of these words was confusing to Reiko, and the more she tried to understand them, the more they caused her a headache. So she decided to pretend she wasn''t hearing them while continuing the hand signs.


    Meanwhile, the priestess stood there, her jaw completely dropped. At one point, she suddenly ran off, despite her dress getting in the way. Amanitore did not understand her urgency, so she simply ignored her and focused all her attention on her young lady.


    Five minutes passed, ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour, and soon an hour, but Feicui Long did not seem tired. On the contrary, he looked more revitalized than ever, whereas Reiko could not say the same. She was already feeling exhausted, both physically and mentally.


    Behind her, a crowd of temple members watched them in awe, especially the figure standing in the center, accompanied by the priestess who had received them. She observed every movement of Feicui Long with wide-open eyes, every phrase he uttered in the strange language, as if closing her eyes for even a moment would make her miss the greatest event of her life.


    Feicui Long, having reached the highest point of levitation above the statue¡¯s head, performed the final symbol, a symbol that Reiko was able to recognize. It was the rune, the rune from the paper and the rune at the center of the statue. Both she and Feicui Long formed it at the same time, pointing toward her forest anaconda.


    When the rune touched the energy cocoon, all the other symbols cast during the past hour lit up, unleashing a light that overshadowed all others, almost as if it were stealing the very light itself. From within that light, a strange phenomenon emerged, an image, an image of a colossal golden dragon, which appeared for a second before shifting into a platinum dragon, then into an emerald dragon, vastly different from the one on the statue. Each of these images emerged and then sank into the cocoon, disappearing from everyone''s sight.


    The cocoon soon stopped glowing and solidified into a thin, solid white shell, from which cracks began to spread everywhere. Reiko, who had grown nervous because, for a moment, she had been unable to feel her connection to her anaconda, finally calmed down.


    Then, as if hatching from an egg, a part of the cocoon broke, revealing first a large head with an oval jade embedded in its forehead, possessing a powerful jaw, a pair of whiskers, a majestic mane, and two pairs of antler-like horns. But it did not stop there. Soon, the incredible creature shook its body, breaking through the rest of the cocoon and rising into the air. Its size had more than doubled, and it barely fit inside the temple only because it coiled its body, and even then, it was clear that it had only partially adjusted its own size due to its inexperience with its transformed body.


    Feicui Long grinned from ear to ear and slowly descended from the air. When he touched the ground, he could only see Reiko, extremely happy.


    Curious, Feicui Long used his third eye to examine her:


    ¡°Name: Mori no Kiyohime ¨C Sex: Female ¨C Age: 25 years


    Racial Clan: Beast Clan ¨C Dragon Clan ¨C Species: Eastern Forest Dragon ¨C Subspecies: Green Eastern Forest Dragon / Jade


    Variant: Jade Green Eastern Forest Dragon


    Mutation: None


    Bloodline: Jade Green Eastern Forest Dragon


    Type: Civilized


    Special Soul: Soul of the Jade Green Eastern Forest Dragon


    Special Constitutions: General Special Constitution of the Jade Green Eastern Forest Dragon


    Abnormal State: None.


    Blessings: Blessing of the Emerald-Golden Dragon God of Space and Time.


    Cultivation Realm: Earthly Palace ¨C Grade 9 ¨C Peak ¨C Near Breakthrough


    Cultivation Path: Dragon Path, Forest Path


    Skills: Jade Green Eastern Forest Dragon¡¯s Breath, Forest Breath, Jade Breath, Green Dragon¡¯s Breath, Dragon¡¯s Roar, Forest Regeneration, Flora Growth, Plant Swim, Flora Communication, Forest Connection, Jade of the Forest, Forest of Jade, Dragon Strength, Dragon Rage, Dragon Wrath, Dragon Fury, True Dragon Essence, Dragon Instinct, Dragon Nature, Dragon Power, Dragon Fear, Dragon Horror, Dragon Terror, Dragon Might, Dragon Aura, Dragon Steps, Dragon Claws, Shape Change [(Human) (Mixed Combat Form) (Dragon Form)], Partial Size Change [(True Size) (Size Reduction)], < Awakening Soon >


    Cultivation Techniques: None


    Battle Techniques: None¡±

 Chapter 20 - A Farewell to Vienna - Part 1

    Reiko could not believe it, she had succeeded, her beloved forest anaconda, Mori no Kiyohime, had transformed into a true dragon, but not just a simple eastern green dragon, she had gone beyond and had become a forest eastern dragon, which was also a variant!


    Reiko did not want to admit it, but she did not have much faith in Feicui Long''s words, so it took her a lot of effort to believe him, she had not expected to be so surprised and to obtain something she had always wanted to do but could not.


    In that state, full of happiness, Reiko opened her arms wide, to which the dragon who was looking at her in the air reacted, she was about to move but realized she was still too big, so she had to use size reduction again, soon she reduced her size even more to about 7 meters, with that she finally moved to where Reiko was, placing her head in Reiko''s embrace, although her memories as an anaconda were blurry due to the increase in intellect from evolving into a dragon, she could still remember the moments she had spent with her master.


    It was a rather beautiful scene to witness, after all, the two of them had been together for a long time, keeping each other company, forming a deep bond between master and contracted creature, this was because, although the tradition of her homeland was to give a "contracted creature" to newborns, it was not exactly a direct gift, but rather the opportunity to enter a safe area with many young creatures of different species, which had complete freedom to choose their masters based on their affinity.


    Reiko still remembered when she was left in that area, a little girl alone, and was told she had to find the creature with which she had a connection, while all the ones she saw ran away from her, this little snake not only did not run away but approached her of its own free will, at that time it was a very cute and beautiful snake and she was happy to have been chosen, that is why when her snake could not advance despite all the resources invested in her, it hurt so much that her beloved Kiyohime could no longer accompany her in battles, because Reiko was already in the astral sovereign realm and her beasts were in that realm, her Kiyohime, a mere earthly palace realm, would be annihilated just by the combat waves...


    Now seeing her like this, a magnificent dragon, a lady of beasts, the strongest race of all, made her feel happy and Kiyohime felt the same, before she could not think very well, complex terms were difficult for her, even so, she struggled to improve, but with her limited reasoning, which was barely superior to common animals, it was impossible to understand, now that her brain had expanded, she understood everything, all the effort her master had put into her, her master might not be her biological mother, but to her, she was, she was her mother, her best friend.


    ...


    While this beautiful reunion was taking place, the group of temple members approached Feicui Long. The woman in the center, who stood out among the others, spoke to him and said: "Young man, I wanted to ask you if you could..."


    She was interrupted by Feicui Long, who raised his hand, signaling her to stop, after which he said: "I know what you want to say, High Priestess of the temple, but the rules of the Emerald Dragon God are clear, you cannot obtain it through an easy path, you must be able to acquire it by yourselves."


    The High Priestess barely looked at him and said: "Young lord, I know the rules of the Emerald Dragon God, but the situation of the temple, of this and the others, is not exactly the best. We may have many believers, but we have largely lost the connection with the temples outside this system, losing access to most of the techniques and secrets, among other things, of the Emerald Dragon God. If you could just give us the Dragon''s Rebirth Chant, it would help us a lot. You, as a believer, I know you can understand me..."


    Feicui Long then understood why their temple looked so lonely. The main god worshiped in the Habsburg Empire might be the God of the Victorious Flame, but the temple of the Supreme Goddess of Life was overflowing with believers. He had not seen the one of the Supreme Goddess of Mystical Energies, but it was certain to be the same. So why was his like this? The fact that they had lost the ability to use most of the secrets, techniques, chants, and other things made them far less attractive in areas that already had strong competition.


    But even so, Feicui Long did not want to break his rules. Throughout his life, he had maintained his temple with the best of the best, the strongest and most capable, and he had only achieved that by promoting great independence among his worshipers and giving them only slight assistance. So he said: "Alright, although I am not a believer of the Emerald Dragon God, I am not so cruel as to watch your temple suffer."


    Feicui Long reached into the spatial pouch he had been given by the UIDNCGM and took out ten large scrolls and an artifact pen, which he had filled with beast blood. He wrote several things, and when he finally finished, he first looked at the priestess who had guided them here and gave her one, saying: "This is for you, as a token of gratitude. No one else will be able to read it, only you. However, you will have to decipher it yourself. Whether you succeed or not depends entirely on you. With what you obtain from this, perhaps you can change your destiny, or perhaps not. As I said, it depends entirely on you."


    Feicui Long handed another to the High Priestess, "This scroll contains incomplete versions of several chants and a special technique. Take it as a gift for the temple."


    Then Feicui Long moved near the statue, placing the scrolls at certain distances, some very close, others on the statue''s platform, until only four remained. Three of those he placed beneath the statue where he had sat before, and the last one he placed in the statue¡¯s mouth.


    He then looked at the High Priestess and said, "In these seven scrolls, you will find the second and third parts of those incomplete chants, as well as various techniques, inscriptions and formations, alchemical preparation recipes, artifact blueprints, and the technique to create them, among other things. You will only be able to take them if you are capable of withstanding the power emanating from the statue. You may attempt as many times as you wish, and if you manage to retrieve the scrolls, especially those beneath the statue, you will be able to cultivate in those places, including the area under the statue. This will increase your cultivation speed and can even strengthen your bodies, constitutions, and bloodlines, among other benefits. However, never attempt to do so from the back or head, unless you wish to die from the power emanating from the statue."


    He then added, "I almost forgot. The one in the mouth can only be taken by the draconic paladin who left a while ago. When she returns, tell her this gift was left for her and that I want to see her. She will know where to find me."


    Feicui Long was so sure of all this because he had used his restored connection with his will to modify the influence it exerted on this particular statue. He wanted them to prove themselves in order to obtain it.


    The priestess who had received a scroll, and who was now being looked at with some envy, respectfully asked, "But young lord, how will we know if she will return? She is a wandering paladin and only dedicates herself to hunting the temple''s enemies."


    Feicui Long looked at her and replied, "That is not something you need to worry about. Time and destiny work in mysterious ways. I am sure she will return."


    <hr>


    Feicui Long looked at the priestess and the High Priestess and asked, "By the way, what are your names?"


    The priestess lowered her head and answered, "I am Meryl Jackson, young lord."


    The High Priestess spoke next, "I am Iridia Snowring, young lord."


    Surprisingly, a third voice was heard. A young paladin who had just entered spoke without understanding what was happening, "I am Emma Stein, pleased to meet you, young lord."


    Everyone looked at her in surprise and confusion. One of the few people who knew her, since she was new, grabbed her hand and prepared to apologize on her behalf. But Feicui Long simply laughed and said, "It''s nothing, it''s nothing. So, Emma Stein? A beautiful name. Perhaps time has brought us together here to meet."


    Then Feicui Long realized something and asked the High Priestess, "Hey, why are all the members of this temple women? I know the temple of the Emerald Dragon God has always had a predominantly female presence, but not having a single man? It¡¯s not like the temple of the Goddess of Life, which only accepts female members."


    The High Priestess told him something that made him smile bitterly, "Well, actually, it¡¯s not just this temple. The male members of the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time have been decreasing ever since we lost connection with the other temples. Currently, almost all temples have exclusively female members, if not entirely. Perhaps there are a few unknown ones out there, or maybe in the three Supreme-rank forces, but in the other temples, I have never met a man who wanted to join."


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    Feicui Long felt a bit sad that his temple was practically turning into an all-female order without him intending it. But he had one last question for the High Priestess, "By any chance, do you know where the main temple of the Emerald Dragon God is?"


    The High Priestess responded politely, "It is at the peak of the Three Forces. The three Supreme-rank forces divided it among themselves, and it serves as the main way to determine where each of their borders begin. The problem is that entering there is very difficult. Too many pilgrims and believers travel to the temple, and it is also heavily guarded. So if you want to go there, you must be careful and very well prepared, young lord."


    Feicui Long simply sighed inwardly and said, "Thank you very much, High Priestess. That would be all. Thank you again for letting us use your temple. We must leave now. Perhaps we will meet again in the future if time and destiny so desire."


    ¡­


    Feicui Long left, accompanied by Reiko. As he was reaching the stairs, a new vision suddenly appeared before him. He saw himself looking at a youthful-looking woman. The woman said to him, "Master, what will happen after this war? After the invaders are destroyed, will everything return to how it was before?"


    He looked at her and said, "Of course, Mariane. You don''t need to worry. Just focus on the battle and leave the rest to your master."


    Mariane then calmed down, showing the great trust she had in her master. But Feicui Long whispered to himself after she left, "I''m sorry, Mariane. I''ve never lied to you, but sometimes the truth is too cruel. Maybe in another life, everything can return to normal. This war is already decided, as is my life."


    Feicui Long soon came out of the vision, feeling sad. This was one of his memories. It seemed that his will was still imbued with his thoughts and recollections. This vision was yet another sign of the recovered link between him and his will. However, this memory made him worry about something else, a foreboding of something that should not happen, especially not now. Hopefully, his premonition was wrong this time.


    Reiko, who saw how Feicui Long suddenly froze and looked sad in the middle of their conversation, became concerned and asked, "Hey, are you okay, Feicui Long?"


    Feicui Long looked at her, nodded, and said, "It''s nothing. We can continue."


    Reiko didn''t want to accept that, but she had no other choice.


    ¡­


    On the way back, Reiko, who had been holding back her curiosity all this time, finally let it go and began asking several questions. The first one was, "What were those strange words you said in the temple?"


    Feicui Long did not answer her question directly but instead said, "While the Absolute Language is the language decided in the treaty and recorded in the law of the Absolute Heaven, and therefore all living beings are born with the knowledge of how to use it, that does not mean there are no other languages. Many languages as ancient as the Absolute Language still exist. Others are born because the energy and laws of a world, system, or universe, among other things, are sealed, causing the Absolute Language, despite being known, to remain dormant in them, creating new languages. Moreover, cultivators or universes may decide to create another language in addition to using the Absolute Language."


    Reiko then asked again, "Then what language is that?"


    Feicui Long calmly replied, "There are things better left unknown, especially when one does not have the strength to know them. I do not want to put you in danger, so for now, I will not tell you."


    A little disappointed, Reiko simply changed the question, "I have a doubt. You said that my Kiyohime''s species is a Green Forest Dragon and that its variant was a Jade Forest Green Dragon, but there is also the Jade Forest Green Dragon as a subspecies of the Jade Forest Dragon. What differences are there between them that it is not even considered a different species from the Forest Dragon?"


    Feicui Long made a confused expression. Wasn''t Reiko a tamer? Why was she asking such a basic question? Feicui Long, with a concerned look, asked in return, "Reiko, don''t take this the wrong way, but you''re a tamer. How do you not know something so basic? Earlier, I was surprised that you hadn''t learned an appraisal skill, something essential for a tamer, summoner, necromancer, or golem or puppet creator, the four paths of the guilds union you are a member of. But not knowing basic concepts like these makes me worry about your future. Who taught you so poorly?"


    Reiko, a little embarrassed, said, "My father didn''t teach me this. As for the appraisal skill, I just didn''t consider it very useful, and learning a skill is very difficult, so I hadn''t learned it yet. But I will learn it if you accompany me to the classes¡­"


    This time, Amanitore looked at her and felt pity for the lord. He was being thrown under the carriage without even doing anything wrong, as he had taught Reiko everything correctly and patiently. It was just that Reiko was very impatient and had a hard time paying attention.


    Feicui Long just sighed and said, "Fine, I will accompany you. Now, regarding your question, it is a somewhat complex topic, but to understand it, we first need to understand the differences between mutation and variant, and what a species and a subspecies are. Let''s start with the latter. A species is a group of individuals or a population of individuals that share a genotype, physical traits, capabilities, and abilities, while a subspecies is a smaller group of those individuals that share many of the already mentioned characteristics but may vary in some aspects compared to other subspecies. For example, your fox, the original and common species from which all others descend, is good at attacking individually, but this subspecies changes its specialization and other traits. The same can be seen with the Forest Dragon, which can be either Eastern or Western, but also green, brown, emerald, jade, etc."


    Reiko opened her eyes slightly, remembering that day, though she ended up blushing from remembering too much and simply shook her head to keep paying attention.


    Feicui Long raised a hand with one finger lifted and said, "With mutations and variants, we have a different case. Starting with variants, they retain the same species and subspecies as a base, only varying in something that grants them traits or abilities from higher-level species in some cases, while in others, it simply gives them extra traits, capabilities, or abilities. This clarification is important because, by retaining the same species, they keep all the abilities, traits, characteristics, and so on of that species, plus the added ones. Meanwhile, a subspecies or a higher-level species, or a species of greater rarity, however you prefer to call it, does not possess all those extra things."


    Feicui Long continued, "There are also other differences. If you look carefully, you will see that I said traits or abilities. This means that while variants can grant abilities, capabilities, and other things to an individual, things that are normally exclusive to a species of greater rarity, they do not provide all the abilities that an individual of that other species would have. So it is only a partial enhancement. Moreover, not all variations are positive. While those abilities may be useful for that higher-rarity species, that species might specialize in something completely different and opposite. Therefore, it could actually reduce an individual''s capabilities instead of enhancing them. Finally, variations can be obtained in different ways, being born with them, which is the most common, breaking through a realm, consuming treasures, medicines, inscriptions, bloodlines, and other things, or being in specific locations or events, such as celestial phenomena that temporarily alter or modify laws or energies. They can also come from blessings or gifts, among many other means."


    Reiko then connected part of what Feicui Long had said with what he had told her that day in her room, especially the part about her Kiyohime being blessed by the Emerald Dragon God.


    Feicui Long resumed the explanation, saying, "On the other hand, mutations change a specific part and can occur at any stage of a creature or living being, whether at birth, during a cultivation breakthrough, in adulthood, or by consuming a treasure, medicine, inscription, etc., with the same probability in all cases. These modify specific parts or small areas of a living being, granting new capabilities or abilities. But just like variations, not all are positive. The difference between the two is that variations are more general and larger."


    Feicui Long then cleared his throat and concluded the explanation, "Finally, if an individual has more than one variation or mutation, depending on the amount, it can give rise to a new species due to the significant differences. Since I didn''t mention it before, sometimes the abilities, traits, or capabilities from a variation or mutation can replace those of the original species. With all this said and explained, you can now see why Kiyohime, despite having a species name similar to another different species, is not the same, as she only possesses the abilities of a Jade Forest Dragon partially."


    Reiko, now understanding everything, looked at him doubtfully and said, "Alright, I understand all that, but what do you mean by saying the name is very similar? Wouldn''t both the species and the variant be called the same? That is, Green Jade Forest Dragon."


    Feicui Long replied, "It may seem that way, but they are actually not the same. Of course, calling it that is correct, but if you were to use an evaluation ability, a scroll, or an artifact, you would realize that its name would appear as ''species name'' followed by a separator with the variant, while a true species would not have that separator. This indicates the real name of a species."


    Reiko finally satisfied her curiosity and walked away, holding onto Feicui Long''s arm, much happier than before.


    ¡­


    It wouldn''t take long for the news that a beast had been reborn as a true dragon in the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time Temple to spread, drawing entire crowds eager to visit the temple for the first time.


    But perhaps the most surprised were those from the Union of Summoners, Tamers, Necromancers, and Golem and Puppet Creators, who soon heard about the person who had managed to evolve their beast into a dragon. This sparked opposite reactions, some erupted with joy, while others remained silent and concerned, especially the first three groups, who gathered with darkened expressions. The difference between a true dragon and a common beast of the same level in the Spiritual Palace was abysmal.


    After all, the fact that dragons are considered the most powerful race of all was not mere coincidence or propaganda, it was an undeniable truth accepted by all races. Even races of the same level were forced to acknowledge this fact, no matter how high their pride was. A dragon alone could defeat many beasts of the same level, which, although they didn''t want to admit it, made the three groups fear that Reiko might seek revenge, as they would inevitably have to face her if they wanted to keep their place at the top.

 Chapter 21 - A Farewell to Vienna - Part 2

    Feicui Long returned to his "house" after picking up the twins. There was still time in the day, but he decided to spend some time with them and also tend to his alchemy stall, which he hadn''t had time for these past few days.


    When he opened the stall, almost as if by magic, in just a few minutes, around 30 to 50 people appeared. Many of them were locals from this area of the city, while others were adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries.


    Fortunately, the twins were quite well-behaved and obedient, which helped speed up the delivery of products. This continued until nightfall, when all his products were sold out. In just that day, Feicui Long made 75 silver coins.


    Happy, he proceeded to prepare dinner for the twins and himself. Tonight, he would make his specialty: a mountain stew. Although he didn''t use the same ingredients as in his past life, almost everything in this world has a solution. He simply replaced the ingredients he couldn''t find with similar ones. The stew had potatoes, carrots, yuca, beef, and venison, along with mushrooms, a bit of cream, salt, pepper, and paprika. It was perfect as a meal before going to sleep.


    When the twins ate it, they looked truly happy, even asking for several more servings. Once they were full, they went to sleep, and so did Feicui Long.


    ¡­


    The days continued to pass peacefully until three years had gone by. During these three years, Feicui Long accompanied Reiko in learning the evaluation skill and also taught her about the dangers of people, helping her develop a healthy level of distrust. He also taught her the basics of beast taming, and from time to time, they would gather at his house for intense study sessions.


    Likewise, he educated the twins in the world of cultivation and even taught them to cultivate using the technique their father had left them, all while tending to his alchemy stall. Interestingly, although he wanted to teach them basic self-care skills such as cleaning and organization, it turned out to be unnecessary since they were already well-trained in taking care of themselves. The only thing they didn''t know was how to cook, but watching Feicui Long cook daily gradually taught them. Besides that, he taught them manners and etiquette.


    During this time, he also took in new tenants. About a year and a half ago, a little 10-year-old girl came looking for work due to the rumors circulating about Feicui Long. When he accepted the twins as his nieces, many rumors arose, ranging from bad ones meant to damage his reputation, to neutral ones, to good ones. Among the worst rumors was the claim that he had bought two girls as slaves to work for him. Another insinuated that he had brought them for "indecent" purposes. Others speculated that they were his daughters with a noblewoman and that these illegitimate daughters had been left in their father''s care.


    But thanks to Feicui Long having built a good reputation throughout this area and among almost everyone, these malicious rumors did not prosper.


    They were especially overshadowed by the neutral and good ones, which were somewhat curious. One of the neutral rumors said that they were his daughters, that their mother, who had been taking care of them, had died, and they had come looking for their father, who worked elsewhere. Meanwhile, the good rumors almost sanctified him. Some claimed he had adopted them from poverty and, to avoid making them feel bad, said they were his nieces. Another was that they had come knocking on his door, and out of pity, he had given them work and simply asked them to call him uncle so it wouldn''t seem strange.


    It was because of this last rumor that the 10-year-old girl came looking for him. She had heard somewhere that he was some kind of living saint and would give her work so she could live and eat. Feicui Long hesitated about accepting her, but her determined expression reminded him of a woman, although much younger, who looked very much like her. He could still remember how she had stood before him, looking at him defiantly, despite him being much older. The two of them had had a good relationship, until the accid... Feicui Long shook his head at that moment. Sighing, he decided to take her in. It seemed that fate wanted him to be the father of girls, as the same had happened in his first life and all the lives between that one and this.


    What he didn''t expect was that this girl had four younger sisters, one a year younger, two aged six and seven, and one just five years old. He had no choice but to adopt them as well. He wasn''t so cruel as to throw them out onto the streets, nor did he like breaking his promises or oaths. In fact, he despised it.


    Of course, this only further cemented his image as some kind of saintly doctor/alchemist. But thanks to that, his business grew tremendously. By that time, he had already built his house. He had once been an engineer in one of his past lives, specifically in a life within a techno-energy society. With that knowledge, he designed the blueprints. Though he had to admit, he knew absolutely nothing about construction. At his peak, he could cut entire planets and turn them into palaces, but now he had to rely on the knowledge of an old man and his sons, with whom he had a good relationship. The old man was a veteran master builder who taught him how to construct and even gave him several of his journals and books. The house turned out beautiful, with more than enough space to shelter the girls.


    During the year and a half that followed, up until the present, he taught them a great deal. He had to educate them in reading and writing, which was a difficult task, but he was already used to it. He had raised 33 Supreme Gods, Mariane, several dragons and dragonesses, and five mortal girls. This was nothing new to him. What was difficult, however, was stopping them from fighting over the projection artifact of the guilds union, as the younger ones particularly enjoyed watching it.


    Despite all that, Feicui Long felt a bit hopeless, as he had no means to return to the central continent, let alone go to the main temple to obtain his drop of blood. So he had been looking for alternatives, but there was really no news that could help him nor any information about what he was looking for. He was almost resigning himself to living his life this way...


    ...That same day, someone knocked on the door of Feicui Long''s house, which also functioned as an alchemical workshop and clinic. He went to open it, surprised, as he had put up a sign stating that there would be no service today, and therefore, no one should be here. After all, this was his only day off.


    Feicui Long reached the door and slowly opened it, seeing several individuals standing around his shop. With a single glance, he could tell they were nothing more than thugs. In front of him stood a fat man with a golden cane, accompanied by a thug taller than the rest, measuring about 1.85 meters.


    Feicui Long asked in a cold voice, "What do you want?"


    The fat man spoke, "So you''re the so-called saintly doctor who makes alchemy for the poor, huh?"


    Feicui Long raised an eyebrow and said, "And what if I am? Is there a problem with that?"


    The fat man replied, "Of course there is. I want you to stop doing that and sell me this property. Also, I want you to get out of this city. This territory belongs to Clayman''s alchemy workshop, so if you don''t comply, we might have to use something a little rougher than a simple ''contract.'' I hope you understand what I mean."


    Feicui Long looked at him with disdain and said, "So you''re Clayman''s fat bastard? Pff, I thought you''d be someone important. Listen to me, fatso, I''m not afraid of you. I think it''s best if you leave, because you''re not getting anything from me."


    The thug beside Clayman stepped forward and said, "Kid, there are times when it''s better to drop the arrogance when someone above you tells you to. Don''t be stupid and ruin your future over this."


    The fat man nodded and said with a chuckle, "Doctor, he''s right. You''re too young to not understand that every action has a consequence, and sometimes that consequence is more than what one can afford."


    Feicui Long then let out a loud laugh, ''HAHAHAHA.'' He grabbed something from his waist and lifted it, looking at him as he said, "Fat Clayman, you''re just a beginner alchemist, a member of UMIARH. I already knew you for your bad reputation, but it seems you not only like to intimidate the weak, but you''re also stupid enough to not even recognize what''s in front of you. Look at this carefully."


    In his raised hand was a shining membership card identifying him as a beginner alchemist. When the fat man and the thug saw it, their eyes widened in shock.


    Feicui Long, who was not in the mood, spoke with disdain and an unusual politeness he had not used with him before, "You know the union''s rules, don''t you? Intimidation, physical threats, attacks, or even eliminating an opponent who is a member of UMIARH or close to them is not allowed. Do you not know what happened to Count Gottfried Pappenheim?"


    The fat man began trembling upon hearing this, while the thug looked at his boss in confusion.


    Feicui Long continued speaking, "Oh, Count Gottfried Pappenheim, a great general who had served the Habsburg Empire and whose viscount house, loyal to the royal family, had ascended to the rank of a count''s house due to his contributions. He was granted the city of Prague to govern, one of the 21 great cities. It seemed his rise would never stop, and his retirement at 40 was only the beginning¡ªhe would never fall."


    Feicui Long paused for a moment, pretending not to notice that Clayman had begun sweating profusely. "But his 30-year-old brother, Karl Pappenheim, an intermediate alchemist frustrated because his greatest rival, Alexander von Ansbach, had progressed to a 9-star intermediate alchemist and was close to becoming an advanced alchemist while he was stuck, unable to obtain even his eighth star, decided it was a good idea to create a plot to ''remove'' him from the competition. Who would have thought that Alexander''s suspicious death would lead the union to investigate, capturing all the hired assassins? Under some rather effective information extraction methods, they revealed that Karl was the one who hired them. His brother tried to defend him, but that nearly led to him and his family being executed. He was only spared because he begged the emperor for help. The emperor mediated with the union, allowing him and his family to live in exchange for stripping them of all their titles and lands, while Karl was ultimately executed along with his wife and children."


    The thug, now understanding everything, took several steps back, positioning himself behind his boss, who was clearly worried.


    Feicui Long looked at him and offered a piece of advice that was not really advice, "I''m sure Mr. Clayman doesn''t want anything to happen to his beloved eldest son, his other children, or his wife¡­ or am I mistaken?"


    The sweaty fat man stammered, "N-no, of course not, young doctor. I was just joking¡­" After saying this, the fat man proceeded to leave.


    As Feicui Long watched him go, a brilliant idea suddenly came to his mind. "Hey, Mr. Clayman, now that I think about it, I believe we can come to an agreement."


    The fat man turned around, a little surprised but at the same time happy, thinking he had just secured a golden opportunity with this na?ve doctor. What did it matter if he couldn''t use violence? As long as he could scam him with a ridiculous price. He was completely unaware of the cold smile Feicui Long hid behind his cordiality.


    When Clayman returned to the front of the house, Feicui Long proposed something to him, "I''ll sell you the house at a reasonable price, 25 platinum coins. I also want 100 energy stones, 10 energy crystals, this list of alchemy materials, and one specific plant, an astral fruit."


    The fat man frowned and said, "That''s too expensive¡­"


    Feicui Long looked at him and thought to himself, This fat bastard is playing dumb. He''s been bleeding the poorest areas dry for so long that his wealth must be counted in the thousands. Just look at that solid 24-karat gold cane. Then he replied, "Expensive? Are you crazy? You''re buying a three-story house that also happens to be a renowned alchemy workshop. This is a minimum price."


    The fat man hesitated and said, "But how do I know you''ll actually leave?"


    Feicui Long, who had already led him too deep into his trap, said, "We can sign a contract at the union of summoners, tamers, necromancers, and golem and puppet creators. That way, we can ensure total impartiality. After signing, I will have seven days to vacate the house and will also leave the city."


    The fat man reluctantly accepted and said, "So, when are we signing it?"


    Feicui Long looked at him and said, "We can do it right now."


    ¡­


    In the end, both Feicui Long and the fat man Clayman went that same day to the UIDNCGM. Upon arrival, they were received by very polite staff members and were taken to a private room. Before entering, Feicui Long whispered in the ear of a male staff member in charge of handling such matters, telling him the contract''s contents and what he needed to do. The staff member, who knew Feicui Long and was one of the loyalists to Reiko''s father, carried out his request without hesitation.


    Then Feicui Long entered alongside the fat man and waited until the staff member came in. Feicui Long explained certain details, and the fat man added others. The staff pretended to create the contract from scratch and handed it to them. Clayman read through it a bit, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him. The only thing that annoyed him was that it forbade him from harming Feicui Long or anyone close to him after he left the city. Whether it was a family member, an employee, or anyone related to him, harming them would result in death in both body and soul. Still, trusting the impartiality of the UIDNCGM, Clayman placed his drop of blood without hesitation, his name appearing on the contract line: "Guzm¨¢n Clayman." Feicui Long followed suit.


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    With that, both of them left, each going their own way. The delivery of everything Clayman owed to Feicui Long was to be completed within three days. Feicui Long had to leave the city in seven days, but even so, he was pleased because he had secured an excellent deal.


    ¡­


    As he returned home, he thought about how easily he had deceived Clayman. The contract he signed not only guaranteed his safety and that of those close to him, but it also forced Clayman to pay him an outrageous amount. While Feicui Long had asked for little in terms of the sale price, the alchemy materials list was extremely expensive, especially including the astral fruit. But now that he had signed it, he couldn''t avoid buying them.


    As for leaving the city, it was unfortunate, but he would have had to do it sooner or later. He needed to expand his possibilities of breaking the curse of the Superior God of Curses, and with everything he had tried, he believed he had nearly exhausted all his options in Vienna.


    On his way back, he decided to stop by the market to buy a few ingredients. He wasn''t worried about leaving the girls at home, especially since the formation had been improved. Besides that, there were also the rock and earth golems he had recently created, as well as some undead made from the bones of monsters and beasts. If that wasn''t enough, there was Surinbit, his rainbow slime leader-type, which was at elemental realm grade 5, and Kagetsume, his steel-feathered crow.


    Not to mention the twins, who had just turned 13. He had guided them using their father''s technique, though he had also helped them adapt it individually by modifying the technique. Thanks to that, they had now reached elemental realm grade 3 ¨C initial stage. However, it was a shame. He didn''t believe their slow progress was due to poor talent. While his third eye hadn''t developed enough to evaluate talent, he could tell from experience and from their lineage. The only reason for their slow advancement was the curse they bore, which he had already confirmed also came from the God of Curses, they had told him so themselves.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long then returned with the ingredients. He hadn''t planned on working today, but since he was going to leave, he intended to make use of his time to do a few things before departing, including preparing some gifts for the people who had helped him. He knew he wasn''t a good person¡ªhe was well aware of that, unlike his reputation, but he also didn''t consider himself a bad person. For that very reason, he wanted to give back a little of what he had received.


    The first preparation he was going to make today was a recovery potion and longevity-enhancing pills. A rather advanced one was called Vigorous Vitality Recovery. Besides restoring vitality, it could regenerate important body parts, such as damaged nerves or neurons. However, this required using half of the fragment of the powerful vitality tree crystal he had obtained from the leader of the adventurers'' guilds union. But he didn''t mind, because the person he intended to give it to had helped him a lot.


    She was an elderly woman named Mar¨ªa Gonzales, along with her eldest daughter. They came from the peninsular part of the empire. She was very kind and would sometimes bring him food or things she had made and had leftovers of. Besides that, every time he treated her, even though he told her she didn''t have to pay him, the elderly woman and her daughter insisted on helping him clean his house. From time to time, they also looked after the girls and fixed their clothes, even though that wasn''t necessary given Feicui Long''s wealth.


    She had helped him a lot over the past three years, and he felt it was time to return the favor now that he was leaving. And what better way to do so than by restoring her vitality, healing the damage to her old body, and helping regenerate the nerves of her beloved daughter? Her daughter had been Mar¨ªa''s support for a long time, but at some point, she had fallen ill at the end of last year. Feicui Long examined her, and whatever had caused her illness had inflicted irreversible damage to her nerves and motor neurons, damage that normal medicine couldn''t cure. Because of this, she now lived in constant pain and struggled to move on her own. To make matters worse, poor Mar¨ªa''s situation deteriorated even further when her other children abandoned her, as her daughter could no longer support them all.


    This motivated him to put in the effort to create this potion. With that in mind, he went through all the preparation processes. The potion was the most difficult to make and required a lot of time, so he began preparing some of the ingredients while the twins helped by handing them to him one by one. He cut them into strips or cubes, ground them, and applied other methods. When everything was nearly ready, he split the fragment in half and tossed it into a special cauldron designed for alchemy. He activated the formation beneath it and left it alone for a while.


    This potion would take a few hours to be ready, so he immediately started working on the longevity pills. These pills could increase a person''s lifespan by up to 25 years, although the effect was only that strong for mortals. For cultivators, the increase was slightly reduced. Regardless, it was still quite valuable. Furthermore, if combined with various versions of the pill, life could be extended even further, as the 25-year version could only be taken once.


    Feicui Long carried out the same preparations and directly threw the ingredients into the alchemy furnace. He then proceeded to cast inscriptions at a rapid pace, all while keeping an eye on the pot that was boiling the potion. Afterward, he signaled Callista to stir the cauldron.


    After an hour and a half had passed, Feicui Long had finally completed the pills. He had created three 25-year longevity pills, five 10-year pills, ten 5-year pills, and twenty 1-year pills. After placing them in a preservation box, one of those given to him by Allearys which he had modified with better formations to ensure that only the owner could open it, he went to check on the cauldron and began the same process with the inscriptions.


    ...


    By the time three hours had passed, everything was ready. From the cauldron, he had created 15 potions. The damage to both the mother and the daughter was severe, but more importantly, his cultivation restrained him from improving the quality of the potions any further. Additionally, since they were mortals, they wouldn''t be able to absorb all the medicinal power, meaning each of them would have to take three potions. He set aside six potions for them, keeping the rest for himself and the girls.


    With that done, he headed to the living room, where Mar¨ªa and her daughter were already waiting. He had asked Melina to bring them.


    Once they arrived, Feicui Long showed them the box and explained how it worked:


    "Madam Mar¨ªa, as a token of gratitude for everything you have done for me, I am giving you this. These are six Vigorous Vitality Recovery potions. In addition to restoring lost vitality, they also have strong regenerative properties. They will heal all of your daughter''s damaged neurons and your old wounds. Meanwhile, the longevity pills will extend your lifespan. You must take the vitality restoration potion first, as the longevity pills further increase lifespan based on the person''s remaining vitality.


    Furthermore, I recommend that you first take the 25-year pill, then the 10-year one, and eventually the 1-year pills. As I mentioned, these pills increase lifespan in relation to vitality, and each one also enhances vitality. This effect is actually much more noticeable with the 1-year pills than with the 25-year ones."


    Feicui Long took a deep breath and said, "Lastly, you will notice that there are some left over. The 1-year pill is limited to one per person, the 10-year ones are two per person, the 5-year ones are five per person, and the 1-year ones are seven per person. The extras are for you to sell at UMIARH. They will give you a good price there, especially with this paper if you ask for a person named Allearys. The boxes have been configured with each of your blood, so only you can open them."


    Madam Mar¨ªa, trembling, said, "No, young doctor, I cannot pay you for all of this. I¡­"


    Feicui Long looked at her and shook his head, saying, "No, madam, you don''t have to pay me. This is a gift from me as a token of gratitude and farewell. Perhaps we will never meet again, and that is why I have decided to give you this gift."


    Madam Mar¨ªa looked at him in shock and asked, "You¡­ you''re leaving? But¡­ all the people in this small neighborhood won''t be able to continue without you."


    Feicui Long smiled bitterly, never having expected to become a central figure for an entire neighborhood. "Yes, I have to. The whims of time sometimes force us to move forward. I can''t stay here any longer, but for that very reason, I plan to create plenty of medicine so that people can stock up during these seven days before I leave."


    Madam Mar¨ªa looked at him sadly, but she knew she could not stop him. He was a young man with great talent and a promising future ahead of him. This poor neighborhood had been stuck in stagnation for a long time. It would be unfair to hold someone like him back, forcing him to bear the weight of something that was not his responsibility. So, she simply decided to express her gratitude. "Thank you very much, young doctor Feicui Long. My daughter and I will always be grateful to you."


    Her daughter also gave a slight bow, enduring her pain. After that, the two of them left.


    With that, rumors about his departure began to spread, but he paid them no attention and continued working.


    ...


    For five days, he had prepared a large quantity of medicine. He had given gifts to the people who had helped him the most, such as the old master builder and his sons, to whom he gave several longevity and healing pills to ease their ailments. Also during this time Fat Clayman had come to pay him, looking as if he was about to break into tears. All the ingredients he had requested ended up costing him a total of 75 platinum coins and 50 energy crystals. Feicui Long looked at him with a mocking smile.


    During these five days, people had been very busy. His small business had sold extreme amounts of products, so much that in just these five days, he had made 75 gold coins. But in return, Feicui Long had not had much rest and was already feeling a bit tired from working more than 12 hours just to have everything ready.


    This last batch, he took the opportunity to make as much as possible. He planned to leave it with Hilda to ensure it would last for at least a few months. As for the money, he would let Hilda keep it. It wasn''t a big deal anyway, since the products he had been making in large quantities were common things like Qi recovery pills, healing potions, and others. Besides, that money was the fair price to thank Hilda, along with the gift he had prepared for her.


    When he finished the batch, he left with the twins and the girls to see Hilda and said, "Miss Hilda, I''m leaving this medicine with you. Sell it at the price I have listed here. The money is yours. You don''t need to save it for me. I don''t know when I might return. Also, these pills are for you and your daughters. It''s not much, but they will help improve your talent on your cultivation path. It was a bit difficult to find the ingredients."


    Hilda looked at him with a faint, almost imperceptible expression of bitter sadness and said, "So it''s true that you''re really leaving. I thought they were just rumors. Alright, I will accept this, but I would like you to accept something from me as well."


    Feicui Long wanted to refuse, but he knew she would not give up as easily as the others, so he said, "Alright. In exchange, I would like you to give me some of your maps of this area and the Habsburg Empire, as well as some books and journals. They would be very helpful to me."


    Hilda nodded and quickly went into her house, bringing everything Feicui Long had suggested. She handed them to him, and then something happened that took Feicui Long by surprise. Hilda kissed his cheek and quickly turned her head, her face flushed, saying, "Thank you for everything. I hope we meet again someday."


    Feicui Long, a little shocked by this unexpected turn of events, could only smile and say, "I''m sure it will happen. That''s how time works, after all¡­"


    ¡­


    On the sixth day, Feicui Long finally took a break from working and went to spend time with Reiko to say goodbye to her. He had already told her everything, and she had asked him to spend one last day with her. That was why today, Feicui Long wore the best suit he had bought in a long time. He spent a total of 35 gold coins on this suit. It was a custom-made outfit in emerald green and gold, woven with silk threads from an energy beast and gold threads.


    When he arrived at Reiko''s house, she was also elegantly dressed, looking like the princess of a distant kingdom, wearing an elegant pink kimono adorned with beautiful cherry blossoms. This time, they would go out alone, riding in an incredibly eye-catching carriage.


    The carriage took them to a high-class restaurant in the city''s elite districts. It was a wonderful dinner, with grand meals. She enjoyed every moment and laughed with Feicui Long. After that, they went to see a magnificent play performed by great actors, and later that night, they dined at another restaurant with outstanding musicians.


    It had been a beautiful day for both of them, but it was impossible for Reiko to hold back forever with her personality. When they entered her house, Reiko could not stop herself from breaking into tears. Feicui Long knew the best thing to do was to let her vent, so he stayed with her, holding her the whole time.


    When she finally calmed down, they talked for a while that night about what the future would be like, about when Feicui Long would return for her. Feicui Long answered all her questions, making sure to make one thing clear. Once she became his woman, she would always be his. Feicui Long would never back down. He had not done so when the enemy forces of the Feilou clan outnumbered his, nor when his own brothers surrounded him.


    After that, the two spent one last night of passion. It was an incredibly intense passion, the most intense they had ever shared.


    ¡­


    On the seventh day, he was accompanied by the twins to the market. He bought a carriage with two mares, tamed them, and established a contract with them. He also bought various other things, such as large quantities of food, some useful items like utensil sets, and more.


    He also purchased a new image projection artifact. It was better than the one he had before and had a much more refined design. He bought several new educational books to teach the girls later, along with some extra things specifically for them.


    Lastly, he bought materials that could be useful for alchemy, refinement, and even inscriptions, as well as some practical items like tracking stones and sound transmission stones. He selected everything in a way that would be useful for various purposes.


    ¡­


    Finally, when he returned home, everything was already packed inside the spatial bags and two spatial backpacks. There were a total of 10 spatial bags: the 5 he had bought when he first regained his memories, two he had purchased for the twins, two he had obtained by joining the unions, and the one Eltein had given him. He had bought the backpacks from the old man who sold him the spatial bags. Almost everything fit inside, and what was left over, he placed in his collar or in bags inside the carriage.


    He helped the girls into the carriage and hurriedly began dismantling everything, from the formations to the furnace and other belongings. He gathered the slimes, golems, and undead, then stepped outside to see that the fat man was already waiting for him. He handed him the keys and the property documents.


    He climbed into the carriage along with the twins, who sat on either side of him, and then set the carriage in motion. Along the way, he could see people watching him as they waved goodbye. Many looked at him with sadness. He even spotted the guard commander and a beautiful woman with fiery red hair, tears slightly welling in her eyes as they bid him farewell. He responded by waving his hand, which the twins quickly imitated, and thus they said their goodbyes to this neighborhood and its people.


    ¡­


    As they were leaving Vienna, Feicui Long turned his head, thinking that whether he had wanted it or not, their destinies were intertwined. This was where Feicui Long had spent 13 years of his life, where his memories awakened, and where his journey began. That was why he made a promise to himself that he would return, sooner or later, no matter the cost, whether as a friend, an ally, or an enemy. Only time could tell... NO, only he could decide.


    Because he was the one who ruled over time, space, and dragons. No one else could do it. He was Feicui Long, the Supreme Dragon Sovereign, God of Dragons, Sovereign of the Supreme Time Clan, God of Time and the Time Race, Sovereign of the Supreme Space Clan, God of Space and the Space Race, and he intended to take what was rightfully his.

 Side story 1—The mysterious Paladin

    There¡¯s a figure running through the forest accompanied by three other figures until they seek a small village.


    The figure which was running in front of the group, is a very tall woman 1.75 m to 1.80 m, equipped with full-body armor which resembles the form of a dragon, the helmet is exactly like the head of a western dragon; the shoulders had encrusted, two claws holding a cape, the gauntlets and boots had the shape of claws, all the armor is detailed to the extreme, the color of the armor is a mix between black and violet, contains some gems whose colors vary from emerald, amethyst and topaz, the armor is inscribed with many powerful inscriptions, on the back had a violet shield in the shape of a dragon¡¯s head and at the waist, there¡¯s was a flashing silver sword with a handle that shares the same design as the shield and the helmet, one dragon head, this time an eastern dragon head with the jaws open in the middle, from which emerges the blade.


    One of these figures speaks: ¡°Young lady, this is Hallstatt, the small village described in the rumors which links the last sighting the sinful dragon Radu Cel Frumos.¡±


    The figure with the armor that was in front of the group of people nodded with her head and said: ¡° I can see the destruction of the sinful dragon, even sense his sick breath.¡±


    From the small village, a person sees them and then comes running waving a hand. The person who comes is a woman wearing robes, the robes have intricate patterns of two emerald dragons, one western and the other eastern and many shining inscriptions.


    The women then stopped in front of the group and said: ¡°I had been waiting for you, miss Violetta, the sinful dragon attack this small village. Fortunately, we came in time and managed to repeal the attack.¡±


    Violetta looked at the woman in the robes to the face and asked: ¡°Manage to repel?, aren¡¯t you and your team supposed to kill the sinful dragon?, I mean, your team brought the dragon-suppressing formation, the information about the sinful dragon said it is at spiritual palace realm grade 7, so even if you brought with you spiritual palace realm grade 3, 4 or 5, you should be able to kill it."


    Embarrassed, the woman in the robe said: ¡°Miss Violetta, the sinful dragon is much stronger than we originally thought and even that, the dragon turned out to be a rare variant, something that was not mentioned in the report from the Dragon Order.¡±


    The woman in the robes continued speaking ¡°We used the formation, and with the help of Eleanor Gale, the Duchess of Cardiff, from the Red Dragon Kingdom and the fighters, we brought with us but despite the superiority thanks to the formation, which reduce the sinful dragon combat power from spiritual palace realm grade 7 to be inferior to the Duchess¡¯s spiritual palace grade 5, we could not kill it, the dragon had such powerful regeneration thanks to its variant, ¡®Reactivated Obsidian¡¯ which allows him to almost completely recover from any injury, when he saw himself overcome by the Duchess he decided to fly at full speed, the Duchess and other members chased but the dragon used all his power and energy in escape, even ignoring the attacks hitting his body, the Duchess is actually returning from the pursuit, I think you can catch up him your full speed.¡±


    Then, Violetta looked at her companions and said: ¡°I¡¯m going to go alone this time.¡±


    One of the women from Violetta¡¯s team quickly walked to Violetta¡¯s side, this woman is quite small, around 1.4 m to 1.45 m, slim and feeble, even compared to a normal human woman, you can clearly tell she is a Halfling, by her strong resemblance to humans.


    The Halfling Woman then spoke: ¡°Young Lady Violetta, I can¡¯t let you go alone again. don¡¯t you remember the last time? you almost died against the Flashing Silver Dragon, Yin Guang!¡±


    Violetta shivered a slightly as the memory of her first battle alone against a sinful dragon came back to her mind, she could remember how Yin Guang pushed her to her maximum power, one spiritual palace realm grade 9 peak versus a grade one, she had presumptuously thinks that with her bloodline and her mother¡¯s legacy alone, she can defeat this beast of a creature, but how badly she underestimated her opponent, which ended up forcing her to use all her secrets cards even her bless and her father¡¯s inheritance, going as far as burning her vital force, at the end of the battle, she had almost died if not because her emerald heart and the rescue of Lucia Corvini, her loyal nanny, the Halfling Woman which is now scolding her reckless behavior.


    Violetta¡¯s reply to Lucia¡¯s questioning: ¡°I remember, but you don¡¯t have to worry Lucia, I¡¯m not that reckless anymore. Now I¡¯m more cautious and have more tools to fight sinful dragons, believe me¡±


    Lucia said: ¡°No is no, i can¡¯t let you go alone, Mistress Celestina, your mother left me in charge of your safety, i can¡¯t let you put yourself in more danger.¡±


    Violetta wanted to say something, but she couldn¡¯t reply, not to Lucia. Another team member saw this and spoke for Violetta: ¡°Come on Lucia, Violetta is more powerful than before and the enemy is weaker, trust her.¡±


    The remaining team member touched Lucia¡¯s shoulder. With this Violetta was finally able to begin the pursuit of the sinful dragon.


    ¡­


    This time Violetta didn¡¯t have to hide her presence running through the forest, so she started flying at her full normal speed.


    At a certain point she began to recite a chant: ¡°Wings of the dragons, let me fly like the king of the skies, riding the winds even through rain and storms, WAKE UP! SHOW YOUR TRUE FORM!¡±


    On her back, the cape begins to transform acquiring a different shape, going from an amorphous form emitting glowing lights, to one resembling draconic wings, increasing Violetta¡¯s speed even further.


    On her way to catch the sinful dragon she noticed another dragon returning from the same direction, this dragon which her color was green-cyan, was a wind dragon in her hands she is carried few people with the same type of robes, as the priestess who received her team in the small village.


    This confirmed what the priestess had said about the dragon ignoring all the attacks and continuing to fly, because the fact that a wind dragon couldn¡¯t catch up with an obsidian dragon in speed, was another matter entirely.


    From what the priestess had said alone, she could deduce that this dragon was the Duchess Eleanor Gale, as the Duchess was passed by her side, she sent a spiritual message which said: ¡°Radu is almost five minutes away, I¡¯m almost drained of energy, so please Miss Violetta take care of it."


    Violetta nodded and drew her sword and held it in front of her and recited a chant: ¡°Oh, flashing silver that covers thirty thousand kilometers, resurging flashing silver dragon, Flashing Silver Torrent!¡±


    After that the image of an eastern flashing silver dragon appeared, she was standing inside its head, the body extending beyond her back. Taking impulse to resume her flying, with only a flash of silver could be seen in that moment.


    ...


    The image of the Flashing Silver Dragon could be seen on the horizon, anyone who saw the image had to rub their eyes because in one moment they could see the image, and the next, it was gone, this was her true maximum speed.


    As Violetta flies, she searches for the sinful dragon, at a certain point she spots a black dot moving at great speed, but it is far too slow compared to her.


    The closer she goes to the dragon she could see a western dragon, whose color was pure obsidian black, his scales were like really sharp obsidian blades with pikes emerging from the base of its tail, running along its spine up to the neck, its two horns give it a frugal aspect.


    In an instant, she is flying above the sinful dragon Radu, at that moment she launches an attack pointing the tip forward, the image of the dragon surrounding her opens its jaws as she whispers: ¡°Flashing Silver Cannon!¡±


    Then from the open jaws, a massive silver sphere very brilliant emerges, radiating a dazzling light that illuminates the entire area, the massive sphere launched at high speed, the obsidian dragon senses something strange and tries to evade, but the attack is too fast that, he only could feel is the impact, before he is sent crashing to the ground.


    A human figure rose from the impact zone, shaking the dust off his body, reaches out to touch the injury on his back and says: ¡°What bastard they sent this time...¡±


    Set his sight in the sky, he can see one humanoid figure, after this he laughed loudly ¡®HAHAHAHA¡¯ and said: ¡°What a bunch of idiots, sending a mere mortal to kill a dragon, I thought for a moment they sent this time a true expert and my luck had run out."


    Violetta ignored the clear provocation and launched another attack, even more powerful: ¡°Emerald Slash!¡± A semi-circular emerald green energy slash, swiftly rushed toward the dragon in human form.


    The man instantly transformed back into his dragon form, dodging by a little margin, in midair, he flapped his wings aiming Violetta¡¯s position, unleashing a black mist that scattered into a storm of obsidian fragments in a shape of a arrowhead.


    Violetta only smiled inside her helmet and launched another emerald slash, then another, and another, three consecutive attacks tore through the storm of fragments, shattering them. The dragon attempted to evade, but only managed to avoid two, the third attack partially landed, wounding his right side.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Suddenly the injuries in the back and his right side began to emanate light between orange and red, then at high speed, his wounds began healing, Violetta squinted her eyes and thought this fight could be a little fun.


    Radu realized that the height difference could be too problematic, so at his maximum speed, he approached Violetta and launched a melee attack with his claws, followed by him saying: ¡°Obsidian storm!¡± Again, the same black mist appeared and followed by the storm of fragments, but Violetta blocked the claws with her sword, as for the fragments, she simply stomped her foot in the air and said: ¡°Emerald Clash!¡±


    An expansive wave of power destroyed all the fragments, Violetta quickly launched a counterattack with the tip of her sword taking advantage of proximity, saying: ¡°Emerald Impact!¡±. A emerald-coloured energy torrent was expelled front the tip, getting through the body of Radu and sending him flying backwards.


    This time the wound was more serious but that¡¯s didn¡¯t matter, the same light between orange and red emanated from the wound and even brighter, than before.


    Radu annoyed was determined to kill this ant, but just notices the change in the aura, he shifted his focus to defense and said: ¡°Obsidian Barrier!¡± an obsidian semi-sphere took form.


    After that the voice of Violetta can be hear saying: ¡°Silver Flash Slash!¡±, followed by a bright silver energy slash, impacting the obsidian semi-sphere beginning to cut through the barrier, making crushing sounds, but the barrier started regenerating immediately, emanating the same light from the wounds, less brighter. After seeing this Violetta opened her eyes and amazed said in her mind: ¡°So the regeneration also applies to his techniques and skills, noted.¡±


    Even though the barrier is regenerating, that can¡¯t stop the bright silver energy slash penetrating the barrier, second to second, centimeter by centimeter, the slash progress and the barrier regenerate, until the last layer, where the slash had lost all its energy, Violetta didn¡¯t wait and launched another emerald slash, destroying the barrier, which at that moment had completely regenerated.


    Radu didn¡¯t stay still, even before Violetta launched the emerald slash, he whispered: ¡°Double crystal proxy, Ten Thousand Obsidian Bullets!¡±, after that in both sides, the right and the left, two black crystals between 30 cm to 50 cm appeared, each one launched hundreds of little shards of obsidian.


    The slash almost impact on Radu and Violetta had to use another emerald clash to destroy the obsidian shards, this give enough time to Radu to approach again to Violetta, this time, he grabbed her and hit her with his tail, sending her to ground, but he didn¡¯t stop there, quickly the natural inscriptions on his neck began to illuminate, soon, the dragon opened his maw and fired his dragon breath, one purely black like obsidian, which contains fragments of the same material.


    As Violetta falls, she doesn¡¯t lose her calm, even after seeing the breath approaching her, on the contrary she has a mocking smile, for the first time in the fight she took her shield on her back, then attaches it to her left arm, puts her arm in the strap and pointing the shield¡¯s lower part at the breath, squeezing a mechanism that works like a hand grip, the shield which resembled a dragon¡¯s head, suddenly opened its jaws and something incredible happened, the breath is rapidly absorbed by the open jaws of the shield.


    But this didn¡¯t prevent that Violetta crashes with ground lifting a cloud of dust, Radu, thinking she is dead or at least heavily injured, he delighted in this thought and said: ¡°Pff, a mere mortal think can defy a draconic being, how ridiculous.¡±


    From the impact zone Violetta jumps using an emerald clash to gain impulse, when she arrives in front of Radu takes his tail and starts spinning in circles, then lets him go and squeezes the same mechanism, opening the jaws of the dragon¡¯s head which releases surprisingly a dragon breath saying: ¡°I¡¯m a mortal, yes, but the emerald dragon god, accepts me, just as I am.¡±


    Radu in shock, realized that this a elf women and that thing enrages him more, furious he said: ¡°At idiot elf women that serves a dead god, is pretty fitting.¡±


    This time Violetta did get angry and without holding back say: ¡°A blasphemous trash tries to sermon me, a filthy sinful dragon, dares to criticize my god!¡±


    Then Violetta started to recited a chant: ¡°Oh glorious emerald power, that kills every enemy, that opposes you, obliterating everything in your path, destroying the enemies of this universe with your great power, bless me with your power to overcome my enemies and pierce them with my sword!, EMERALD SLASH!¡±


    Radu sensing the danger immediately uses obsidian barrier several times, fifteen in total, but this is still not enough to appease his dragon instinct, his heart beats strongly and rapidly, so he tried to evade, but the powerful emerald-energy tide gets through the barriers so fast that it inevitably grazes his chest, because of that, the attack¡¯s great power cuts almost through his heart and lungs, missing by millimeters


    The attack hit the ground, sending waves of power through the area, destroying trees, rocks and making a little crater, Radu sensing a deadly threat for the first time in a long time, said quickly: ¡°Wake up my heart, that energy inside me, once again sees the light of my blazing blood¡±


    Violetta doesn¡¯t want to extended this fight anymore, there is no fun in her anger, at full speed, she launched another attack, but Radu, radiating this red-orange energy, has fully recovered, but this time the light doesn¡¯t disappear, in his chest the light is clearly visible through glass scales, while dodging the attacks, he says: ¡°I admit, I underestimated your power, mortal, but there¡¯s nothing you can do. Let me show you my true power."


    Radu shifted from being on the defensive, to launching a full attack: ¡°Ten crystals proxies, one hundred thousand bullets of reactivated obsidian!¡± after that, ten crystals like the ones before appearing in the air, but this time emanating that strange light, fired by the crystal, each bullet liberated a high temperature, that Violetta can sense from 10 to 20 meters.


    With serious face, without losing a single second, she stomped the air, producing an enormous emerald clash and sent counterattack with the silver flash slash, this fight continues with several exchanges, until an hour passes.


    ¡­


    Radu had already understood the attack pattern and had a rough estimate of the power of Violetta, He thought this elf was monstrous woman, so the faster he defeated her, the higher his chances of survival.


    Radu launched himself at Violetta grabbing her sword and shield before he began hitting her with his tail and hind legs, until Violetta was struck with enough force to be sent crashing to the ground, this time he had already charged his breath, since the start of the struggle, the natural inscriptions on his neck had been shining, but now the light¡¯s color shifted from ominous one that more than shining, it seemed to emit darkness, but then it shifted to a bright and blazing red-orange, then dark breath with obsidian fragments was expelled, but a red-orange light is growing in the interior of the breath.


    Violetta, who had been falling, saw this, frowned and realized, she couldn¡¯t evade it this time, so with her shield like before pointed to the breath, the dragon jaws tried to absorb the breath and thought it succeeded at first, the longer the times lasted, the hotter it became, even began to melting the shield that shaped like a dragon¡¯s head, though it the molten metal hadn¡¯t yet reached the part she was holding, she can sense the immense heat is the shield emanating, but she can¡¯t let it go even if she is sensing a penetrating pain, how she is doing now.


    After that Violetta laughed loudly ¡®HAHAHAHA¡¯ and said: ¡°This was entertaining sinful dragon, i have to admit, this was a really good fight, I didn¡¯t expect that you had a second breath, and the third use of the breath in the fight was that new breath, even more impressive, that new breath was able to destroy the Amethyst Devouring Dragon¡¯s Head, you are a worthy opponent even if you are a dirty trash, but the time to have fun is gone now."


    Radu tried to attack various times in a row, but Violetta evaded each strike effortlessly, using flashing silver torrent, in a single instant she appeared above him as if she had appeared out of nowhere saying: ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do for evade this time, sinful dragon Radu Cel Frumos, this is it¡¯s your end.¡±


    Radu tries to run but Violetta which has removed her helmet smile to him saying: ¡°Oh glorious Emerald God Dragon, by the treaty sealed by your loyal believer, cast your powerful gaze to see the fruits of the treaty, granting the most precious bless, that you can see her achievements!¡±


    In the sky, two massive rifts appeared and then opened revealing a pair of colossal dragon eyes, each eye were divided vertically into one part emerald-colored and the other amethyst-colored with a black vertical slit pupil of a dragon that seemed to act as a crack separating the two parts and from which in the middle came out the golden hands of a clock, which turned as one, it had several golden symbols on the circular edges, which could easily be deduced that they were numbers, the eyes in the sky emating such powerful aura, that Radu couldn¡¯t avoid gets paralyzed.


    In that moment Violetta pointed with her sword to Radu¡¯s heart brilliant in a cold voice said: ¡°Spatial Perforator!¡± a terrifiying power was expelled toward Radu, he could see, he could see, how the death itself was coming for him.


    The Spatial Perforator, despite its simple appearance which is a Amethysth-Violet circular line, moves with an extreme speed, soon the attack is pierced Radu¡¯s chest as if it were nothing, without encountering even a mote of resistance.


    After that, Radu plunged into free fall, like a deflating balloon with air escaping from within. finally crashing sonorously in the ground, Violetta then landed beside him and heard his dying voice: ¡°How? how a mortal can be such strong?, I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Violetta replied: ¡°There¡¯s many things we cannot understand, but I going to show you why.¡± Then Violetta removed her chest plate, revealing her exuberant body that was covered by a cotton shirt.


    With that a familiar aura can be sensed by Radu, with open eyes said: ¡°This is... this is... a dragon bloodline!¡± Subsequently his eyes stopped in the neckline looking at the center of her chest, he could see a mark.


    this time his eyes nearly popped out as he shouted in surprise said: ¡°You are... you are a dragon descendant! you are the daughter of a dragon!, who is your father?!...¡± He tries to ask but suddenly, gets a realization, he saw this same symbol before, he has seen it in...


    After that, Radu scared said: ¡°Impossible, this cannot be, how... how do you exist!?, that person never had a descendant, you cannot be the daughter of...¡±


    Violetta, even before Radu could finish his sentence, whispered: ¡°Spatial Slash¡± An Amethyst-Violet slash in extreme fast, cuts Radu¡¯s head before he could pronounce her father¡¯s name, following that, she said: ¡°I respect you like a worthy opponent, but a pigswill sinful dragon cannot pronounce his name.¡±


    After cutting off Radu¡¯s head, a mysterious artefact looking like a pendant or amulet or necklace which hanging the other side of her waist, illuminates briefly and fades just as quickly.


    At that moment, a halfling woman finally caught up with Violetta. clearly worried for her safety, ran to her and hugged her, saying: ¡°Young lady, are you alright?, are you alright?¡± Thereafter she started inspecting Violetta seeking potential injuries and other damages.


    Next, she set her gaze at Violetta¡¯s destroyed shield and said: ¡°Young lady the Amethyst Devouring Dragon is ruined!, the shield, made from the precious Amethyst Stellar Meteorite, is now gone.¡± After that, she removed the shield from Violetta¡¯s arm and as if having a premonition also removed the gauntlet from Violetta revealing a heavily burned arm.


    She screamed in concern: ¡°Young lady, why? why don¡¯t you let go of the shield!?¡±


    Violetta who had been quiet all this time, said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lucia, I still have energy.¡± Then concentrating energy in her chest, her mark started glistening and she said: ¡°Oh, My emerald heart beat, beat strong!"


    Following that, her arm started regenerating at high speed even faster than Radu¡¯s regeneration. Then, a great shadow rose from the behind, and a giant claw tried to attack Lucia, Violetta clearly furious, injected energy into her other arm and screamed: ¡°Emerald Dragon Claw!¡±


    A giant emerald-green energy claw grabbed the lifeless body of Radu and smashed it against the ground, producing a rumble. Violetta setting her gaze on Radu¡¯s liffeless body. next said to Lucia: ¡°What strong vitality, even in death can he follow his instintics, fortunately the devourer core in the shield is intact, with this vitaly and regeneration, I had a perfect substitution for the Amethyst stellar Meteorite ore.¡±


    ...


    In the end, Violetta departed with Lucia to the little village, resuming her journey to accomplish her promise.

 Chapter 22–The journey to South-East - 1

    Feicui Long, with all the girls, started his journey. His goal was to go further in the southeast in the region which previously was part of Habsburg Empire that was lost in the war against the thousand poison sect, an alliance between nagas and lamias, the thousand poison sect was destroyed in revenge by the poison hunters of the union.


    It is a long journey of a month, three weeks only to get to the frontier of the lost territories, one more to arrive at the place he would establish his new home.


    ...


    He was thinking about his new plan when a question arose coming from the twins, which are sitting on both sides of him: ¡°Uncle Long, why are we going so far? isn¡¯t better to stay in a town?¡±


    The other twin asked another question: ¡°Is it not dangerous?¡±


    Feicui Long, keeping his eyes on the road, replied, one by one the questions: ¡°Because I want to create a base where we can live in peace, besides that, I have already a plan to secure our new home.¡±


    Feicui Long sensing that another around of questions is coming, got ahead and reply: ¡°The Leechwald forest is a very safe and weak zone, the strongest being that forest is at elemental realm grade 9 peak, so it¡¯s not a concern and even beyond the forest, the periphery is the same, the nearest ruler is a few weeks away and I have bought a false dragon blood fruit to create a formation."


    The twins looked at each other and nodded, then one asked: ¡°But if it¡¯s that weak, why the Habsburg empire or the union haven¡¯t recovered it, I say they are very strong with spiritual palace realms, what is stopping they.¡±


    Feicui Long patiently explain: ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because there¡¯s a leader type beast, that every time the Habsburg empire tries to recover its lost lands, appears a sudden and ginormous horde of beast, they tried five times and five times gets repealed, the same with the union they tried five times and gets repealed every time.¡±


    Feicui Long then continues: ¡°But you don¡¯t have bother for that thing, apparently the type leader only is angered with enormous groups of mortals, that¡¯s why this forest had so many starter adventurers, hunters and mercenaries.¡±


    The other twins asked other questions: ¡°What formation do you want to make uncle? And why did you need a useless fruit like the false dragonblood fruit?¡±


    Feicui Long thought a moment if he wants explain this to the twins, but he already has decided to raise then, teaching something like this is nothing and started explaining the formation: ¡°The formation is the aura projection formation, can project or expand certain type of aura, I want the false dragonblood fruit, because it mimics the aura of a true dragonblood fruit.¡±


    Feicui Long continuing explaining: ¡°The dragonblood fruit, dragon fruit, dragon essence fruit, dragon energy fruit, among other fruits or plants or similar things, has a symbiotic relationship between them and the dragon clan, they provide the dragon clan with benefits, like for example the dragonblood fruit strengthens the bloodline of a dragon and in exchange for the fruit, the dragons protect the tree and expand the descent of this same one, this effect is not very strong, but each fruit can be accumulate that only made very important to the dragon, because the third thing more important to the race dragon is the bloodlines and the race of a dragon, not to mention the power that comes with it."


    The twins look very confused, there are think how that has something to do with the false dragonblood fruit.


    Feicui Long understanding this, says: ¡°This it¡¯s important to know because the nature of the false dragonblood fruit, you see the dragonblood fruit and others similar things don¡¯t appear from nothing, so they need attract the dragons and they achieve this because different mechanism, some like the dragonblood fruit emanates an aura, one aura very similar to the dragon aura of a real dragon.¡±


    The twins start to realize of something and saying at the same time: ¡°The aura of the false dragonblood fruit is similar to a dragon aura!¡±


    Feicui Long proud of both node and reply: ¡°That¡¯s correct, the aura is similar, but sadly the false one don¡¯t had the same nature, in reality the false dragonblood fruit tree, imitates the aura of a true dragonblood fruit with the purpose of deceive a dragon, with ignorant can eat the fruit, which to you or another race, don¡¯t had virtually an effect, bad or good, at most a little diarrhea or vomit, but to dragon its lethal, that¡¯s it¡¯s because the fruit is poisonous and the poison is especially designed to kill the dragons.¡±


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    Feicui Long with serious face full of hatred continues: ¡°That fucking tree hunts dragon, but fortunately a true dragon could noted the difference in aura, the closer he gets, the real problem it¡¯s to the dragon¡¯s blood species or races, the little it¡¯s the bloodline more likely is to deceive the dragon¡¯s blood, the tree then gets stronger more consume dragon blood and the aura gets stronger, which can deceive to more dragon¡¯s blood with more dragon bloodline, to the point they can start deceiving sub-dragon with high percentages of dragon blood, like wyvern¡¯s, flood dragon, wyrm, drake, terrestrial drake, etc.¡±


    The twins, interested in the explication that has stray off the point, continue seeing his uncle with brilliant eyes.


    Feicui Long after that takes a breath of air and resume with the teaching: ¡°And with that the tree transformed and true dangerous, because the true dragons can¡¯t be fooled by it, even if the aura gets stronger and more similar to the true fruit, but it can make the true dragon approximate to tree and that moment the tree has the strength to fight the dragon even killed, but not only in this moment is a true danger to a true dragon, rather it¡¯s a menace to everything, if it can¡¯t find a true dragon the tree starts devouring everything in its path and that tree its much stronger than some dragons, so is a really a walking disaster."


    Feicui Long realizing, he has over-explained again, starts to finish the explication: ¡°That¡¯s why I on my first life and the dragon clan in this universe or another targeted this tree and destroy it, now is the union which hunt it because the dragons are allies also because the danger it¡¯s represent, but the fruit also is very useless, although the wood and the core and other things has their values.¡±


    The twins were visibly disappointed because the explanation finished, then seen their uncle with puppy eyes.


    Feicui Long can¡¯t resist their puppies eyes resume the original explanation: ¡°With that said, I can used it to project this similar aura to a dragon to scare anything live or undeath, mostly by the powerful suppression from the aura, although the aura is not perfect


    Feicui Long raised a hand with the index finger pointing to the sky this time and said: ¡°That¡¯s why it modified the basic projection formation, to no only increment the power of the aura, but also to corrects the aura¡¯s imperfections, making it to 99% similar a dragon aura, which can affect almost every creature that is not at the level of true dragon.¡±


    Twins with the open¡¯s eyes saying at the same time: ¡°That¡¯s incredible, but why not with 100% accuracy to the aura? you have the level to make it possible, not uncle Long?¡±


    Feicui Long shook the head and said: ¡°That¡¯s not the problem, certainly I can but, I don¡¯t have the materials or resources...¡±


    This time Feicui Long which have opened his eyes, something has come to his mind and says to himself: ¡°Unless I use, that rune on the core, never had used this rune in this type of formation but, I think is possible to use.¡±


    Melina Telos and Callista Telos see one another very confused and after that seen his uncle start editing one formation in his notebook with his energetic pen.


    When Feicui Long ends the editing part he says: ¡°Yes!, it¡¯s possible, finally it¡¯s a 100% of perfection of the aura, but if a dragon gets very closed to the formation¡¯s core he can sense the differences, but if is a dragon even if cannot tell the difference, it cannot be suppressed and scared by the aura, so is useless anyway in that case, also the dragon are in alliance with the mortals races so is not a problem."


    ¡­


    The journey continues, passing three days in a row. On this day Feicui Long is hunting a prey, even if he buy supplies able to last one year to him and the children, he has save supplies if it¡¯s possible, so he started hunting three days ago, even more this helped him train with the bow and energy rifle.


    He is waiting patiently, until he sees his prey, a little pack of copper cows, like twenty or thirty cows and only one copper bull, but he is not suicidal, so he orders Kagetsume to attack, Kagetsume is elemental realm grade 5 and a variant, she can kill easy any member in this pack, but are little too much to she can manage, so he is using to disperse the pack.


    Because although energy beasts are mostly savage type, that¡¯s don¡¯t made they stupid, they are more intelligent than a mortal animal, yes animals are the mortal version of the energy beast, so a copper cow is much more intelligent than a normal cow, so they don¡¯t going to fight with a flying beast in disadvantage, only going to run.


    Taking advantage of this situation his made Feicui Long points his energy rifle in the bigger cow, injects almost three quarters of his energy and pull the trigger, the inscriptions of the rifle illuminates for a moment and liberates energy shot, the size of a tennis ball, which impact in the cow head killing it in the act, the rest of the pack runs and disperse...


    Minus the copper bull, he is standing furious in front of the bigger, now death cow protecting, Feicui Long makes a sign to Kagetsume and she launches a Deep Darkness Shot, which ends the life of the only bull in the pack.


    Feicui Long then approximates to the dead bodies and say: ¡°Sorry guys, is nothing personal, but this is the law of the beast clan, the strong eats the weak, only survival is the importance in this case.¡±


    He takes the bodies quickly in one of his spatial bags and returns to the girls.

 Chapter 23–The journey to South-East—2

    That night Feicui Long takes an artifact from his necklace, is a series of pieces each one which had the form of a circle¡¯s segment, with a triangular section that ends in a curve, all of them made of black iron with a little bit of cyan copper and inscribed with three types of different inscriptions.


    This artifact is called fragment formation, is one of many ways that a true master of inscriptions can fight, because it enables them to make a formation in an actual fight, but this type of artifact had many uses outside fighting like in traveling.


    So is no like Feicui Long wants to become a master in this type of fighting, especially because he already had his hands full with the two paths his current life¡¯s self took before awakening his memories.


    He made this artifact, which is in reality more like a pseudo artifact because he did not want to invest too many resources in the artifact, had three functions a defensive barrier, a barrier which can prevent things like smell, sounds and light, escape from within the barrier and the third function is an alert from dangers.


    After contemplating his surroundings seeking dangers, he throws the fragments forming a circle and says: ¡°Activate formation.¡±, Then start preparing the diner, is time to sleep for him and the kids.


    ...


    Later that night, in the deep sleep Feicui Long is taken from a majestic room, a room which he is very well acquainted with, the walls are well decorated, with many valuable things, he is in from a very adorable little girl with round green eyes.


    Feicui Long, smiling looking at her, while is cleaning his dirty cheeks and asks her a question: ¡°Marianne, if there¡¯s a time of your master cannot stand at your side, what will you do?¡±


    Then the little girl with a challenging face asks in return a question looking into Feicui Long¡¯s eyes: ¡°Master is the strongest god in this universe, there are not others that can be beat him, so master is going to stay forever with me!¡±


    Feicui Long, taken by surprise, laughs vigorously and says: ¡°Yeah, you are right Marianne, you are right.¡± then pet her head.


    After this Marianne is taken by the maids, Feicui Long walks to the balcony, seeing how Marianne and the maids go to her class.


    Feicui Long couldn¡¯t stop a sigh from escaping and said: ¡°I wish you had reason Marianne, I could live a calm life as possible with my master, with you, and my brothers and sisters, but... there¡¯s no escape, later or soon, they going to find this universe and I...I...I...."


    Feicui Long cannot terminate his sentence, because the thought of what happen this morning, after he getting out from reclusion, was so close, so close of touching the absolute king realm, but again he failed, he doesn¡¯t understand why cannot breakthrough, this ten attend, he never ran into bottleneck so difficult of get through, the only thought of this made him anger and sad, so much he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist in anger.


    In the end he could only finish his sentence: ¡°I just hope, I could make it in time...¡±


    ...


    Feicui Long awakened thinking about the dream that he just had, he fears that this is another sign of one of his greatest fears is becoming true, he waits at least, if it has to be release again in this universe, he is prepared.


    Then Feicui Long gets up and starts organizing everything, from preparing breakfast, cleaning the clothes and packing everything to continue the journey.


    Three weeks have passed since the beginning, they are finally at the forest entry from here to the site, only seven days are remaining, the girls and even the twins are happy that journey is finally coming to an end.


    Because even if Feicui Long had bought a padded carriage, keeping sitting for twenty-one days can be quite annoying.


    ...


    Feicui Long sitting in front of the carriage, spurs the horses and setting the carriage in motion into the forest.


    In the way Feicui Long has been stunned by the views, despite having been abandoned after the war, this road has conserved pretty well but that is not what stunned him, this road barely has any energy beast, something very rare in an ENERGY BEAST TERRITORY.


    This put him in alert mode, even throwing some monitors golems, each one had an eye from an energy beast, thanks to the third eye skill which let you make ¡°auxiliary eyes¡±, a type of a third eye which can float and move by his own and given a shared vision to the possessor of the ability.


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    This combined with golems, can be made a monitor golem, a special type of golem which can share its line of vision if it¡¯s made with clay, mud, earth or sand, can use one of its skills of this type of golems to hide in the terrain.


    Feicui Long after this leave a sigh escape, apparently, he has been to paranoic, because there¡¯s nothing strange in the periphery.


    Feicui Long then taken with him the monitors golems and resumed the journey.


    While this is happening Melina is looking forward, even if Feicui Long doesn¡¯t say anything to they, she can comprehend his worries, so she is using her skill ¡°Soul¡¯s Divine Eyes¡±, she can see many things from the souls of any being to the spiritual energy and soul energy, but after looking around for a few hours, she couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Her sister Callista did the same thing with her skill, but it¡¯s the same, their surroundings are pretty much safe.


    ...


    After a few days Feicui Long take Melina with him, to teach how to hunt, also he has been teaching the twins during the journey how to fight, defend and kill, but always he takes only a twin, because don¡¯t want to risk leaving alone the little girls on the carriage.


    This time he is teaching the basics of bow¡¯s usage, his bow is a mixed bow, in other words, the bow can use material arrows, from mortal materials or energetic materials to energy arrows, technically you can use these two types of arrows with any bow, but specialized bow is really bad for using the other type of projectile.


    Because the main difference in these two types of bows is one, don¡¯t have a bowstring, and the other has one, making one really good to shot energy arrows and the other really good material ones, the mixed bow had a special bowstring which is very hard to make and very high price, but is very good with its high versatility


    After a few moments Feicui Long spot a potential prey, one quartz deer is a female, made a sign to Melina, and she start watching him carefully, subsequently Feicui Long takes a steel arrow from his quiver and put in the bow and pulls the bowstring, all of this while injecting his energy in the bow.


    Following that, getting ejected from the bow flying a good speed, the deer realizes the danger too late and tries to escape, however the arrow impacts her head, falling dead in one second to another.


    Feicui Long walking to the zone and picks up the deer dead body, then says to Melina: ¡°The deer is very sensible to energy, is that the reason I choose to use the steel arrow and strengthening it with my energy, in this way I use lower energy, unlike if I use an energy arrow like the last time."


    Feicui Long stop at her side and continuing with his teaching: ¡°But that is not the only reason for using a material arrow, some enemies had better energy defense than other, and their physical defense is lower, so you need to study more what type of enemy are you confronting."


    Melina, with open and brilliant eyes, nod with her head.


    After finishing the hunt, they come to their campsite, this time is not at the night since the little girls don¡¯t really like stay alone in the dark, even if the twins are at their side.


    He and Melina start preparing the deer, skin it and butchering, to make dried meat and the dinner, although they don¡¯t any more meat, since Feicui Long had already hunted too many things and their reserved is up to three years, they are making a little more, so as not waste the meat and the other materials.


    When he and Melina end work, he puts all the meat and other parts in the spatial bags, immediately various little figures coming running to hug him.


    The little girls jump on him saying: ¡°Daddy, daddy¡±


    Feicui Long with a little smile reply: ¡°Alright, alright, now Karla please guide your sisters to his places, and Teresa, Monica, Aura y Alma sit down and eat peaceful.¡±


    The little girls obediently sat down and eat happy their food, Feicui Long and the twins did the same, that gentle day comes to an end.


    ...


    Finally they let the forest and start looking around to a good site to settle down, until Feicui Long see a valley at the foot of a mountain, better said a mountain range, he can identify this mountain thanks to the map of Hilda, is called, Peridot Snake Mountain an energy beast which can be an encounter in the peridot mines in this mountain.


    As for the mountain range is called, Mountainous Wyrm of a Thousand Poisons, the ruler of this mountain range in the past, the union, the beast clan and the dragon clan, don¡¯t know much what happen to the ruler, but this powerful sub-dragon.


    One day the ruler disappeared after members of the church of supreme origin god entered and prolonged sounds of fighting, nobody knows what happened because the members of the church were never seen alive again, only their bodies were left behind.


    The sub-dragon was so strong that she, by herself can rule this colossal mountain range, which extends more than ten thousand kilometers, which is not strange to him, this sub-dragon specie is really strong, the adult can reach the height of a mountain, the wyrmling¡¯s born in the pure realm with the height of a building, the infant stage made into the saint realm directly, the juvenile into the sacred realm and the adult stage into the earthly immortal realm.


    The text said this ruler probably was on the divine palace realm or divine earthly realm, even so this ruler are no hostile to humans, although was really territorial even to true dragon species, this mountain range is so important because, the thousand poison sect of Lamias and Nagas, establish their sect here much later, after the mysterious disappearance of the ruler.


    Feicui Long chooses this mountain specifically because in the foot has a little spring of fresh water which comes from the mountain by a small stream, the little spring then, a tiny brook emerges from the small spring, making its way to a moderate size river.


    Besides that, the mountain and the mountain range are a good defense, because the only easy way to attack this position is from the Leechwald forest, making it a really good place to make a base like a fortress.

 Chapter 24–A Traveler Doctor

    Feicui Long with help of the twins, Set up the tents, one besides another connecting, before the depart from Viena, he bought another three military tents like the first he bought to live him and twins, the reason is that even if the first one had enough space, he doesn''t want that everyone feels cramped, although he and the twins only set up three of the tents.


    After setting up the tents, the twins and the girls started to unpack everything, organizing their temporary home, while Feicui Long was erecting a series of little "buildings".


    The little "buildings", he is building them with his elemental control, erecting a series of earth walls and roofs, each little building has a different purpose, one is for the latrine, one for the bathroom, one for the alchemy and refining-forging workshop, one for temporary food storage.


    All of those buildings have many inscriptions, this is because the erected earth walls by the use of elemental control, lose energy with the time, so he needs to make inscriptions capable of retaining the energy, strengthen the walls resistance and fortify then to corrosion of the natural elements.


    Thereafter it is finally the time to make the projecting aura formation, which alone takes more time than everything done before, for him and everyone, started to inscribe all the inscriptions and putting between inscriptions energy crystals, also during this process he has to make sure the depth of the inscriptions is corrected.  Because the thing to inscribe things on the ground is you had to make sure the inscription doesn¡¯t be too superficial otherwise, things like the rain or the wind can ruin it.


    Technically, you could put a little energy barrier in the formation which can protect all the formation like he did, but even with that, there''re other risks involved, so is better to prevent something like that to happen.


    For this formation he needs to use a total of 150 inscriptions, only 75 in the outer ring, which ended by costing him a total of 100 energy stones and 10 ten energy crystals, he estimated the full formation could cost him between 250 to 275 energy stones and 35 to 40 crystals.


    But this doesn¡¯t stop him, he then continues working in the inner ring, more meticulously than before, inscription after inscription, energy crystal after energy crystal, the time slowly consumes.


    On the next moment a total of sixth hours has passed, and he is not finished, because the formation is still missing the core ring and the core of the formation, but take this very calmly, he sits down eating a snack prepared by the twins during his time working on the formation.


    This little moment helps him to clear his mind and resume his work with more energy, to make the core ring he has to use all his energy, so he has to take energy recovery pills, slowly but steadily, the last ring is being completed.


    When he finished the core ring, the night had come, but he could not interrupt the core creation, he takes a light stone along with the processed false dragonblood fruit from the spatial bag, then adding the resulting powder of grinding 5 energy crystals to the liquid made from the false dragonblood fruit.


    ¡­


    Quickly he proceeds to inscribe the last inscription and the more important of all, this inscription is the third most precious treasure to him, only after his loved ones who are the first, to his title, bloodline and his soul, who are the second.


    Many could think that place is for his two-cultivation technique, since the two techniques were the strongest and most complete of all technique, only behind to his master technique, the value of his two techniques even in the nowadays could rekindle the universal war between supreme gods.


    Because together with his master''s technique, are the only ones that had a probability to make you reach Absolute King Realm, that''s why he could be tried many attempts to break through the realm, his brother and sister even if they are on the half-step of Absolute Palace Realm, none of them were able to make a single attempt.


    So from this, anybody can make that conclusion, but even if he is proud of both techniques, they only can take the 4th place, all of this because the great value of this inscription, which he created by himself, called "Emerald Heart Of The Space and Time''s sigil".


    Many people believe that the objective to be an alchemist, refiner-smith or even a true master of inscriptions, is the perfection of the maximum amount of inscriptions or medicines or artifacts or dominated maximum amount of the same type of things, but that''s really far from true.


    Even if many practitioners of these three paths, pursuit if actively, that''s because it is a tool to achieve his final objective, create an original work at a maximum level of quality, which is not easy, to understand this one had to see the reason.


    For starting, the level of quality of original creation is not the same that is use on the daily life or the standard classification, this because in the standard classification anything that you created depends in part to the quality of the materials, the harmony on the combination on them, the place, the quality of tools you use and for the last your cultivation.


    Making up an important part of it, going from a range between 75% to 25% in the final result quality, even if you are skilled enough to point be the number one on this universe or any other you only could reduce the impact such things to at the minimum of 25%, if you not are that skilled even if you are very good a 50% is your minimum, the majority of people is trapped in the 75%.


    So in certain point, the alchemist, refiners-smith and true master inscriptions in the three great clans complaints about this topic, since this can''t evaluate the true quality of their creations, so in the second absolute treaty, another system of classification, although it can be seen like a subjective system, the system was created with the help of existing tools like special formations and others things which were modified by all experts on the three paths of the three clans.


    Creating a complex system classification system, while it does share certain characteristics with the standard specially parts of the names, there are changes and has 15 levels of quality, which all start with the word "Craftsmanship".


    The system starts like this: Mortal Craftsmanship, Nature''s Ascendancy Craftsmanship or Pseudo-Earthly Craftsmanship, Earthly Craftsmanship, Sovereign Craftsmanship, Mythical Craftsmanship, Transcendent Craftsmanship or Pseudo-Spiritual Craftsmanship, Spiritual Craftsmanship, Sacred Craftsmanship, Immortal Craftsmanship, Blessing Craftsmanship or Pseudo-Divine Craftsmanship, Divine Craftsmanship, Universal Craftsmanship, Celestial Craftsmanship, Born-from-the-Laws Craftsmanship or Pseudo-Absolute Craftsmanship, Absolute Craftsmanship.


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    Anyone could notice some changes like palace levels disappeared or change the name, but the word craftsmanship and names change of that levels, these are not the only changes, the others changes are each level has 10 stars or grades, by the way the grades in the standard quality system also can be called stars, the difference in stars or grades to the standard is because this system don''t depend on the power or cultivation, so even the weakest can make the maximum level of quality, because the system only takes in consideration the talent of the three paths, the skill, knowledge of the three paths, the mastery and knowledge of laws and energy.


    Also, each star is divide into seven stages like the standard, mortal, inferior, low, medium, high, superior, supreme and share the same colors with the standard, which are tin, iron, copper, bronze, silver, gold and platinum, when you evaluate them.


    But the important change come when all stars shares the same color or stage, if all of them are tin, the creation is called remarkable creation, if all of them are iron, the creation is called distinguished creation, if all of them are copper the creation is called outstanding work, if all of them are bronze refined work, if all of them are silver work of art, if all of them are gold masterpiece, if all of them are platinum magnum opus.


    Though this might appear to have any connection to the reason to this inscription be Feicui Long¡¯s third most treasured possession, in reality has pretty to much relation.


    So the motive behind this is because to create a new inscription, formation, artifact or medicine other thing, has a high difficulty, only to help visualized this and you could understand the difficulty, here are some examples.


    To beginning with only to modified an existing inscription is between one to five times more hard, than perfecting an inscription, of course this depends in the inscription and its level, but normally is that range, but that''s not all, that range only applies to maintain the same effectiveness and efficiency and other things, if you want to modified to upgrade this ranges expands, being now in between 1 to 10.


    To create a new on base an existing inscription, the difficulty elevates to between 3 to 7 times, again only with the same parameters, it is a better inscription can be 5 to 10 times and of course, it still depends on the inscriptions and the level.


    So in order to create a new inscription from zero, that jumps from the first range, which is on between 7 to 10 times, to again maintain as another inscription of the same type, if is better the second range jumps between 7 to 15 times, obviously this apply to all types of new creations from zero in the three paths, but this show great effort he has to put to create this inscription.


    Even more if you know what''s Feicui Long trajectory in the inscription path, he has created 210 inscriptions from zero, 210 formations from zero, but only had 10 inscriptions and 10 formations which are on the Absolute Craftsmanship quality level, showing the absurdly difficulty to even create one of this, especially because Feicui Long occupies the fourth place in top 10 on the true master of inscriptions path in this universe.


    Even though he is not that far from the third place, the levels of both are pretty much the same, but he is better on certain parameters and the third place is better on others, only one parameter breaks the tie as he is a little worse of that parameter.


    Now, if he created 10 inscriptions and 10 formations of that level of quality, why is only one in third place on his most treasured things? well that is because this inscription is the only absolute craftmanship which has 10 stars of platinum, or in other words is the only magnum opus.


    All of his creations have never reached that status, even his techniques, since techniques use both systems of quality at the same time, the other 19 creations which are in absolute craftmanship level, in the inscriptions camp he has one remarkable creation, one outstanding work, one distinguished creation, one refined work, two works of art, three masterpieces.


    On the formation side, has one remarkable creation, one outstanding work, one distinguished creation, two refined work, two works of art and three masterpieces and his both cultivation techniques only can be considered on masterpiece level.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long finally finished his last inscription, seeing it with mixed feelings, since he never has intended to use it normally, unlike his other inscriptions and formations which he gives on his first life to his temple and followers, even to his empire, that''s why his rune, Power of the emerald-golden dragon, becomes the symbol of his temple, which by the way is one of his three inscriptions on absolute craftsmanship in the masterpiece rank and the stronger in it, because had 9 star of platinum and one gold star.


    On the other hand, his sigil of emerald heart of the space and time, was only use one time, because he only achieves its creation a little before he has the visions of the Feilou clan''s invasion, which gives only enough time to prepare defenses and few other things.


    This sigil help him to unify all of his ten better formations in one master formation, since he hadn''t anytime to create a better formation, because even if he can kill the stronger fighter of the Feilou clan, the numbers of their members are massive, thanks to that master formation, this universe was able to win that war.


    So, due to the importance of this inscription to him and the fact almost nobody knows the existence of this inscription, with the exception his master which is the top 1 of the true masters of inscriptions and the rest of the top 3, which each one has one inscription of the same level, with the exception of his master which has three.


    To summarize it, is very dangerous to use it, he can use the other inscriptions because he can use his temple as an excuse, since he doesn¡¯t think his temple is very easily intimidated, even more when he now knows the union actively protects his temple.


    But these three years he grows a little attachment to the twins, even to the little kids and he doesn''t want to see hurt anyone.


    Shaking his head to clear his mind, then he proceeds to use his psychic powers to guide the liquid of the bottle, forming a liquid sphere above the sigil, then he says: "Activate!"


    With a flash, the lights of the formation begin to glow, after a moment, a terrific aura expands quickly through the zone, Feicui Long and rest can''t sense it, but the rest of this zone''s creatures can sense it.


    Many sounds of energy beasts, monsters and more running can be heard in the dark of the night, after a time, no more sounds can be heard.


    Then the liquid core hides in the hole, after that a rock plate and a little layer of earth hide the formation, Feicui Long put these functions in the formation to hide it from other people.


    After this, he goes to eat dinner with everyone and sleep peacefully.


    ...


    In the morning Feicui Long prepares to depart, leaving the kids and the twins behind, he doesn''t worry to much, because with the formation only common animals can live here, with the protection of his golems and undeaths energy beast and undeath monsters, there''s not much danger even if a predator comes near.


    The golems and undeaths had the same combat power of energy beast, especially the rock golem and the undeath beast energy, so a common animal is not a threat even if is an elephant, because his rock golems are in the third grade of elemental realm, but with their high defense and strength, their regeneration can take an elephant physically.


    Also, the twins are going to stay here, taking care of the kids if is not enough, he puts various defensive formations to protect everyone.


    Then Feicui Long says temporarily goodbye to everyone. The kids wanted to come with him, but he can''t take with him, he is going to work like a traveler doctor, which can be exposing them to diseases and other things, he kiss then on the forehead to everyone, even the twins and promises bring gifts to the kids.


    ...


    Three weeks have passed, Feicui Long has been working hard, selling his medicines, treating patients in every town he crossed, he intended only to pass one month far from his new home, so his time traveling is coming an end again.


    But he decided to make a final stop in a bigger town, is not as big as a city, but it seems like an important one, so is a perfect place to sell his remaining medicine.


    When he read the sign in the entry of the town, says "Sky Lion Town", he gets a little surprise, because this is the capital of this barony, he thought the capital would be a city, not a big town, but swiftly ignores it and enter, fortunately they don''t charge the enter, so he finds a place to put his carriage and go to the central square.


    Look at round for a moment, until he can see a free open space, then start to erecting his tent, after that he proceeds to place a sign on front his tent, announcing his service and the selling of medicine.

 Chapter 25–The Handsome Swordman???

    Feicui Long sits on a small chair that he took out of his spatial bag, waits 30 minutes until finally the customers start to come.


    The first customer is a little old woman who says: ¡°Young man, do you have any medicine to help with the bone pain?¡±


    Feicui Long politely smiles and responds: ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, this is a Relief pill, it can help with many kinds of pain, even bone pain, the bottle is only fifteen copper coins, but I will include this small bottle of bone restoration pills for free.¡±


    The old woman says: ¡°Oh no, I can¡¯t accept that. I''ll only take the Relief pill with me.¡±


    Feicui Long reply: ¡°Ma¡¯am you don¡¯t have to be too polite. Take this bottle with you, it''s my gift to you.¡±


    The old woman hesitates, but seeing that Feicui Long is being sincere, can¡¯t deny more his kindness.


    After this scene many people become an interested in Feicui Long''s stall and start buying his medicines or get a little check up to their kids or themselves.


    With each patient or buyer, the time goes on, until the last patient, which begins to turn dark warning that the night is finally coming, Feicui Long finishes attending this patient and sends to his home.


    Then he begin to pack up everything and close his tent, clean his tools and place them on the steel plate with the fire formation, which serves to kill any microorganisms.


    Next, he changes his clothes and goes to sleep.


    ...


    The second day in the town was the same situation with only a little difference the clients and patients are waiting in front his tent, even before he opens the tent.


    The day passed very calmly, attending to new patients and clients for equal, at ending of the day, he almost sellout his remaining stock of medicines, he thinks tomorrow he can finally go to home.


    ...


    ...


    The third day didn¡¯t have too much change, it started very calmly, with patients and clients coming and going, the only important change was the great line of people in front of his tent, but is not really a worry to him.


    When the dusk are approaching a group of mortals, with a very little friendly appearance comes near, saying: ¡°Oi dude, I hear you sell medicines pretty cheap, I want all the remaining medicine, there¡¯s fifteen silver coins in this bag.¡±


    All other guys smiling mockingly, Feicui Long put his gaze on the guy with the bag of coins and reply: ¡°I can sell you all, but you don¡¯t had the necessary money, each bottle of pills are between 50 to 75 coppers coins, the potions between 75 to 100, not mention other medicines, the most costly of all, cost 30 silver coins, so come again with the money.¡±


    The group¡¯s leader angry say: ¡°You!, you¡¯re robbing us, how this could be so expensive this cheap medicine!¡±


    Feicui Long calmly says: ¡°This is the commercial costs, the lower price of this type of medicine, so I¡¯m charging you with a fair price.¡±


    The very agitated leader loudly say: ¡°Then, why are you charging us at a higher price compared to the other people!¡±


    Feicui Long explain: ¡°Because that price is to people who need it, not for idiots who wants hoard everything to themselves.¡±


    The leader furious was going to jump to fight with Feicui Long, when a group the people running interrupt the line, screaming: ¡°EVERYONE NEEDS TO MAKE SPACE QUICKLY, ANYONE WHO DARES TO DELAY IS GOING TO BE ARRESTED¡±


    Every person on the line, even the problematic group, heard this, making a space to other group enter running, the people couldn¡¯t see much but it''s clear they were carrying something or someone.


    In the next moment the new group revealed their appearance to Feicui Long, all of them have heavy armor, with the symbol of white and golden lion with wings in their chest and capes, in the middle of the group are holding a stretcher with a person with long hair, covered by an elegant blanket with decorated very long sword.


    On the front of the group are a man looking between 40 to 45 years, this man says to him: ¡°You¡¯re a doctor right!?, We had been inviting any doctor to see my son for six days, but none of them could even diagnose his disease, less alone treat or cure it."


    Feicui Long sees the man, and I says: ¡°I can¡¯t know what disease had if you don¡¯t bring him to my tent.¡±


    The man understanding the meaning of Feicui Long words nod with his head and the armor people enter to Feicui Long tent.


    Quickly Feicui Long point to the stretcher on the side and say: ¡°Put him there, I going to examine him, but any everybody leave the tent, because, this tent is not made to handle so many people.¡±


    Armor people see the man and him nod his head again, then all of them leave the tent.


    After that Feicui Long swiftly starts to examining the guy, first lift the blanket a little bit, this made him to frown a little bit, the guy is covered by abscess, this not a good seeing, because thanks to the energy the cultivators are resistant to almost all mortal disease, even if this guy is on the elemental realm grade 5, that thing can¡¯t eliminate this fact.


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    So, there are few options to make a cultivator sick, the only things that can make that possible are poison, venom, a curse, a spell, spiritual or soul attacks, an undeath aura, energy from the other cultivator, an inscription or formation and a few more, however in order to cause abscess there¡¯s even fewer options, poison, venom, a curse or an energy microorganism.


    Then he took a thermometer, one he made himself using formations that work more precisely than a mercury thermometer or a technological one, the temperature of this guy is 40¡ã C (104F), this guy is cooking from the inside out, this is a clear signal of an energy microorganism.


    Although the majority microorganisms have difficulty tolerating the energy due to their small size, there are microorganisms capable of tolerating it or even more using it, they are called energy microorganisms. Even though this name is more commonly used for microorganisms that are ¡°born¡± with the ability to use energy from the beginning.


    So, just as energy beasts compare to normal animals, normal microorganisms are the mortal version of the energy microorganisms, since some of them belong to the fungi clan, beast clan and plant clan, while others, like bacteria and protozoa, come from the origin clan, the same clan as Adolf.


    The problem is that this type of microorganisms are bit rare. However, the majority of them are not pathogenic, but beneficial, representing 87%, even so, a small portion are opportunistic, making up 10%, while the remaining 3% are the pathogenic energy microorganism, even rarer to encounter one of these.


    This is a real problem because their rarity makes them difficult to identify. If you do not examine them very meticulously, you won¡¯t be able to detect them. But he can¡¯t stay still, he needs to do something to save this guy¡¯s life.


    To begin, he takes a steel syringe and puts on a pair of gloves made from energy beast skin, which he crafted himself. They were disinfected thanks to one of the slimes he bought before, then he carefully starts draining an abscess.


    Next, quickly put a little bit on a glass plate. As he is about to place it under a light stone, he notices the pus from the abscess glowing in an orange tone, confirming the fact is it an energy microorganism, so because he doesn¡¯t with him a microscope, he uses his skill, the third eye:


    ¡°Name: None - Sex: Undefined - Age: 7 days


    Racial Clan: Origin Clan - Bacterium Clan - Ferrubacterium/Iron Eater Bacterium¡±


    He whispers to himself: ¡°I catch you¡± and then put the glass plate and the syringe on the steel plate formation de destroying the energy microorganism.


    Thereafter, he begins to searching for medicine in his little remaining stock. After a minute of searching, he takes a heat potion, this potion is a potion with concentrate fire elemental energy, which uses to heat up a person¡¯s body, normally only can help in situations which need to maintain the body¡¯s temperature.


    But at this moment, it can help a little bit, because in the 15 elements, some of them contradicts or are the weakness of the other, for example metal element is weak to fire, even if this potion can¡¯t kill it, it will help weaken the microorganism, the rest is in Feicui Long¡¯s hands, he is going to use his elemental control to use the fire elemental energy to kill the bacteria.


    Feicui Long sits behind the guy on the stretcher and lifts him from his back, putting the guy in a sitting position, with both of Feicui Long hands, start controlling the fire energy and give a little of his yang energy, to help recover a little faster.


    ...


    The entire process takes about three hours to make absolutely sure there¡¯s no chance for the bacteria to survive, after that, Feicui Long made a sign to Kagetsume and Surinbit.


    Kagetsume brings with her a bucket of water, on other hand Surinbit brings with her a small towel, now Feicui Long clean the sweat from the guy to immediately start draining all of abscess by the back with the syringe, all the puss is put in big bowl.


    At one moment, he notice the guy¡¯s face from the corner of his eyes and abruptly stops, the vision of guy¡¯s face made it impossible to him, no try to take another look of the guy¡¯s face.


    When he sees the full face of this guy, open his mouth wide open, the face looks a masterpiece, carved by the best artist of this universe, with absolute beautiful white skin, a hair like a dull golden waterfall and big, fleshy, burning, seductive red lips, even Feicui Long which he thinks he can¡¯t lose to this guys can¡¯t help but admit they are on the same level.


    During looking this guy face, started to feel something rare, his heart is beating like crazy and even begin to sweating a little bit, noticing this he said to himself: ¡°Not, this can¡¯t be, this is a dude, focus, focus Feicui Long, you aren¡¯t like this.¡±


    Shaking his head to recover his focus, continues draining the abscess in expose parts of the guy¡¯s body, then continues to fully lift the blanket and go to the legs, he sees the beautiful white skin, like a beautiful marble...


    Again, shake his head and continues his work.


    ...


    After another hour, finally it is time to take this guy shirt, but again he begins to agitate a bit, ignoring this strange feeling he pulls the full shirt and only focus on the abscess, not looking to other places, like before.


    That¡¯s until he needs to go up to chest of this guy, this time almost both his eyes pops up, because a two small white like snow hills with two beautiful pinks dots are erecting from this guy chest, this even agitates him even more, but there¡¯s no time to judge this guy body, although is rare seeing a guy with ¡°breasts¡± in reality, there¡¯s something called gynecomastia, where¡¯s a man can developed his chest like a woman.


    After finishing with the chest, Feicui Long let a sigh escape, but this torture is not ending, because there¡¯s a part is left, Feicui Long directs his gazed to this guy crotch and on his mind say: ¡°This is the sacrifice for being a doctor..."


    Slowly, shaking and embarrassed, takes this guy¡¯s pants, this is the first time this happens to him, he has seemed during his time as a doctor in his previous life on the planet earth, he has saw many people nude, from woman to man, but never has been embarrassed or nervous.


    He can¡¯t understand this feeling, what is the meaning of it, why this happens this to him, why his heart beating like crazy, why he can¡¯t control his emotions, this is not normal! he is a sovereign, he is the ruler and leader of three races, he is a supreme god!


    Feicu Long is too nervous to continue, he has no other choice but to cast a spell: ¡°That my mind becomes clear like water, to achieve true wisdom, clear mind!"


    Then his mind finally calms a bit, and he can take the pants, accidentally he takes with the pant, the underwear revealing a new scenery. In the next moment he can it, a precious white cannon with an equally precious pink rift, it¡¯s in that moment which his mind go absolutely blank.


    Like the first time he had an illumination, finally his mind can rest on peace, letting escape another, but this time large sigh, he finally resume his work and finished it.


    ...


    After that, he left Surinbit to secure and avoid another infection to this woman, while he apologies to her on his mind and then very exhausted as if there were fight the greatest battle ever.

 Chapter 26–Isabella Skylion

    In the darkness of the night, a female figure keeps moving on a stretcher, until she awakens, the woman sits on the edge of the stretcher, with her mind a little confused and blurry. She can see a rainbow slime sleeping on the right side of the stretcher.


    She tries to remember but can only bring back blurred memories of words from the figure who was treating her and small images of his appearance.


    She wants to thank him for saving her, so she gets up, moving a little dizzily and feeling a bit hot. She advances in the darkness of the night and finally arrives at the room where Feicui Long is sleeping.


    She can see him, his beautiful face with that long, elegant blond hair, she can¡¯t help but come a little closer, standing in from him. Thinking that getting a bit closer won¡¯t cause any harm, she crouches on her knees.


    Finally, she can see his very beautiful face in full detail, in the next second he turns to the other side, now his face is facing her and even more, she can see he is not wearing a shirt, so she can gaze at that precious body, his chest and abdomen with muscles carved in high detail, a masterful piece of art, made by his effort to keep exercising with mortal exercises to compensate since he can¡¯t use his body refining technique.


    Seeing this made her heart beating like crazy, no, only have seeing him from the entrance made her heart jump like a cat on a roof in the middle of night, she already knew if she was going to see his face, this could happen, because during her treatment only seen his blurred image by her disease made her realizes this man is a magnificent delight to the eyes.


    That hot feeling inside her, slowly blurring her mind, to the point she wants to touch his face and body, but she can resist these dark desires or... maybe she could give it a try.


    She extends her arm, but in the last moment she stop for a moment, think she is not a bad person which takes advantage of a vulnerable person, this make her to say in her mind: ¡°Isabella, you¡¯re like this, you had to stop... but on the other side this a unique opportunity..."


    Though Isabella could resist the temptation that her inner fire intensified, she decided to stop fighting it and delicately touched Feicui Long¡¯s face; this increased her heartbeat. Then, she caressed Feicui Long¡¯s chest and abdomen.


    Feicui Long continues his serene sleeping, in part because he is too tired for treating her and part due to little girls that when they had fear enter on his room to sleep right to him, also because he knows is safe, thanks to his formation, Surinbit and Kagetsume, since this town and the barony are very weak with the strongest in earthly palace realm and the majority on elemental realm or mortals, without mention the guards with armor guarding his tent.


    But Isabella doesn¡¯t know this will result in a grave error, because this only feeds that fire in her interior, blurring her mind more and more, until the point she gives in to her instincts of her bloodline, although she hasn¡¯t awakened her bloodline.


    In this state, she removes her clothes and dives into Feicui Long¡¯s blankets, hugging him with only her panties on. She can sense Feicui Long¡¯s corporal essence, which only makes her more excited.


    She quickly starts giving small kisses on his neck, while taking off his pants. Subsequently, she stops kissing and lowers herself to stay beside his crotch, carefully removing his underwear.


    Seeing his big friend makes her let out a sound of surprise. At this point the fire burning inside her, consumes her completely, there¡¯s no point of return. She holds it with her hand and then continues to kiss the tip.


    At this moment, Feicui Long woke up, very alarmed. He quickly throws off his blanket, sending it into the air, only to see a naked woman kissing his big friend. Feicui Long screams in surprise: ¡°You! What are you doing?! Stop it!¡±


    But Isabella has been consumed by her desire and instinct, leaving only lust and passion in her mind.


    Feicui Long tries to stop her, but his efforts are futile, because she is stronger than him, she pushes him onto the bedroll, next she removes her panties and takes his now erect big friend puts inside her.


    Feicui Long, furious, says: ¡°Don¡¯t you know courtesy?!, even worse, your father is gonna kill me for this!¡±


    But soon, Feicui Long realizes something, he had forgotten to remove his yang energy from her before, thinking this is his fault and feeling guilty, he just let out a sigh.


    he doesn¡¯t want her to continue this rape, especially because he doesn¡¯t want her to feel guilty, for something that isn¡¯t her fault, he hugs her and whispers in her ear: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s end this, but we only going to do this on my terms.¡±


    Those were the only words Isabella could hear in that state, making her hug him in return. After that, Feicui Long gently lays her down. Then he ends the hug, but obviously he can¡¯t leave, since she has her legs around him.


    After that, he sees the woman¡¯s precious face, letting the memories from before return, sending a wave of excitement through his body. Before he starts to move, he decides to give her a passionate kiss.


    At least so, he could take those glorious red lips for himself. She responds to his kiss, she may not have much experience, but she lets her instincts guide her. This small struggle excites him further, so he introduces his tongue into her mouth.


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    Tasting the inside of her mouth, after three minutes of kissing and inhaling the magnificent essence emanating from her, Feicui Long is fully turned on.


    He begins to move carefully so as not to hurt her, which makes the woman let out a little moan *Hah*. After another fifteen minutes, he increases the speed of his thrust, causing the woman to moan even louder. At this point, he grateful for the moment he added a sound-catching capacity to his fragment formation.


    Otherwise, he thinks that everyone will be able to hear her, but he can¡¯t worry because, for some reason, these loud sounds are incredibly seductive, especially because of her exquisite voice, which sounds like a breathtaking melody.


    Her voice makes him feel like he is in the heavenly palace, which his master taught him about in her stories.


    Feicui Long couldn¡¯t help but admit that ever since he seen this woman for the first time, she had made him feel something he had thought he would never feel again, a feeling that only two women had ever awakened in him in all of his lives.


    They plunged into an overflowing pleasure, losing themselves in each other¡¯s bodies, they did it lying down, standing, sitting on a chair, no position was enough to satisfy their lust.


    Only in the final hours of the night did they reach their last climax, embracing each other tightly as exhaustion finally claimed them, pulling them into a deep sleep.


    ...


    The next day Feicui Long wakes up first and sees the scene, which resembles a battlefield, but most importantly, he sees a gorgeous woman hugging him.


    The gorgeous woman wakes up almost as if their minds were connected. Opening her pretty blue eyes, she sees him and the realization of what happened the night before hits strikes her deeply.


    She ducks her head to avoid Feicui Long¡¯s gaze, this makes Feicui Long smile and let out a chuckle: ¡®Hahaha¡¯


    Then Feicui Long says: ¡°For someone who invaded another person¡¯s room, you are really shy."


    She only responds by hiding her face in the closest place to her, which happens to be Feicui Long¡¯s chest, which makes Feicui Long remember a certain goblin girl and also makes him wonder, why these two women have an obsession with hiding in his chest.


    After some time, Isabella says: ¡°You... have to take... responsibility...¡±


    Feicui Long sighs, resigned to his fate, because it is literally impossible for him to escape from the guards surrounding his tent, so he replies: ¡°I have no problem taking responsibility, but you are okay with this?, I can be a bit too much dominant also, my situation is not exactly good.¡±


    Isabella is caught off guard since she didn¡¯t really think this trick would work, she knows this is her fault... feeling a little guilty, she questions Feicui Long: ¡°Are you sure about this?...¡±


    Feicui Long answers firmly with a serious face: ¡°I don¡¯t like to go back on my words. Besides, I¡¯m not a man who fears commitment and responsibility.¡±


    Feicui Long adds: ¡°So now, you are my woman, and nothing can change that.¡±


    Isabella, overwhelmed by her guilt, lifts her head and replies: ¡°But you don¡¯t know me. You don¡¯t even know my name. Why are you so resolved to a stranger like me?¡±


    Feicui Long looks into her pretty eyes and says: ¡°Because this is me. This is what I am. I don¡¯t wanna let a beautiful woman like you, who has been tainted by me, be discarded like a toy or bad food.¡±


    Feicui Long pauses for a second and resumes: ¡°Especially for you. You¡¯re a lady from a noble family. If you were a commoner, you could still get married. With your background, if you lost your virginity to a commoner like me, you would never get married or, in the worst case, you¡¯d end up married to a bastard or a sick noble who could make your life a living hell.¡±


    Isabella closes her mouth, her heart hurting a bit as this issue touches a scar in her life.


    Feicui Long added a few words to finish his answer: ¡°I really don¡¯t want that for a lady like you. I know how bad it feels, being discarded by your family, isolated, treated like an outsider... no, even worse, being seen like a plague in the family.¡±


    Isabella calms down and says: ¡°Understood, then let me introduce myself, I¡¯m Isabella Skylion, eldest daughter of the Skylion family, former heiress of the family, and now, your fianc¨¦e.¡±


    Feicui Long nods and introduces himself: ¡°I am Feicui Long, an alchemist and traveling doctor, an exile from a ruling family, in distant lands.¡±


    ...


    Isabella and Feicui Long clean up and get dressed, after that, they start eating the breakfast that Feicui Long has prepared.


    While they are eating, Feicui Long asks Isabella something: ¡°Where did you get that energy bacteria?¡±


    The images of that moment come to her mind, and next, she starts telling a brief anecdote: ¡°My team, and I, we¡¯re hunting some Black Steel Arrow Scales Lizards, helping to reduce the population, when suddenly a Quartz Deer appeared and tried to attack us. I defeated the deer easily."


    Isabella stops to eat a little more before continuing the anecdote: ¡°But I didn¡¯t pay enough attention to the deer, because, defying all logic, it managed to extend its neck, just enough to bite me.¡±


    Feicui Long, frowning, says: ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything unusual about that deer? Because they usually don¡¯t go near mines or iron deposits.¡±


    Isabella nods and replies: ¡°Yes, a small sting mark. The deer had been chased by wasps. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were iron Wasps, black iron Wasps, steel Wasps or black steel Wasps, but I could tell with certainty that they are Wasp¡¯s species with a metal element."


    Then a deeply concerned Feicui Long says: ¡°An Iron Devourer Wasps? They can have in some cases a symbiotic relationship with the Ferrubacterium, that only means there is a natural iron mine in the vicinity of that place.¡±


    Isabella, a bit confused, added something: ¡°Also, after that a Black Steel Arrow Scales Lizard jumped from the bushes and eats the deer, but to the lizard nothing happens."


    Feicui Long answers that question: ¡°That¡¯s because the Black Steel Arrow Scales Lizards, even if the name doesn¡¯t say so, is actually both poisonous and venomous. Its venom covers its scales and mouth, its venom is highly corrosive and dangerous to beings in the same level, so a small Ferrubacterium can¡¯t tolerate it. Actually, this type of lizard loves eating this bacterium for its metal energy."


    Feicui Long then takes her hand and says: ¡°But this is not the time for this, when your father comes, I need you to tell him about this, but more importantly, you have to give this letter and he has to take it to the UMIARH, he also has to report this to UMIARH. UMIARH can take care of this problem."


    Isabella asks: ¡°Why?, is all of this necessary?¡±


    Feicui Long explains to her: ¡°This is because a pathogenic energy bacterium like this bacteria can cause an epidemic, which can kill many people, especially the mortals and even more if the bacteria are like the ferrubacterium, which eats the iron, even the iron in the blood. Also, this bacterium is very contagious.¡±


    Isabella speaks: ¡°Then, what are we waiting for?, let¡¯s go see my dad.¡±


    After this, Isabella gets up and, from an elegant spatial ring with a white lion¡¯s head, platinum hair and eyes of equal color, takes a mask and puts it on her face, after that, she starts walking to the entrance.


    Feicui Long also gets up and chases Isabella.

 Chapter 27–Isabella’s Party

    Isabella and Feicui Long leave the tent, while the same man waits outside very worried, He runs at full speed just to hug his daughter or his "son".


    Because of the mask Isabella puts on, her face undergoes a slight change, but it is enough that many people can''t see the difference, even those close to her, like family and friends.


    Seeing Isabella''s face, Feicui Long thinks about this artifact, which is called Swap Faces Mask, although the one Isabella has is only a low-level version, it is enough to deceive many people, this artifact can be made in different ways and from various materials.


    But it is usually made from being skilled in illusions, but in his opinion is better to make it them from shape-changing creatures, such as Doppelg?ngers or Changelings.


    By the way, although Isabella''s mask is low-level, its craftmanship is pretty good. Furthermore, it is made from a shape-changing creature. The advantage of making the mask from one of these creatures is the change is physical, unlike of illusions which can be noticed by skills like the Third Eye or even people with high mental power, spiritual power or soul power.


    That is why nobody here, except for the guards and Isabella''s dad, is able to tell that she is a woman.


    While Feicui Long is admiring the work of the refiner-smith, Isabella whispers everything to her dad as Feicui Long has instructed her and even gives him the letter.


    Isabella''s dad opens his eyes and quickly makes a sign, which immediately brings one of the guards to his side. He explains everything to the guard and gives him orders along with the letter.


    The guard starts running swiftly; he knows there is no time to lose.


    Then, Isabella''s dad approaches Feicui Long and places his hand on Feicui Long''s shoulder, saying: "Thank you, Doctor. This is your reward. I, Johan Lindberg, will always be grateful for this favor."


    He accepts the reward, which is contained in a spatial bag. He checks it immediately and finds it to be a really good reward. It contains around 100 energy stones, 5 platinum coins, 10 energy crystals, an artifact sword, and other things.


    The sword is probably included because he saw Feicui Long''s steel sword, which Feicui Long bought in Vienna shortly after recovering his memories.


    So, he gives him a better one, and Feicui Long appreciates the gesture.


    After a moment of silence, Feicui Long says: "It''s nothing. This is just my job. It''s better to be grateful to the Supreme Goddess of Fate and Reincarnation, because your son only managed to survive by sheer luck."


    Johan laughs out loud: " Hahahahaha! You''re right. This son of mine has so much luck, because otherwise, a traveling doctor capable to treating him wouldn''t have come to this town"


    Feicui Long nods, seeing Isabella, and asks: "By any chance, is there a market in this town that sells materials for alchemy?"


    After stopping laughing, Johan points in a direction and answers Feicui Long''s question: "Yes, there''s a big market in that direction."


    ...


    Feicui Long passes by the market and buys many ingredients, almost filling all the spatial bags he carries with him.


    Now, he dismantles his tent, to begin the journey back home. Of course. He has sold all of his medicines, which is why the sunset is approaching.


    Returning to his carriage, he notices that he is being followed by someone, he knows who they are, but he pretends not to notice them.


    That''s when he turns a corner and enters a dimly lit, deserted street. Then, nine or ten armed men jump from the shadows. Surrounding him, the close in on Feicui Long, who had been calmly waiting for this. He says: "So, are you all really this stupid?"


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    The leader of yesterday''s group replies sarcastically: "A dead man trying to be funny? what a pitiful display."


    Feicui Long, shaking his head, says: "What a bad joke. Mere mortals trying to defy a cultivator."


    Then Feicui Long draws his new sword from his waist and also takes out his halberd.


    The ten men quickly approach him with their weapons, starting the fight.


    Feicui Long agilely rejects an attack coming from behind rotating in circles around his halberd, next, deflects an attack from his left side.


    After that he stomps the ground with his leg injecting elemental energy, causing spikes to emerge from the ground around him, with only that he kills one man.


    Swiftly, with his sword full of energy cuts the closest man on his left side, slashing him in half, without losing a single second, thrusts his halberd forward, piercing the chest of one man that was distracted by his friend''s death.


    All the men become enraged and try to kill him, but Feicui Long smiling recites a spell: "Let my feet be touched by the wind, making them like a mere breeze. Light Feet!"


    This increases his speed, allowing him to swiftly evade all attacks, after that he stores for a moment his halberd and, with his right arm, makes a grabbing motion, lifting a fat man.


    Then, with the same arm, he appears to throw something against a very skinny man. The fat man is sent flying in that direction at high speed. The other man tries to dodge, but it''s too late, the fat man hits the skinny man, killing him in the act.


    Feicui Long doesn''t stop here, in his fingers accumulates spiritual energy and proceeds to snap his fingers, sending a spiritual attack that causes all of them fall in their knees for a moment.


    Thereafter he takes out again his halberd and, in an impulse, cuts off three heads. One them is the fat man, who has been lying on the ground in pain.


    There are only three men left, but not for long, Feicui Long, with his right arm, throws his halberd at the one who manages to get up, killing him.


    Subsequently, Feicui Long approaches the leader and grabs him for the neck and says: "I genuinely don''t wanna kill anybody. All of these meaningless deaths could be avoided, if your ego and greedy mind didn''t occupy half of your little brain. So, there''s my advice for you, in another life, don''t try be a good person, perhaps you could live a little longer."


    Feicui Long puts force on his hand crushing his neck, after seeing this the last surviving man tries to run, but Feicui Long takes out his energy rifle and shoots it killing him.


    After that a voice of a woman reaches to Feicui Long''s ears: "Is it really necessary to be this cruel? I said there''s no need to kill a retreating opponent, besides you could only teach a lesson with that great battle experience."


    Feicui Long direct his gaze toward the woman with red hair and replies: "I''m cruel? Girl, you could stop this madness with your strength, you''re in the middle of mystic realm, you literally could knock all of these clowns. But you didn''t, I''m a cultivator but I only can win to many opponents because I have plenty experience in battle."


    Feicui Long stops for a moment to take air and continues: "But what if it were another cultivator in the elemental realm, grade 1? are you going to stand still and watch as he gets killed?"


    The red-haired woman, although is a little annoyed by Feicui Long''s sermon, stays quiet.


    Feicui Long concludes his argument, saying: "When you have the strength to stop a bad act and do nothing, you''re just the same. Because inaction is just as bad as doing the bad action, because at that moment is a conscious election, and you simply choose to ignore it."


    After saying that, he takes his halberd and continues on his way.


    ...


    Feicui Long then gets up in his carriage and starts the journey, at least that''s what he thinks, since at the town entrance there''s a party of five people blocking his path.


    The leader of this group is a gorgeous "man" and there''s four women, one human with extremely big attributes, a dwarf woman, an elf, and greater beastwoman.


    Usually, Feicui Long can ask who they are and why are blocking his path, but this time he can''t, since the leader of this group is actually Isabella.


    Isabella says: "Sorry, honey, I really wanted to come alone, but they followed me before I could realize."


    Feicui Long sighs heavily and replies: "I understand, all of you can get up."


    Isabella and her party all get into the carriage. Feicui Long can finally return home now.


    ...


    A few hours later.


    Feicui Long sets up the camp to spend the night and starts preparing the food over the bonfire.


    Isabella and her party are all sitting watching how Feicui Long cooks, talking among themselves.


    When Feicui Long finishes cooking, says: "Everyone can come over"


    Everyone comes closer and Feicui Long begins giving each one a portion, after distributing the food, Feicui Long sits beside Isabella and says: "I would like to introduce myself. I am Feicui Long, a doctor and an alchemist. Now, who are you all?"


    The first to introduce is the elf woman: "I am Caroline Desertspirit, a markswoman and specialist in hunting, also an adventurer."


    Next is the human woman, shaking a slightly saying: "I am Andrea Martinez, an archer and adventurer.


    The dwarf woman continues: "I am Arianne Zauber, a mage, scribe, apprentice of inscriptions, who wants become a true master of inscription and adventurer."


    Lastly, the beast woman with her mace strikes the ground and says: "I am Freja Silfverm?ne, a warrior priestess of the supreme goddess of order and the order clan and, of course, also an adventurer."


    Feicui Long wants to say something, but this woman has been staring at him aggressively with hate and fury since they left the town, he can''t recall doing anything to her.


    This only makes him think this is going to be a long journey...

 Chapter 28 - The Strange Phenomenon

    Feicui Long and the others continue the journey. This time, he is not hunting, as he wants to get home quickly.


    So, he almost makes the group do a forced march. Even so, Isabella still insists on taking what is hers.


    This is why he and Isabella have several encounters every night, lasting until late at night. He doesn''t understand why he can''t resist her, all of this is so strange, she captivates him more than almost every woman, including Reiko, with only two exceptions.


    His confusion comes from this fact. He and Reiko could also have several encounters at night, but he enjoyed her company more, so they weren''t in this mode all the time, of course, Reiko''s beauty differs from Isabella''s, not only in terms of their bodies but also in their type of beauty, Reiko''s beauty is seductive, passionate, and fiery, with a touch of sweetness.


    While Isabella''s beauty is more sacred, heavenly, with a forbidden sweetness like the forbidden fruit, yet she can also be very sexy and provocative, many might say she can''t be sexy, but that''s because they never could see her face, when he pushes her onto the bedroll.


    If it''s not the difference in beauty, one could say it is, of course, because he prefers Isabella, but that''s not true. Although she captivates him more, he likes Reiko just as much as Isabella. Since he and Reiko spent three years together, even visiting each other almost every day, Reiko has won a place in his heart.


    Even more, he has to resist taking Reiko with him, because he doesn''t want to hinder her progress, since in Vienna, with his father and her dragon, she has a better future, although this last part isn''t really necessary, he wants to return for her, gather the necessary strength and bring her with him, so he has to let her stay in Vienna.


    If it''s neither one nor the other, then what is it? This question confuses him deeply, not only because their bodies are extremely compatible, but above all because she''s like a drug to him. When he looks into those gorgeous eyes of hers, she awakens a feeling that he thought had long ago extinct and rekindles his inner fire. She also stirs an obscure and forbidden desire within him.


    Feicui Long doesn''t know it, but he is also like a drug to Isabella. Since that first night between them, she hasn''t been able to stop thinking about him, to the point that an inner fire inside her takes control of her.


    This last night before Feicui Long arrives home is no exception, for both of them this is a time to they enjoy.


    This situation makes her party a bit uncomfortable, especially to certain warrior priestess, which makes her even angrier, since Feicui Long only made one Fragment Formation and he has to cover the whole camp, they can hear all the sounds of all of the fights between Feicui Long and Isabella from his tent.


    ...


    The next day.


    Feicui Long finally arrived home. When the little girls and the twins hear the sound of the carriage. They all come running like as if there''s nothing else in the world mattered.


    Then Feicui Long gets out of the carriage and helps Isabella and other women down. However, only two of them, Caroline and Arianne, accept his help. Andrea steps back, looking slightly anxious and Freja... Let''s just say the only reason she doesn''t hit his hand with her mace is because of Isabella.


    The girls, every one of them, Melina, Callista, Karla, Aura, Alma, Teresa and Monica. rush to hug him. He can''t resist and caresses them, then lifts little Monica into his arms.


    This is too sweet for Isabella, she can''t help but imagine her own sons and daughters, as for the rest of Isabella''s party, for Arianne and Andrea, it''s the same. For Caroline it is a little surprising to see this side of Feicui Long. Even Freja can''t help but have a slightly better opinion of him.


    Feicui Long guides everyone to the center of his "home". The girls are a bit surprised, as a skilled alchemist not only lives in the middle of nowhere but also in a tent with seven kids.


    Feicui Long, aware of this, proceeds to explain this to them: "Yes, this view a little weird, but that''s why I bought construction materials."


    Then Feicui Long points to the spatial sacks a version of the spatial bags specialized in storing a larger volume of items. However, they can normally only carry weaker things than a spatial bag. At this level of quality, these sacks can only hold mortal materials or low energy materials like the black iron o black steel.


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    He bought around 15 of them, all filled with materials, enough to construct a few buildings.


    Although the party still has a few questions, they decided to ignore them for the time being. After all, they are a bit tired.


    ...


    Since there''s still quite a while until night, Feicui Long takes advantage of the fact that other party members are busy setting up their tents, to give orders to the golem, instructing them to carry the sacks to the places he marked for construction.


    The first building he will construct is his official house, to start, he begins emptying three sacks, taking out the granite blocks, cement, iron bars and wood planks.


    Curious, Isabella asks: "Honey, why didn''t you buy bricks? Isn¡¯t it cheaper?"


    Feicui Long begins explaining his reasoning to Isabella: " I decided not to buy them for three main reasons. First, I plan to strengthen the walls, pillars and floor with inscriptions. Since in order to inscribe an inscription, you need to carve into the material, you can paint it but the effect is not as good as carving, especially in certain areas like energy storage or energy flow."


    Then, after moving few granite blocks, Feicui Long continues: "This means you could destroy a brick by carving too many inscriptions. One of the inscription methods involves carving in layers, starting from the exterior to the interior. Of course, if you have good skills, you can optimize and make the carving with minimal depth. I have that ability."


    Feicui Long walks back and forth, loading and unloading the blocks with help of his golems.


    Thereafter, he resumes the explanation: "The energy flow, energy storage, energy absorption, energy efficiency and effectiveness and others, aspects related to energy are really bad in mortal bricks, especially in the early ones, it is so bad that just the energy flow alone can break the brick. Also, carving inscriptions makes them thinner and more fragile. but there''s a third point."


    After finishing the first layer, he starts carving inscriptions into each block.


    Subsequently, Feicui Long says: "The last reason is simpler. Granite is better in all aspects. Not only is the most resistant mortal stone, but although it is not the most durable stone, it is still one of the most durable stones. So, it is far better than a normal brick. Of course, if we talk about energy materials, energy bricks can even compare to an energy granite, like the white sacred granite in the walls of Vienna."


    Finally, he starts preparing the cement in the steel mortar pan, which he also bought in town, to lay the second layer.


    To finish his explanation, he adds: "Besides that, if you combine it with cement and iron bars, you get a really strong structure. Even more so if you support it with inscriptions, not just to increase the resistance or the strength of the material, but also to protect it from the elements. in the future, I want to make pozzolana, a better form of cement using energy materials, energy iron and energy granite to combine, but that is something for the distant future."


    Isabella, understanding everything, can''t help but think that Feicui Long likes preparing everything in advance too much. And she isn''t wrong. Because of the special eyes of his species. His eyes being little more special, as only a few of his kind are born with this version of the eyes, he has developed a habit of always trying to predict everything and be prepared beforehand.


    Isabella shakes her head and comes to help him, at least by mixing the cement and carrying the blocks.


    ...


    This work continues until night, fully completing in ONE DAY. This is just a sample of the Sovereign Quartet''s power, Thanks to the golems, which may be a little simple and have difficulties with complex orders, because their spirit, soul and mind are dormant, especially those golems created by ability and the ones without a personalized core.


    Since the born in the nature ones and those with a personalized core have more spiritual energy, soul energy and mental energy, they are more intelligent and have a higher chance of awakening their spirit, mind and soul, by the way all of this explication can be applied also to undeaths and puppets.


    And yes, golems can be born naturally, because they belong to the Elemental clan.


    Of course, Feicui Long didn''t complete the house only thanks to the golems. Isabella helps him, but her party also decided to help. Even the twins joined helping with the construction. Afterall the twins also are cultivators.


    This is the last night that everyone sleeps in the tents, so to celebrate, Feicui Long takes the quartz deer, he has been keeping this deer, because his flesh is a delicacy, one pound costs around 50 silver coins.


    Everyone is happy eating this deer, which was prepared by him...


    ...


    Before dawn, Feicui Long wakes up startled and carefully gets out of bed to avoid waking Isabella.


    He goes outside, to the edge of the formation, and sees it, something that looks like a cross between a eye and a tear in the sky. It is bright, with an amethyst color, radiating a terrifying energy to others. But to him, this energy feels familiar, because...


    This is space energy, pure space energy. He sensed it in his dream, which is why he woke up. by the way, that thing in the sky is a space rift, a special one, called eye of space, someone has opened one for some reason.


    He wants to approach and see who opened this thing, but he can''t, since that would be a suicide.


    But even if he had tried to go there, he couldn''t, since the space rift closed quickly, disappearing in the middle of the night.


    Feicui Long sigh. He has been sighing too much lately, but there are so many things he can''t help but resign himself to. For example, not only can he not search for the creator of the rift, but he also can''t even profit from it. His bloodline could help in cultivation using the emanated energy or if he could use his cultivation techniques, he might even be able to craft space bags and other space items! Upgraded versions of these "spatial" bags or other "spatial" items.


    For example, his necklace is a space storage necklace, which is why it has so much space compared to the bags. It is also more stable and is more resistant.


    But now, he can only leave empty-handed. As he returns to his tent, he is unaware that four people have been watching him from the shadows.

 Chapter 29 – The Dangerous Hunt

    Although Feicui Long has completed the house, he ends up using almost 10 sacks, as he builds a house with three stories and a guest house connected to the main house.


    Also, he has only completed the most important part, the structure, but there are still small details to be finished, such as the doors, windows and other things, like finishing the bathroom.


    Feicui Long is really thankful to Isabella and her party members, as well as to the fact that he possesses the skill - golem and puppet creation.


    Because golems played a crucial role, they are tireless workers and don''t need to eat, making them ideal for this type of work.


    This skill was vital, since realistically, you can''t build a house that big in one day, with only nine people, even in the Ascendant Realm, let alone with nine people in the elemental realm and two or three golems, even if they are tireless. This skill, at Elemental Realm Grade 1, allows you to create 75 Earth Golems. And no, this is not because has Feicui Long the Sovereign Quartet, although that does allow him to create 25 more than the usual, bringing the total to 100 Earth Golems.


    Of course, the stronger the golems you create, the fewer you can make. For example, Rock Golems, he can only create ten and they consume 30 slots of this amount, since Rock golems are three times stronger than a normal earth golem.


    Another example is his Wood Golems, which are a little weaker than the Rock ones, but a little stronger than Earth ones, their main advantage is that their regeneration skill is stronger than that of other golems, thanks to the Wood Elemental Energy. However, this also means that the ten wood golems he has created consume 20 slots.


    The other 50 slots are filled with Earth Golems, as they are cheaper to create. Technically, you can exceed this limit, but only by making a contract with them, awakening their spirit, mind and soul or giving them a personalized core, these last two methods are not really easy thing to do or accomplish.


    Contracted golems have another limitation, which is each contract adds weight and pressure into your soul, so it is a risky one, since this counts all slave, servant and familia contracts. Of course, each skill has its own limits in these types of contracts.


    So, thanks to these 70 golems, he was able to build a large house in one day, the only problem is he can¡¯t use them to complete the finer details.


    This is why he is now working on improvising a woodworking station. Fortunately, he has the tools he bought in Vienna to craft the furniture for his first house, as well as the necessary knowledge. Although he has only three years of experience, and while his work can''t compare to that of a master of this job, in this moment he just needs functional pieces that aren''t too ugly.


    ...


    In the middle of the day, Feicui Long stopped working on the house, but he managed to make the doors on time. Now, he is going to hunting.


    Why? Because he needs a little more blood from an energy being, the same one he has been using for the inscriptions in his house, the doors and the aura-projecting formation. Now he needs more, not just for inscriptions, but also to make medicine and more Fragmented Formations, since he doesn¡¯t want Isabella''s party hearing his "fights" with her.


    On this hunt, he isn''t going alone, as Isabella is coming with him. At first he didn''t want to take her along, but Isabella insisted and almost cried, he couldn''t resist her...


    In the distance, he spots another quartz deer. His eyes light up, because he has only killed two so far, the one with Melina and the one they eat yesterday.


    But he doesn¡¯t want to kill it just for its flesh or blood, he also wants the quartz core, the antlers, and the beautiful skin. Since this type of deer is the kind of deer where even the females have antlers, these materials are very useful to him, not now but in a future, they can be used for many things.


    Feicui Long and Isabella slowly approach the deer, waiting for the perfect moment to use the energy rifle, then he shoots his energy.


    The deer drops dead, he runs to retrieve the body with a smile on his face.


    At that moment, he senses dangers and manages to dodge an attack, but the warning from his instincts doesn¡¯t disappear.


    He keeps dodging several attacks in a row, until one almost hit, forcing him to block with his halberd. The impact numbs his arms, but thanks to this, he finally sees the attacker, it is a Flame Wolf. He recognizes it because its fur resembles a flame.


    He pushes the wolf and kicks it in the stomach, sending it flying, then he starts running, because unlike the Ember Wolf, a Flame Wolf, automatically reaches the Elemental Realm Grade 5 upon adulthood. Fortunately, it''s not a Fire Wolf, otherwise, he''d be dead, since fire wolves reach the elemental realm grade 9 upon adulthood.


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    He grabs Isabella bu the arm, there''s no time to lose. Like other wolves, the Flame Wolves live in packs, so normally there''s never going to be only a wolf. Isabella knows this and follows him. They keep running, but the flame wolves have the same hunting tactics as a mortal wolf.


    They hunt by exhausting their prey, so they won¡¯t stop either. But Feicui Long is not stupid, he throws various talismans he prepared in his free time. Since talisman are one of the five inscriptions, he likes making them.


    The talisman he throws are very different from each other, some are for attacks, while others have control effects like slowing or trapping.


    But this only delays a few wolves, many of the wolves keep chasing them, and a few even manage to reach them.


    Feicui Long shoots his energy rifle, but that''s only hurts them a little bit.


    Seeing this, Isabella decides to take out her sword from the mark in her arm. Then a sword that slightly resembles a bastard sword appears. The sword has a handle featuring a female lion''s head with its maw open, and a platinum blade emerges from the middle of the maw, the sword''s guard is shaped like two lions sleeping.


    After that, Isabella starts preparing an attack: "I''m the one who rules across the skies. With these wings, I fly. With these wings, I fight, unleashing a storm to destroy my enemies, SKY LION''S GALE!"


    Once she finishes speaking, her sword becomes shrouded in strong winds. Next she launches an attack on the wolves, this sent a few wolves flying and killing a few more.


    That''s when a larger Flame Wolf reaches them. The wolf quickly opens its maw and launches a stream of flames. Seeing this, Feicui Long grabs Isabella and pushes her into a bush while simultaneously stomping the ground raising a stone wall and even forming a shield of water.


    But the attack is too powerful, making this defense against the wolf. It is clearly one of the strongest in the pack, as it is in the Elemental Realm Grade 7.


    Feicui Long manages to bend over, watching as the stream of flames is rages above him.


    Isabella grabs him from behind and pulls him into the bush, and both continue running. But the big wolf doesn¡¯t want to give up on its prey. On certain point the wolves almost surround them.


    At this moment, Feicui Long decides to leave Isabella in a safe place. With determination, he throws the Fragmented Formation below a tree, and quickly he forms a small circle. Then, to Isabella¡¯s surprise, he carries her and throws her inside. She hits the ground, but now she is safe because the formation can protect even against an elemental realm grade 9 or even a mystic realm grade 1 or 3.


    This makes Feicui Long lose impulse, causing one of the wolves to scratch his right side with its claw, leaving a bleeding wound. But this pain is nothing to him, he continues running and even casts the Light Feet Spell, twice.


    Finally, He loses all of the wolves¡­ or so he thinks, because a big wolf appears in front of him. It is the same one from before. Feicui Long smiles and frees Surinbit. The wolf then begins approaching with suspiciously


    Surinbit, relaxed, starts to attack. First, she uses water elemental attacks, forming streams of water capable of destroying trees. The wolf evades all attacks, but he notices how powerful these attacks are, one can kill it.


    Surinbit is a little annoyed, launches more attacks, this time combining water attacks with ice ones, the wolf focuses only on dodging, Feicui Long gives an order: "Surinbit, you need to immobilize it, this guy is buying time for its pack to arrive!"


    Knowing this, Surinbit begins using the earth element and wood element, roots start emerging from the ground chasing the wolf, the trembling ground makes it hard to dodge easily.


    Feicui Long then throws a talisman, which hits the wolf¡¯s leg, making it trip, then the roots succesfully to trap it.


    Feicui Long almost feels the urge to celebrate, but he can''t. He quickly starts casting a spell: "I''m the one who sits above all, nobody can pronounce a word unless I allow them, SILENCE!"


    This prevents the flame wolf from making any sound, preventing the howl it tries to make.


    Feicui Long nods to Surinbit, and she kills it with a water elemental attack. Then, Feicui Long slowly and carefully makes his way back. On the way to Isabella, almost every wolf was chasing him. Only a few stay surrounding Isabella, which means, with the highest probability, all of them are dead, whether by Isabella or by the formation.


    ...


    Finally, Feicui Long can see Isabella, thanks to Kagetsume. She is surrounded by dead bodies of wolves, when she sees him, starts running to hug him, almost crying.


    Angered and worried, she starts punching him lightly while hugging him. He doesn''t understand why Isabella has such strong feelings for him, she has only known him for less than a month.


    To him, it¡¯s strange if someone you are only attracted to dies, it shouldn''t make you so sad. It''s different for example, with Reiko, who loves him, and they are partners. It¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t feel something for Isabella, he surely does, but he thinks is not that deep of feeling. Perhaps he is being bad at love again...


    Love is complicated, he thinks.


    But anyway, he is glad that Isabella is okay. He grabs her face and kisses her, calming her a little bit, and says jokingly: "With all of these bodies, I think we have enough for today¡¯s hunting session."


    Isabella can''t avoid it but smile, this stupid guy...


    Then, both start picking the bodies and put them in spatial bags, then on the way home, they pick the ones Isabella killed with her Sky Lion''s Gale.


    That night Isabella "retaliates" against Feicui Long in their room.


    ...


    The next day, Feicui Long is a little tired from his "fights" throughout th night with Isabella, but he continues to work in the house. This time, he chooses to make something for his bedroom, which, by the way, is the biggest room in the house, if you don''t count the living room, of course.


    The reason behind this is that he has another wife, Reiko and at some point, she is going to live with him. Although he doesn''t know how say this to Isabella. And not, he is not going to leave Reiko. To begin with, Reiko actually came first into his life. It was Isabella who rape him, although it was because she was influenced by his yang energy...


    He shakes his head to clear his mind. It doesn''t matter which life it is for him, whether in his past lives or this one, love is the most difficult task, It is always the same for him, his master was right, he need to learn what is love...

 Chapter 30 – The Sky Lion Family

    Three months have passed since that event.


    In that time Feicui Long has not only fully completed the house, but also all the details, such as replacing the rudimentary doors he installed three months ago with new, better-made ones. the same applies to the "windows", although none of them have glass.


    Also, every room now has a bed, a closet, a table, and other things, but only the occupied ones, of course.


    But more importantly, he has completed vital things, like the bathroom system which even has pipes he made himself with leftovers iron bars that go to an excavated zone, also made by himself, where the other slimes he''s bought live.


    The zone has a rectangular shape with an area of 20 square meters (215.28 square feet) and a depth of 5 meters (16.4 feet), covered with a ceiling of iron bars that allows leaves and debris to fall in. The walls of the zone are made of cement reinforced with inscriptions, some of which evaporate water at a certain level.


    Since slimes don''t like to live in deep water zone, the zone also has a dry area with a little elevation above the inscriptions that evaporate excess water. this zone fulfills two purposes, one is to eliminate the bathroom waste and the water created by the artifact similar to shower and the other is to breed slimes and provide a living area for them.


    All of this work is not only meant to make everything more hygienic, but also to use the slime for selling, combat and their eggs, which can be used in medicine or even eat them. Although he doesn''t think about eating them, only using them in medicine, he can sell the eggs to people who like to eat them and other people who prepare medicine.


    But this is not only the thing he build. He also built a warehouse to store things, small rooms for alchemy and refining-smithing, but the most important thing is the garden he built.


    This garden has an energy-gathering formation. the reason for this is simple: to make the plants grow faster. Although many people don''t know this, the more energy a place has, the faster a being will grow, especially if that energy matches the being. That''s why, in a normal world like this, humans will reach adulthood at 15 years old instead of 18. Of course, the speed depends on the amount of energy and the laws, and also the being itself.


    For example, a normal plant, which is different from the Beast clan and the Fungi clan, each of which has one exclusive innate energy in all of their species, beastly energy and fungi energy. A normal plant has two, because its clan has always had two innate energies in its body: its exclusive plant energy and the wood elemental energy.


    Of course, there are special cases where the wood element is displaced by another element or energy, but that''s rare. Normally, a mortal plant or an energy one will always have these two energies.


    Sadly, he didn''t have any wood elemental energy crystal, but with his energy-gathering formation, the plants are going to grow faster. With the seed of fruits and vegetables he had bought in the Sky Lion Town and Vienna, he can now grow his own food. In fact, he completed the garden a day after that even, some plants are now ready to harvested them in only three month.


    Of course, this method has its limitations, such as the great costs involved. Just for this formation, He has used 15 energy crystals and 150 energy stones, but the garden can produce enough food for about 30 to 50 people, so to him, it''s worth it.


    In total, after all the materials consumed in his constructions, he now has only 500 energy stone, and 35 energy crystals left from the original 1,100 energy stones and 100 crystals, including the ones Isabella¡¯s dad gave to him. Also, almost all constructions materials have been used, with only a small amount remaining.


    But again, to him, this is worth it, because this is his new home and "fortress", or operational base.


    ...


    Feicui Long, Isabella, and her party members are now going to start a new journey to Sky Lion Town. During these three months, in his free time, he has prepared many medicines, especially an antidote to the venom of the Black Steel Arrow Scales Lizards.


    It is made from a plant he sees potential in, called Black Steel Arrow Grass. This plant grows in the venom of the lizard, making it a good antidote not only for its venom but also for others. He tested it with different venoms and realized that this plant could be useful against multiple toxins. Of course, there is no such thing as a universal antidote, but this one is highly effective.


    So, he is going to sell his medicine and buy other supplies. Additionally, he has to ask for Isabella''s hand in marriage, this last part is not his idea.


    ...


    The journey was very calm, even with the glances Freja threw at him and the never-ending "fights" with Isabella. At least, he could enjoy the last one.


    The group entered the town, but after that, each one took different paths. Only he and Isabella remained, they first went to Isabella¡¯s house.


    On the way to Isabella¡¯s house, many people looking at them. This was not only because both of them are beautiful, but for other reasons. Because of the weird looks on the face of the townspeople.


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    Even a lady in her forties almost faints saying things: " What a waste, a beauty like that getting lost in the..." and proceeds to faint.


    He is not stupid. He knows it''s because Isabella has her mask on and now looks like a man while embracing him passionately. But he doesn''t care what people think. Actually, he has never cared in any of his lives.


    After all, why would a sovereign have to worry about what people think about his preferences and likes?


    Ignoring this, the duo continues riding the carriage until Feicui Long sees an enormous and magnificent palace. at the entrance, there are two statues, both of them depicting a gorgeous white lion with majestic wings made of sky marble each with a platinum mane and the eyes of the same color.


    Feicui Long was a dragon. Thanks to that, he can sense the bloodline connected to these statues, then he directs his gaze to Isabella, he recognizes this kind of lion. It is a Sky Lion, a beast on the same level as dragons, phoenix and other.


    Although the Sky Lion might sound like an inferior species to the Heavenly Lion, they are actually different species in the evolutionary line. The Heavenly Lion is not a direct evolution of the Sky Lion, however, the Sky Lion can evolve into the Heavenly Lion if it meets all the requirements, which are not easy.


    The reason for that is the wings; the Heavenly Lion doesn''t have them. Although, in evolution, a species can grow new body parts, losing them is difficult, so it is not very common.


    Now, he is looks at Isabella because he realizes that one of the reasons for their strong body compatibility is her bloodline and her special soul, which is calling to his special soul. But obviously, this is not the only reason, and he knows it.


    When Feicui Long carriage approaches to the entrance, the guards stopped them for a moment, but one of them sees Isabella and immediately lets the carriage pass.


    ...


    Inside the palace, they are received by a few servants, who guide them to the interior.


    They walk until they arrive at the dining room. Feicui Long evaluates it and looks really good, not too opulent, but not too simple. Isabella grabs his arm and Feicui Long realizes that she has removed her mask.


    Isabella points at two seats and pulls him to sit down. They are the first at the table, so they start talking to each other.


    ...


    When Isabella''s family begin to enter, he counts 15 people in total, four are her brothers and sisters, five are her cousins, one is her grandmother, three are her uncles and aunts. They wait until Isabella¡¯s father arrives, a 40 to 45-year-old man with common looks, whose only notable feature is his imposing presence.


    Unlike her mother, whom, even without an introduction, he could identify at a glance, since she looks like Isabella. There are only two differences, the first one is Isabella''s face is more beautiful and her mother who has big attributes, the second one is the powerful presence she has overshadowing Isabella''s dad.


    Then, her father sits on the left side of her mother, and her mother sits at the head of the table. Feicui Long, a bit confused, looks at Isabella, and she explains to him: "My mother is the head of the Sky Lion family, the ruler of this barony, my father is only the town chief."


    Feicui Long understands a bit, but he asks: " Is your family a matriarchy?"


    Feicui Long asked this question because Isabella was the heir of the family. Initially, he thought that was the reason to she disguised herself as a man, but seeing this now, he thinks it is probably for other reasons.


    Isabella, knowing that Feicui Long has misunderstood something, quickly says: "No, the type of succession in the Sky Lion Family is based on birth order, it doesn''t care about gender."


    Feicui Long nods in comprehension and waits in silence like the rest.


    After a moment of silence, Isabella¡¯s mother looks at him and says: "So, you''re the doctor who saved my daughter?"


    Everyone in the room turns to look at him.


    Feicui Long, very calm and confident, answers the question: "Yes, madam, I am Feicui Long, a mere doctor and an alchemist."


    Isabella''s mom smiles at this display of confidence and says: "You are talented doctor, don''t you know? Not many people can speak with that confidence in front of me."


    Isabella mother continues speaking: "So, doctor, allow me to introduce myself, I am Cecilia Skylion, ruler of the Skylion barony, protector of the temple of the supreme god of beast, descendant from the Great Lion God Unbeatable, ruler of the skies and this continent, the celestial clouds continent, and other great figures like the Lion from the North or the Northen Empress Lioness."


    Feicui Long is slightly surprised, not because of fear, but because he did not expect to encounter a human worshiping the Supreme God of Beast.


    Cecilia nods, upon seeing his reaction and says: "Tell me, Feicui Long, why did you come accompanied by Isabella? What do you want? Do you need our help?"


    Feicui Long shakes his head and stands: "Madam and Sir, I have come to this beautiful palace with only thing in mind."


    Feicui Long confidently walks to the side of Isabella¡¯s parents and takes something out from his space necklace, don''t fear they are seeing it.


    The items he takes are three conservation boxes, three of the originals he kept from Vienna. He is now holding them in one hand and finally he opens his mouth, saying: "I came here to ask for Isabella¡¯s hand. I know I am a commoner at this moment, but sooner or later that will change, so I ask both of you, can you accept these small gifts from me? It¡¯s not much, but I think this could show my sincerity regarding my declaration."


    This declaration made everyone in the room gasp in amazement, then they started speaking in loud voices. The only two who aren¡¯t surprised are Feicui Long and Isabella, the last one making it clear she knew this was going to happening.


    Cecilia¡¯s smiles disappear. She doesn''t want her daughter to be hurt anymore, but even from her seat, she can see Isabella smiling, looking as if she had just woke up from a dream, so she can''t reject the proposition directly.


    So instead, she gives an order: "Guards, take Feicui Long¡¯s gifts and bring them to me."


    After saying this, three guards appear as if from nowhere and take the boxes with them.


    In the next moment, they are at Cecilia side.


    Johan, seeing this, he comprehends what Cecilia wants to do, so he tries to stop her, but his mother-in-like looks him in the eyes and, shaking her head, Johan can only sit in silence.


    It¡¯s not that he doesn''t understand Cecilia¡¯s hatred for what happened to Isabella, but he knows it¡¯s not good for their daughter to be denied the chance to develop feelings for a new person. Because of this, Isabella can''t find a new partner, and now she is making the same mistake again.


    After seeing this, Cecilia says: "Open the boxes, let¡¯s see what gifts Doctor Feicui Long has brought us."


    Johan suddenly gains courage, but when he tries to defend the gifts, thinking they won¡¯t be anything astonishing, he opens his mouth, forming a O.

 Chapter 31 – Family Business

    From the boxes, a series of grade 5 mortal-quality medicines, all in the supreme rank, emerged. Even though none of them can evaluate it, they can sense the medicine''s power.


    Even Cecilia surprises and says: "You quickly, bring the evaluator."


    One of the guards starts running to bring the person in charge of evaluating artifacts, medicine, and other things.


    ...


    Five minutes later, an elegant woman enters the room, walking slightly fast. Then she uses her skill, opens her eyes, and says: " This is a grade 5 mortal-quality health potion of supreme rank!"


    Everyone looks at Feicui Long in shock. These medicines are among his most precious treasures at this moment. Normally, with the help of the formation, he can only create grade 3 in the supreme rank, but sometimes he manages to create a grade 4. grade 5 can be made, but are extremely rare, to the point he only has 50 of them, the amount of the other medicines varied, he gifts them with 15 of the health potions, along with more medicines.


    Everyone is in shock because, even though the Sky Lion Family has several cultivators in the Earthly Palace Realm, the majority of their forces are in the Ascendant Realm and the Mystic Realm, so a grade 5 medicine is still very useful.


    Feicui Long sees this and smiles. He already knew this might happen, which is why he decided to bring this as a gift.


    He initially thought of doing this when he had enough money, but he gave in since Isabella made puppy eyes at him, and he couldn''t stand Isabella''s sad face, so he started to be searching for something valuable enough to give to her family.


    That''s when he remembers he treating a retired guard from the town, the guard told him that the town only has alchemists, refiner-smiths and true masters of inscriptions capable of making medicine, artifacts and inscriptions at grade 4. Anything beyond that grade has to be bought outside the barony and transported to the town, making it very expensive and limited.


    ...


    All of this is because, although it may seem strange since the grade of quality is linked to the cultivation realm, it is, in fact, very rare for a cultivator to have an item of a comparable grade to his cultivation realm.


    This mean that a cultivator normally has an item below a one, two or even three grades below his cultivation. That is if the force to which they belong has enough money, otherwise, it is normal to have an item four, five or six grades below. In the case the cultivators are poor and have no force behind of them, a seven, eight or nine grade below is not so strange.


    In other words, it is possible to see a cultivator with an item that is an entire quality level below his cultivation, although it is somewhat rare.


    There are many reasons for this, but the three main ones: the first is the cost of the materials, the second is the rarity of the materials, and the last and most important one is the skill of the craftsman.


    This may sound strange, but the skill of an alchemist, a refiner-smith, or a true master of inscriptions, has nothing to do with the realm of cultivation.


    Although he, Feicui Long, cannot create anything beyond grade 5 because his cultivation realm is too low, that is because he is an anomaly. As he told to Allearys, he has been learning and using alchemy, refining-smithing, inscriptions since the creation of this universe.


    He has literally spent 35 billion years or more learning these skills. Even though he has bad talent in refining-smithing and alchemy and is only talented in the true mastery of inscriptions, with that amount of time, if you can''t advance a high level, you''re a failure.


    Thus, a person''s progress in these three paths is usually separate from their cultivation. Hence, it is common to see alchemists or practitioners of the other two paths being in certain realms or stage but only be able to create things of a lower level.


    Of course, there are exceptions, like people who had already reached that level and were reincarnated with it or talented people who are limited by their cultivation realm or other factors, but these are especial cases, not the norm.


    So is because of this he chose these gifts, but also because items like medicines and others continue to be useful. For example, health potions or healing pills can even heal several injuries in an Earthly Palace cultivator, including some severe injuries, although their effects are limited and sometimes can''t save the life of a cultivator of that cultivation level.


    This is the case since, as you advance in cultivation realm and power, not only does your energy increase and strengthen, but also your vitality, spirit, soul, mind, body, and other aspects, meaning that the energy necessary to heal them grows along with your cultivation realm and your power.


    This is why such a commotion is happening in the dining room.


    But at certain point, Cecilia calms down and says: "Everyone, calm down and sit in your seat. I have to admit, Feicui Long, I underestimated your talent. Being able to create a grade 5 medicine with your cultivation level is impressive. I temporarily approve your engagement with Isabella, but if you make her cry even once, I swear I''m going to peel your skin off your body alive."


    Feicui Long nods in understanding: "Mother-in-law, you don''t have to worry. I promise, I will never make cry Isabella and will keep her smile on her face forever."


    Feicui Long doesn''t know, but that is a promise he can''t keep...


    ...


    The dinner continues normally, with Isabella''s family sending looks from time to time.


    But he doesn''t care, he is used to being watched, so he enjoys the delicious food with Isabella.


    They are a sweet couple. Isabella gives food to Feicui Long and cleans his face after each bite. Feicui Long does the same, flirting with each other, saying very sweet things, like: "You''re my treasure" or "Your eyes make my heart beat." At this point, even her mother can''t help but feel a little embarrassed by the couple''s display of affection.


    As the dinner ends and everyone starts to leave, Feicui Long approaches Isabella''s dad and whispers: "Thank you, Father. I''ll repay you soon for trying to help me. Also, if you know where I can buy spatial boxes or assist me in selling my medicines and other items, I can offer the Sky Lion Family a percentage of the sales."


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    Johan remains standing there, lost in thought, thinking about his talented new son-in-law.


    ...


    Feicui Long accompanies Isabella to her bedroom. When he enters the dormitory, he can''t help but let out a small laugh escape ''Hahaha''.


    Isabella, feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly asked him: "Why are you laughing?"


    Feicui Long stops laughing and says: "It''s because your bedroom is just as I thought it would be."


    Isabella, now confused, asks: "How do you think it was?"


    Feicui Long answers that: "I think your bedroom was gonna be well decorated with pink tones, exactly like it is."


    Isabella, now understanding, blushes a little bit. She brings her little hands to her shirt, it lightly and says in a low voice: "It''s not like I can''t enjoy something feminine and pretty¡­"


    Isabella then continues: "I know I''m not as feminine as mom and my two sisters, or the girls in the party. Even my body reflects that. My mom has big attributes, large breasts, a big butt, and a small waist. Compared to her, my body is more like a man''s body, small breast, a small butt and a small waist. my feminine charm is almost non-existent, and my behavior is more masculine."


    Isabella stops for a brief moment, thinking about whether she wants to say this, but she did it anyway: "So I thought at that moment, in order to become a great woman to my fianc¨¦, I need become more feminine..."


    Feicui Long, seeing her absolutely gorgeous face turn a little red and her adorable gestures, he feels a bit bad in his heart for teasing her. So, he hugs her from behind, surprising her, and says in her ear: "You''re an absolute beauty, don''t you think?, it doesn''t matter what you like or your preferences, to me you are a heavenly treasure."


    Feicui Long also added: "The size of your attributes doesn''t define whether you''re a woman or not. Besides, you have nothing to envy from other women. So, what if you''re on the smaller side in that area? Your face looks like it was carved by the absolute heavens. Just seeing it is like a drug to me. Your body is incredibly attractive, and your voice drives my mind into a blazing inferno, awakening my deepest instincts. You are my woman, Isabella. Even if the entire universe considered you ugly, then it would be the universe that was wrong, because I am the one who decides."


    Isabella, filled with immense happiness, turned around and kissed him before saying, "Why are you like this with me? You always tell me such beautiful things. These past three months, you haven''t stopped. Isn''t it enough that you''ve already stolen my heart? With every word, you make my heart burn, and you soothe it at the same time, healing me¡­ Do you want to take my soul as well? If you wish, I can give it to you. I can give you all of me."


    Feicui Long feels something for Isabella. He can''t quite define what it is, whether it''s just sexual attraction or something more, but her words made his heart race, burning with desire. Lifting Isabella by the hips, he whispered, "Then I will take you. I will take all of you."


    That night was not a "fight", it was a night of passion and desire.


    After that, they slept peacefully, holding each other in a warm embrace.


    ...


    On the next day, Johan and Feicui Long finish theer negotiation, although in reality, it is more like Feicui Long convincing his father-in-law to accept his money into the Sky Lion Family, since Johan doesn''t want to take Feicui Long''s money.


    The details of the agreement are really simple, Feicui Long uses Sky Lion family''s services to buy and sell things. Depending on what is bought or sold, they keep a certain percentage, in some cases up to 20%. For the medicines, the percentage falls within this range, but for other items, such as costly materials like energy stone cores, they only take between 2.5% to 5%, or even less.


    Feicui Long, nodding happily, says: "Now, father, this is what I want to sell."


    Then Feicui Long takes out multiple medicines from his space necklace, ranging from pills to potions, all at the mortal level, grade 3 and supreme rank. He also takes out some fragmented formations and other items, such as excess parts from energy creatures that he doesn''t intend to use at the moment.


    Johan, a little surprised by the number of things, looks Feicui Long in the eyes and says: "Are you''re sure about selling all of these things? you might need them."


    Feicui Long shakes his head and says: "I always save some of them for my own use, keeping them with me and in my house."


    After saying this, Feicui Long takes out the last items, many bottles of black liquid and three conservation boxes containing the same bottles with the black liquid, but these ones liberate more energy.


    Johan asks Feicui Long doubtfully: "What is this medicine? And, more importantly, do these have the same quality as the ones that you gifted us?"


    Feicui Long answers: "This medicine is made with the Black Steel Arrow Grass, it''s an antidote, a good one. It serves to treat the poison of the Black Steel Arrow Scales Lizard but also can treat other poisons. And yes, the ones in the boxes are of the same quality."


    Feicui Long adds before Johan could reply: "Also among the things I asked you to help me buy, I forgot to mention that I also need to buy this grass. It''s really good. All these potions are just test batches. I only experimented a bit, but only with that, I managed to create so many potions in grade 5. It''s proof of the high quality of this grass."


    Johan opens his eyes wide as he looks at the bottles. He can hardly believe it, is the useless grass that good?


    Feicui Long continues speaking: "I think, I can manage to create grade 5 of these potions with a 100% rate if I have more of this grass. I only bought 10 Kg (22.04 pounds) to test, and I managed to create all of this. So, if I have a more, I can ensure an even higher success rate. Even more, I might even achieve to make grade 6 or grade 7 potions."


    Johan almost jumps from his seat. A grade 7 potion could cost like 50 or 75 silver coins per bottle.


    But the best thing is the use of this potion. This species of arrow scales lizard is pain in the ass, not only can it throw its scales like arrows from a distance, but it can also replenish them using metal energy since its scales are made of black steel.


    But as if that weren''t enough, they are really good in closet combat thanks to their scales being very sharp and shaped like arrows. And don''t forget, they are both venomous and poisonous. When the population of the lizard grows, his headaches increase, because the poison they use is highly corrosive, but also very toxic, causing severe pain and seizures.


    Now with this medicine, the triple union, the town guards and the Sky Lion army can deal with these lizards more easily, making the town safer.


    Johan smiles and says: "That''s really good, boy. You don''t have to worry, I am going to sell it for you, also there''s the thing you asked me about yesterday."


    Feicui Long receives a map and a letter with a marked direction on it. It is a city located north of the Sky Lion Town in a straight line. The map also has the name of the person who is going to sell Feicui Long the spatial boxes.


    Johan says: "This person is a good brother of mine and Cecilia, so he is going to treat you well, especially if you give him this letter. Also, I''m going to send you with two people to help you."


    Johan extends his hand toward the door, and the guards let two people enter in the room. Feicui Long immediately recognizes the first person to enter, a tall human woman with red hair, measuring between 1.80 meters (5.9 feet) to 1.85(6.06 feet). She has medium attributes and a slightly above-average appearance. this is the same woman from that day, the one who tried to lecture him.


    Then, the second person enters slowly, not out of excessive arrogance but because of her timid nature. Feicui Long observes the woman, a common-looking orc lady with average attributes to a orc woman. She is slightly short for her race, measuring around 1.7 meters (5.57 feet), almost the same height as Isabella.


    The only remarkable thing about her is her kind face. Feicui Long then looks at his father-in-law and waits to be introduced.


    Johan proceeds to introduce each one, starting with the orc woman: "This is sweet orc woman is Annie, a new maid who will accompany both of you."


    Then, Johan stands up, walks to the red-haired woman, places his hand on her shoulder and, says: "She is my niece, Gloria Von Holstein, she is a talented swordwoman and will protect both of you. Also Gloria and Annie, this is Feicui Long, Isabella''s fianc¨¦."


    Gloria opens her eyes wide, looks at her uncle, and says: "Uncle Johan, are you letting Isabella marry this dude? He is not a good person!"


    Johan shakes his head and replies: "Gloria, I know you are worried about Isabella, but Feicui Long is not a bad person. He saved Isabella''s life. He could have denied the treatment like all other doctors, but he chooses to don''t."


    Gloria, surprised by this revelation, chose to stay silent.


    ...


    After that, Feicui Long departed, accompanied by Gloria and Annie, to Feldbach, the city on the map, Isabella is not coming this time because her mother wants to stay for something.

 Chapter 32 – The magic of logistics

    Feicui Long traveled somewhat uncomfortably in the carriage they had been assigned, especially because the woman named Gloria was sitting in front of him, staring at him with a hostile look. As for Annie, the poor girl was trembling like a newborn pup at his side. Sometimes, he wondered if she was really an orc woman.


    At some point, Feicui Long got tired of it and spoke: "Hey, I get that you don''t like the way I act, but this is the real world. If I hadn''t killed them, I could have been at risk next time, or worse, they could have done this to someone else. Besides, didn''t you see it? They all had very obvious experience doing this. How many innocent people do you think they have harmed?"


    Gloria sighed and said, "It''s not because of that. I don''t care about that. It''s because you''re with Isabella. What do you want from her? Her money? Her position? Her beauty? I''m worried that you want to use her as..."


    Gloria stopped, realizing she had almost said something she wasn''t supposed to talk about.


    Then, Gloria added, "The point is, my suspicion isn''t because of that. Until you earn my trust, I won''t stop looking at you this way."


    Feicui Long sighed in resignation. Sometimes, he wondered what he had done in all his lives to have such bad karma with women.


    ¡­


    After a three-day journey, they finally arrived in Feldbach. It had small walls, but they were sturdy enough for defense. At the entrance, they were asked for identification, and everyone showed theirs, including the carriage driver.


    Inside the city, they followed the directions they had been given, which led them to what seemed to be a small ranch within the city. Although it was a bit unusual to see one inside a city, he was not surprised. After all, it was normal for important things to be protected as much as possible. For example, Vienna also had some ranches and farms within its walls. They could not rely entirely on food from the outside.


    The driver left them there and said his goodbyes, as he had been sent to take care of other matters in the city. After this, Feicui Long approached the door of a building that served as the entrance to the ranch. Above the door, he saw a sign that read Robert Schulz''s Stable, a simple name, but it did not matter.


    Feicui Long knocked on the door, and the one who answered was a well-dressed man who asked, "Good afternoon. What do you need?"


    Feicui Long said, "Good afternoon. I have come looking for Mr. Robert. I want to buy some things, like spatial boxes and a cargo carriage, along with some good draft horses. I was recommended by Johan Lindberg."


    ¡­


    The elegant man was about to let him pass into the sales area when he heard the name Johan Lindberg. At that moment, he behaved much more politely than usual. "Oh, young sir, you come recommended by Mr. Johan. Please follow me. I will guide you to Mr. Robert''s office."


    Feicui Long and the two women followed the elegant man to a door with a bell. The man rang the bell and waited for a moment.


    Then, a slightly tired voice said, "You can let them in, Carlos. Johan had already informed me that they would be arriving. You can tell Lisa to take the two girls to their rooms in my house."


    A few minutes had passed since Feicui Long entered the room. The man named Robert seemed refined and elegant, clearly well-educated. According to Gloria''s words, he was a kind and friendly person, even if he did not seem like it, but so far, he had not spoken a single word to him. Feicui Long had been reading Johan''s letter several times and had not been paying attention.


    It was then that Robert put the letter down and said, "I understand why you have come here. It is just that I did not expect my elder brother, Johan, and elder sister, Cecilia, to once again allow little Isabella to be engaged."


    He paused for a moment before continuing, "I am not like my elder sister, Cecilia, or Gabriela, but as part of the group of five sworn siblings and as Isabella''s godfather, someone who watched her grow up, I ask you, please, be good to her. Treat her with kindness and have patience with her. I know she is clumsy and not very feminine, but she truly tries. But above all, do not toy with her feelings. My poor girl has already suffered something that a sweet young woman like her should never have to endure..."


    Feicui Long, taken aback a bit, said with some surprise, "Do not worry, sir. I, Feicui Long, will never abandon a promise of my own will. I have decided to take her as my woman, and so it shall be."


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    Then he added, "Rather, here, this gift is from me to you. I know it may not be much, but it might help you a little."


    Feicui Long then handed him a box containing 10 bottles of grade 5 healing potion.


    Robert accepted them, somewhat grateful, and said, "This is a pleasant surprise. Now, let us talk business."


    Robert happily led Feicui Long around the ranch, showing him his best horses and animals. He even offered him others, like cows and such, but Feicui Long could not buy them. Not because of the money. At this moment, he still had seventy-five platinum coins and about seventy-five gold coins from what he had sold three months ago, but because he could not take so many animals with so few people. Even if he wanted to tame them and sign a contract like he did with the horses of his first carriage, it was not worth it.


    But even so, the walk was useful for Feicui Long, as he was able to notice an interesting formation. He even asked, "Uncle Robert, this formation is a growth acceleration formation, right? Where did you get it?"


    Robert, a little hesitant, replied, "I found it in some ruins with my wife while we were still adventurers. I learned it and also found some energy crystals with which I set it up. It turned out there was a mine of these right next to it."


    Feicui Long nodded politely. "Could you tell me where the mine is?"


    He decided to ask only about the mine instead of the formation, especially since he had already deciphered it a while ago.


    Robert said, "I can, but it is too dangerous, even for me. We barely made it out alive, as there are many enemies. But even so, I will tell you. It is right next to the Clouded Crystal Mountain."


    Feicui Long nodded and thanked him. "Thank you very much, Uncle."


    ¡­


    In the end, the two reached an agreement. Feicui Long bought five horses. Four were animals of the highest breeding, and one was an energy beast, only one Wild Wind Mare. He also bought a total of 45 spatial boxes and a rather good cargo carriage, capable of holding the boxes in a distribution of three boxes wide, three long, and five high, with a little extra space. All of it for a modest price of 15 gold coins. The high price was primarily due to the boxes.


    These, just like spatial bags, serve to store large quantities of items at a level inferior to normal storage devices. In this case, only mortal things or not very strong energy materials. But if they serve the same function, why buy them?


    The reason is simple. The bags have a decent space, but he realized that what he could store in 15 bags barely fit a few things. If he wanted to build something big in the future, he would have to make several trips. With the boxes, he could ensure he had materials for a long time, especially since he wanted to build a kind of castle at his home.


    Feicui Long made the payment, but he was taken by surprise by Robert, who gave him something. "Look, Feicui Long, this is my gift to you, to make sure you treat Isabella well. It is just 25 elemental energy crystals, but I believe they will be more useful to you as an alchemist than to me."


    Feicui Long wanted to refuse them, but when he saw that there were five wood elemental energy crystals, he did not hesitate to accept them.


    After that, Feicui Long was taken to his room in Robert''s house.


    Gloria saw Feicui Long and called him to a secluded corner, saying, "Feicui Long, I heard from Uncle that you bought quite a few spatial boxes. What do you need so many for?"


    Feicui Long looked at her. Honestly, he did not want to answer, but he also did not want to be rude and make a worse impression on her, so he explained, "I plan to build a small fortress at my home. I need to ensure that everything inside it is safe, including my nieces and my girls."


    Gloria, confused, asked, "You already have daughters? How old are they?"


    Feicui Long replied, "The eldest is eleven and a half years old, and the youngest is barely two and a half."


    Gloria was very surprised. "You are so young. You are barely twenty-eight years old, and you already have two daughters?"


    Feicui Long corrected her, "Actually, it''s five."


    Gloria grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him, saying, "I knew you were a bad guy! How can you have five girls with you at such a young age? Where is their mother?"


    Feicui Long shook his head and said, "It is not what you think. They are adopted. Also, forgive me for what I am about to say, Gloria, but even if they were biologically mine, that would not be your problem but Isabella''s. And she is not against the girls. On the contrary, she gets along well with them. So you can let go of me, or you will have me floating in the air the whole time."


    Gloria, exasperated, said, "I do not understand why Isabella follows you. Not only are you extremely cruel and cold, but you also seem to have no feelings. You do not even get angry or react with rage. Are you even human, Feicui Long? No, I should rephrase the question. Are you even a person, a sentient being, or are you just a soulless machine?"


    Feicui Long replied, "Because those feelings get in the way. To achieve your goals, you must be able to keep a cool head. That way, I can continue pursuing my objectives. If I allowed anger, rage, and other emotions to take over, I would not be able to move forward, because you do not understand everything I have been through, everything I have lived. If you knew, you would not be saying this."


    Upon hearing this, Gloria set Feicui Long down, but this time she did not look at him with anger or rage. Instead, she looked at him with a mix of pity and sorrow before turning her back to him and saying, "Feelings are never a hindrance. Thinking like that only shows how broken you are, Feicui Long. Before, I was afraid that you would hurt Isabella. Now I fear the day you can no longer bear the pressure and because of your rigidity, you break."


    Feicui Long remained standing and silent. His heart, his mind... there was never a hint of anger, nor rage or fury, almost as if he were missing something to be complete, something important that he had forgotten a long time ago.


    Feicui Long went to sleep.


    ...


    The next day, Feicui Long, Gloria, and Annie returned in Feicui Long''s carriage, unaware that a shocking piece of news was spreading throughout the barony and the nearby territories...

 Chapter 33 – The Mysterious Draconic Ruins - 1

    When Feicui Long, Gloria and Annie finally arrive in Sky Lion town, something is a bit off.


    The guards are slightly nervous, and the people in the surroundings seem the same. Everyone in the carriage, including Feicui Long, is a bit confused.


    They have been gone for a week. what has changed in just one week?!


    In the end, they decided to ignore all of this and continue their journey to Sky Lion Palace. However, upon entering the palace, they find the same tense atmosphere, the Sky Lion Family guards have grim faces.


    The head maid greets them and leads them inside to the meeting room. All the important people in this room are from the Sky Lion Family, with one exception: a mature woman with red hair, who looks exactly like Gloria.


    Feicui Long assumes that this woman is Gloria''s mother, Gabriela.


    This woman, Gabriela, is the one speaking, but when they enter the room, she stops talking and waits for them to take a seat.


    Feicui Long sits beside Isabella, prompting her to take his hand, but he doesn''t mind.


    Then Gabriela continues with her speech: "As I have been telling everyone, there''s a change in the Leechwald forest. The ruins have finally been located, but there''s a problem: the ruler of the forest and protector of the ruins is a dragon."


    Gabriela pauses for a moment, recalls the details, and says: "I don''t know what power it has, but the dragon seems very strong. I sent a letter to the Union, and they responded, but the answer is not very encouraging. Nobody in the Emerald Dragon God Temple or neither the Divine Oceanic Dragon Empire knows about this dragon, they only had one recommendation ''don''t challenge it.'' Keep the distance."


    After that, everybody falls into a deadly silence until Cecilia speaks: "If that is the case, we have nothing to do. It is better for us to maintain the status quo. For the moment, Gabriela, I need you to help calm the town to keep ill-intentioned people at bay.¡±


    Gabriela nods in agreement and says: "I agree, anyway I was thinking of settling down in the town."


    Cecilia, smiling, then says: "So that is all. Everyone may leave, except for Isabella, Feicui Long, Gloria and Annie will stay."


    ...


    After everyone has left, Cecilia, Johan, and Gabriela sit down with Feicui Long, Isabella and the others.


    Johan begins to speak: "How was your journey? By the way, here is the money from the sale of your medicines and items."


    Feicui Long receives the money happily and puts it into his space necklace. Then he answers: "It''s good. I bought what I needed. The only thing left to buy is the construction materials."


    Johan nods and says: "I can help you to buy them. You only need to tell me what you want to buy so you can leave tomorrow without any worries."


    After that, Gabriela says: "So, you''re Isabella''s new fianc¨¦. I don''t need to say it, but if you hurt her, whatever my big sister does to you, I will make it worse."


    The next moment, Gabriela looks at Gloria and says: "Gloria, you''re going with them. I need you to protect Isabella and keep this guy in line. Also, I almost forgot it, but take this bag, it''s my gift, to my little princess."


    Gloria, a little embarrassed, takes the spatial bag.


    Then Cecilia speaks to Annie: "Annie you''ve been assigned to Feicui Long. From now on, you''re Feicui Long''s personal maid. Also, this means that your salary will increase."


    Annie, a little worried that she did something wrong, asks: "My Lady, have I done something wrong? The raise in salary is good, but my family..."


    Johan answers this question to reassure Annie: "Oh Annie it¡¯s not that kind of thing. You''re a really good at your job. It''s just that Feicui Long is going to be a member of the family, so he needs a personal maid. And about your family, you don''t have to worry."


    Johan stops for a moment and says: ¡°I know you give your money to your mom and grandmother to help support your family, so if you like, I personally can give them the money for you."


    Then, Annie lowers her head and says: "Thank you, my lord."


    After that, Cecilia says to Isabella and Feicui Long: "Since Isabella told me that both of you live close to the Leechwald forest, Feicui Long, you need to be cautious of the dragon. Isabella, you also have to be cautious. Lastly, I have a favor to ask. Feicui Long, I know my daughter is a bit clumsy and boyish, but please be patient with her and treat her well."


    Feicui Long says: "It''s okay, mother. You don''t have to worry. I''m gonna protect her with my life."


    ...


    The next day, Feicui Long, Isabella, Gloria and Annie get up into the carriages. Gloria is driving the cargo carriage, with the spatial boxes that are full of materials, ranging from the same granites blocks to iron. It even contains some energy materials like black iron, cyan copper and purple tin.


    This journey cost him around 65 gold coins: 30 coins for the construction materials, 20 coins for the materials to make medicine and other things, and 15 for the carriage, horses, and boxes. Now he can progress with the base construction.


    While thinking about this, they suddenly stop, because four people are blocking their path. The ones blocking the road are Isabella¡¯s party members. Feicui Long allows them to get into the carriage.


    They continued the journey to Feicui Long¡¯s home.


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    ¡­


    Feicui Long, Isabella, and the others almost arrive at Feicui Long¡¯s home, but they have to stop for a moment as Gloria nearly faints. Since she was not by Feicui Long¡¯s side like the others in the first time, the aura-projecting formation recognizes her as a threat.


    Feicui Long gets out of the carriage to touch Gloria shoulder, placing a small rune un her until they enter.


    After this, the journey went smoothly.


    When they finally arrive at his home, they can see the green-emerald granite walls from afar. They also see the girls and the twins welcomes them.at the next moment Feicui Long starts to assigning a room to Gloria and Annie, these rooms have everything they need, just like the occupied ones.


    Then everyone starts doing something. Andrea goes to play with the little kids, Annie starts preparing dinner in her new job, Freja and Caroline go train in a forest region cover by the formation, and Gloria starts reading a book.


    Feicui Long wants to go explore the forest to see the ruins. He doesn''t fear the dragon since, with his title, he can suppress it as long as the dragon doesn''t have a high title or belongs to a very high-ranking species. However, this is because he doesn''t have any dragon blood on him, so his suppression power is reduced to only a fraction.


    But for the moment he wants to spend time with Isabella and the kids.


    ...


    A week later, he goes to the forest with only Isabella accompanying him. She insisted on going with him.


    While searching, they don''t notice anything unusual. Only energy beasts can be found in this forest, and they almost give up on the search.


    Until after a few days, Feicui Long senses something strange calling him from the outside to inside him. This feeling guides him as if it is taking his hand and pulling him forward.


    He follows the sensation instinctively, Isabella wants to ask him something, but she can''t since he is too concentrated on finding the ruins.


    That''s when he sees blackish green walls, with strange inscriptions. The sensation increases inside Feicui Long to the point that he almost jumps and runs in that direction.


    But he calms down and takes Isabella¡¯s hand, squeezing it without noticing, Isabella feels a bit of pain but ignores it since she can sense Feicui Long¡¯s sweat, meaning he is very nervous and doesn¡¯t want to lose her.


    Feicui Long finally stabilizes his mind and proceeds to go.


    At that moment, they can finally see the full image of the ruins: an ancient Fortress almost buried in the ground. Only one entry is fully on the surface. The Fortress has very tall walls with its characteristic blackish green color, the inscriptions shining with a green light, emanating a mysterious power to Isabella.


    The fortified towers of the Fortress can be seen, showcasing the immense power the Fortress once had. At the top of the tower, a mass of energy illuminates the surroundings while also warning the invaders of their destiny.


    Feicui Long knows this type of structure. He designed and created this kind of Fortress to stop extra-universal invaders. This is a draconic Fortress, an artifact building made specifically to kill any being. But why is it here? They belong to the expansive borders of the universe. Even more, why is it buried? It can fly and move by itself.


    But his questions had to be put aside because, on the roof, he could see a dragon, a truly imposing western dragon. The dragon has silver scales, with the ventral scales of a black color. Its head has three gems, a red, a blue and yellow, forming something almost like a crown. It has four black horns. Its wings are extremely large, almost covering the Fortress. Its claws are the same black color, with brilliant silver hair flowing from behind its head to the tip of its tail.


    Feicui Long frown seeing this dragon, because he can identify her... She is a Supreme Dragon Queen. He knows she has been aware of their presence for a long time. With her power she can destroyed this world and every god.


    Feicui Long says firmly: "Carlotta Darksilver, what are you doing here? Stop pretending you''re sleeping. You can¡¯t hide that from me."


    The dragon has been pretending to sleep, "awakens", revealing her purple eyes and says: "Oh, if it isn¡¯t my sovereign. you have returned; it is a bliss to see you again."


    That is until she sees a woman holding Feicui Long¡¯s hand. The woman is wearing a swap face mask, but with her level of power, it is useless, she can see what is hidden behind it.


    Carlotta then lets a powerful aura escape in the direction of the woman. Feicui Long quickly moves in front of it, blocking almost all of the aura.


    Feicui Long, in a cold voice, says: "May I know what are you doing?, This sovereign needs an answer now!"


    Isabella doesn¡¯t know what is happening or why Feicui Long covered her with his body, but for a moment, she could sense extreme danger.


    Carlotta replies condescendingly: "I don''t know what you are talking my sovereign. This Carlotta didn''t do anything. Or are you referring to this punny human woman? I didn''t know you had such preferences, taking a human woman as your partner and even making her disguise herself as man."


    Even though Feicui Long usually can''t sense anger or fury, at this moment, trace of that emotion leaks through a crack, making him say: "You are no one to tell me how to choose my woman. Not even my disciples would dare to do so, so where did you get the arrogance to question me?!"


    Carlotta puts a severe expression and says: "Even if I can''t decide for you, I can choose not to recognize her as your partner. Also, stop trying to suppress me, my sovereign even if your title is superior to mine, without even a drop of blood, you know it¡¯s useless against me, I''m not a red dragon or some low-level dragon to be suppressed by that kind of thing."


    Carlotta added: "I wanted to, I could kill her and erase the stain from your story, my sovereign. I don''t understand why you give another chance to a mortal. Didn''t you learn last time that they are not worthy of your time? That woman left you, ran away from the compromise and now look at you, wanting to take a human?"


    Shaking her head, Carlotta looks at Feicui Long. he replies: ¡°Can you kill her? If you want to kill her, you will have to kill me first, so go ahead I challenge you."


    Carlotta with a slight laugh says: "Are you avoiding it? with that power, you can¡¯t avoid anything in this moment, I could kill you and take everything to me."


    Feicui Long burst into uncontrollable laughter and says: "You think you can get my title and authorities? For starters, I made it so that my title couldn''t be obtained by anyone who kills me, it would disperse throughout the universe choosing a new heir."


    Feicui Long looks at her mockingly and continues: "Secondly, you can''t suppress a Supreme Authority. Even my brothers and sisters can''t, so you can''t stop them from escaping. And with that, my disciples will find out what you did, sentencing your little clan to death. I¡¯m sure you don''t want your clan to be killed, or you do?"


    Carlotta remains silent for a moment.


    Carlotta then says: ¡°If I can¡¯t kill you, I can take you with me, make you my man, and together we will have powerful children.¡±


    Feicui Long then, with a serious look, says: "More important, are you sure to challenge me, Carlotta? Are you really this ungrateful? Don''t you remember when you came to me, begging to save your clan?"


    Feicui Long makes a pause and looks into her eyes: "Despite knowing it was against my rules, when you started losing against the invaders and saw the chance of annihilation, instead seeking help from other members of the dragon clan, you came directly to me. But even though it was against my rules, I made an exception for you, for your loyal service and stopped the invaders. So, are you doing this on your own, or did someone order you? Answer me, Carlotta!"


    Carlotta avoids Feicui Long¡¯s gaze and says: "I can''t answer that, my sovereign. I can only say this: you may enter these ruins, but this human cannot. That is all I am going to say, even if it is you."


    Feicui Long heavily sighs and turns around, seeing Isabella looking very confused. and whispers into her ear: "I have to enter, Isabella. Even if she seems a bit rude, she''s very trustworthy. She is not going to break her promise. Wait for me, my wife."


    Isabella doesn''t understand anything because they are speaking in strange language, but hearing Feicui Long calling her his wife, makes her heart beat like crazy.


    ...


    Feicui Long enters the ruins, and the calling increases in power, forcing him to continue even if this is a trap.

 Chapter 34 – The Mysterious Draconic Ruins - 2

    He walks until he arrives at the end of the Draconic Fortress. There are three doors. He can sense the calling in all of them, but two have high level seal blocking them, very well constructed, requiring a specific object to open them.


    So he enters the meddle gate and walks, walks, walks until he reaches a large room, the room has very little light, but he continue to walk. Then, from one moment to the next, a formation activates, causing light stones to turn on, illuminating the dark room. At the same time, three pedestals begin to emerge in the center.


    Feicui Long approaches the pedestals. At a certain point, he can somewhat see it. on each pedestal is an item. On the one in center, there is a crown, the one on the left has a necklace, and the one on the right has a ring.


    Because of this, he decides he needs to see what these artifacts are, as they are calling him.


    ...


    While this happens, the dragon sighs in relief, saying to herself: "My sovereign is still as dominating as ever. This queen can barely handle it, but that person must not be angered. I sorry my sovereign, I¡¯m really sorry..."


    This time, Isabella can understand the dragon, because she forgot to speak in that strange language, probably because she is ignoring Isabella, that was what she was thinking.


    Then, at one moment, the dragon extends her head toward Isabella and says: "You didn''t heard anything, understand? By the way, I don''t know how you managed to conquered my sovereign¡¯s heart, but I have to say this: at this moment, you are not worthy of him. So, start preparing to fight for him against any other dragon."


    The dragon looks around for a moment. When she confirms they are alone, she says: "This is my advice for you, get strong, so strong that anybody can defeat you or Otherwise, resign yourself to not marrying him, because the dragon race is not like you mortals think. Anyway, I wish both of you luck."


    At this moment, Isabella is even more confused than before, but she understands that she can''t ask questions, so she remains silent.


    ...


    Feicui Long is finally in front of the artifacts, feeling slightly surprised and confused. He knows these artifacts. Each one features two dragons: one is a western dragon and the other, an eastern dragon.


    Each dragon had emerald-green scales, four golden horns, and three gemstones on its forehead, an amethyst, a topaz, and an emerald. Its golden lower scales, and finely detailed golden claws and white fangs. A flowing emerald mane extended from its head to its tail.


    However, their most striking feature was their eyes. Each pair was vertically split, half emerald and half amethyst, with a black dragon¡¯s pupil running through the center like a rift. From this rift, golden clock hands emerged, turning as if marking the passage of time. Around the edges, golden symbols resembling numbers added to their mysterious presence.


    It is a little obvious, but these items are connected to him since they represent two of his forms. These artifacts were created by him; he made them to be his symbol. However, contrary to the expectations, they do not possess any crazy and powerful features.


    He created them only so he could be easily identifiable, as a sign of his authority, this is why he designed them as mere space storage, a very, very good one, since space is really big and stable, even capable of sustaining life inside. Additionally, the time flows slightly slower withing them. But that''s all, they have nothing unique or even a skill, they even lack an artifact spirit, soul or even mind, they only possess a basic consciousness.


    He simply carries all three artifacts within himself, storing them inside of him. He doesn''t need to mark them with blood, as he created them to be connected to his soul, allowing him to sense their location.


    Then he goes outside, and the three pedestals begin to hide in the floor again.


    ...


    Now, in front of the first room he enters, he can see the other two doors. Now he understands, the key to both rooms is his artifacts.


    Feicui Long can finally sense which room is calling him more strongly. It is the left room, but something inside him tells him it is better to start with the right.


    So, he does just that. He takes out his ring and places it in the socket for a moment. Then the door starts to open upwards. It is the same situation as in the previous room, the corridor is very "long".


    Now that the call is a bit weaker, he notices something. The corridor is not actually that long. The problem is the space formation in the corridor which expands the distance.


    Even so, he doesn''t care and continues walking.


    ...


    He has been walking for about 30 minutes, and he estimates that the path will soon come to an end. He is not wrong, as just a few steps later, he enters the room.


    This time, the room is not empty. As it has many statues of different beings, from dragons to phoenixes, from demons to devils, from angels to titans, every statue is part of a bigger formation, aiming its eyes at a large well-decorated crystal coffin. Any being that dares to try to take the coffin will be killed.


    He knows this, yet despite the risks, he steps forward. because with just one look, he can feel the familiarity with the coffin...


    As he nears the coffin, he senses the formation gathering energy, a savage and powerful energy, capable of vaporizing him.


    Although he ignores it, he can now touch the coffin. In the next moment, its lid begins to turn transparent, revealing a woman, a very beautiful woman, well developed with attributes between medium and large. Her skin is as white as a pearl, flaw. She has full red lips, jet-black hair like onyx and pointed ears.


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    At the sight of the woman, he feels his heart nearly stops. Desperately, he tries to pull her from the coffin, but it does not open. He attempts different methods, yet none are successful.


    In his desperation, he slips his finger under the lid and pulls, again and again, refusing to stop even as they begin to bleed. After a few minutes, the coffin¡¯s formation is almost covered in his blood. Somehow, this manages to activate the formation, allowing him to lift the lid.


    Now, he sees the woman surrounded by priceless treasures, though tempted, he ignores them and lifts her carefully with grace.


    After taking the woman, the coffin closes back at an incredible speed, meaning he can only take one thing from it. But he doesn''t care, nothing is more valuable to him, since this woman is more important than everything else in the universe.


    He carries her like a princess, bringing back memories of the past. But this time, he can''t let them take over his mind, he needs to leave the room.


    ...


    After leaving the room, he carefully places the woman on the floor of the Fortress. Then he takes a health potion and pours it over his fingers, closing the injury. Next, he applies an ointment to prevent scarring, and finally, he takes a blood restauration pill to replenish his lost blood.


    Then he takes off his shirt and places it behind the woman¡¯s head, improvising a pillow. After that, he can''t help but hug her and shed a few tears. He knows he shouldn''t be able to cry, but the emotion is slipping through a crack inside him. More importantly he is focused on the relief of being reunited with her rather than on something that shouldn''t be happening.


    Feicui Long with a few tears running down his cheeks, says: "My little disciple, this master of yours, thought that he was never going to see you again... I''m so glad... I''m so glad to find you, I don''t care who did this, but you are the only thing that remains for me... my brothers, my sisters, my master, my empire, my treasures, my strength, and cultivation. I have lost everything, but that doesn''t matter any more... because you are here with me..."


    Feicui Long kisses her forehead and place her again on the improvise pillow: "My Mariane, your master has something to do before we can go. Wait for me a little longer."


    Feicui Long doesn''t realize that Mariane, even if she has not yet regained consciousness, can still hear some of what he says.


    Feicui Long stands up and goes to the last door. The door has three places where he has to place the three artifacts.


    He places them and quickly enters the room.


    ...


    Feicui Long expected this room to be the same as the others, but it is actually different because, in the middle of the corridor, there''s another little room. How does he know this is not the final room? Because he can see the continuation of the corridor on the other side of the room.


    But even more surprisingly, he is now in front of another pedestal holding five things: a little dragon resembling his dragon form, three pearls or gems and something circular that depicts his two forms chasing one another, with his human form in the center. However, this circular object sometimes changes into different forms, like spheres, cubes and other shapes, all displaying the same images.


    Regarding these objects, the first is his dragon core, where a dragon store his cultivation energy, the pearls are dragon pearls or dragon gems, a condensation and manifestation of the dragon¡¯s powers, and the last one is his dragon origin, the origin of a dragon¡¯s power.


    He takes all of them, and each one merges into his body. Unfortunately, there''s almost no energy in his dragon core.


    After taking them, he goes further down the corridor.


    ...


    In the final room, he can finally see what is calling him so strongly. Although he already knows what it is thanks to the previous room, the calling has weakened significantly, since he took the five things with him.


    He is now in front of a dragon in a western form, lying dead in the floor. The magnificent floor, surrounded by mighty high walls, riddled with cracks and holes, the magnificent floor is tainted by blood. Blood once a celestial sight has now turned into a black darkness blood corrupted due to the powerful dragon-killing poison, specially designed to combat him.


    In terms of body size, the dragon is medium-sized or even considered slightly small. However, its powerful constitution and the sheer aura emanating from its corpse alone leave no doubt its might.


    The dragon has emerald scales covering almost his entire body, with brilliant golden lower scales on his ventral side. His head has four large horns rising like peaks to the sky and three gems on his forehead, one in the right, an amethyst, one on the left, a topaz, and the one in the middle, an emerald, each one once holds a power beyond imagination.


    From his head, a mane of emerald color emerges, following the line of his spine all the way to the tip of his tail. His claws are also brilliant golden, and his fangs shine white, like the most valuable pearls. Feicui Long doesn''t need to see the eyes to know how they look...


    Because this is him! This is his body!


    He sighs in front of this sight. Not many people can see their own death body, let alone their own body after being killed.


    But Feicui Long left sentimentality behind. As he observes the new formation in this ancient battlefield and understands the logic of other rooms, he now can say there''s another limit. Since he doesn''t know what that limit is, he needs to move faster.


    He calculates how much energy he can use from the dragon core. He can only use it ten times to extract something from his old body. The blood is discarded, because the poison, with a 100% probability, is corrupted.


    So, he starts with the first thing he wants to take. Running in front of his dead head, he jumps onto it, using the space energy to take the eyes. Then, He quickly takes all of his horns and gems. Taking advantage of being on the head, he split one use of the energy to take the mane in behind the head and some scales with him.


    Then, at the neck, he uses the energy to take the backbone with some effort. next he jumps out of the dragon and goes in front of its chest, taking his inverted scale, along with some of the golden scales. After this, he takes out his heart.


    But he does not stop here. He now goes for the claws and the fangs, again splitting the energy. Then, he takes the wings. Just when he thinks he has everything, he remembers he almost forgot one of the most important things: the brain. Using the last bit of energy, he takes it.


    Now he looks at his mutilated dead body and cannot help but admit it is not pleasant sight. Even more, he feels slightly strange dismembering his own body is almost offensive to him. But he only can say sorry to himself, because he needs it.


    After taking the last piece, an energy force pulls him back to the exit of the three rooms, expelling him from inside.


    The door closes as fast as possible, and he is now with Mariane again. It seems like the person who did this only allowed him to take ten parts...


    Feicui Long has mixed feelings about whoever did this. They helped him a lot, even allowing him to reunite with his beloved disciple, but all of this is his property, and more importantly, it is his OWN BODY.


    The reasons he does not take his entire body with him are simple. First, his core does not have enough energy to move the whole body. In fact, it is only because Feicui Long is highly skilled and familiar with the manipulation of his energy that he is able to use that small amount of energy to accomplish this.


    Second, his spatial bags do not have enough space, and his space storage necklace would be almost full, and he doesn''t want to remove all of his items. Besides, the other storage artifacts were at the door during this time. But more importantly, since the poison was specifically made to counter him, it contains things that can harm dragons, time and space itself. This means the poison could destroy his storage.


    Even if he could, he does not want to take that poison with him. It is true that the poison is stronger against dragons or beings of the space clan or time clan and weaker against beings like mortals. However, since this poison is at the absolute emperor level, it is lethal to almost everything, making it a great menace to this world.


    The last reason is not that obvious, but the formation that expels Feicui Long has also been restraining his body, so he can''t take it with him.


    But that is not something that matters at this moments, he sits beside a sleeping Mariane, he relaxes a bit, then starts taking the next step...

 Chapter 35 – The Mysterious Draconic Ruins - 3

    Feicui Long is going to use a technique called the Body Integration Technique. This technique is primarily designed to allow a person to integrate, fuse, or replace their own body parts with those of another being.


    Although this may seem like a rare technique that no one uses, and it is partially true, especially since not many cultivators use it, it is not for the reasons many people think.


    There are so many reasons, including beliefs and moral implications, but the three main ones are as follows. The first is that this process is painful, and even if you don''t have to remove the original ones before using the technique, the process is still painful, which, depending on the part, can range from mild discomfort to EXTREME PAIN.


    The second is simple. The incompatibility between the body part and the cultivator''s body may cause it to fail, harm the cultivator, or prevent it from reaching its full potential.


    The third and most important reason is the risk of failure. Although failure does not always have consequences, when it does, they can be severe. The likelihood of failure increases depending on the body part involved. Some, like the heart or brain, have a higher probability of failure, making the risks more significant. The consequences also vary: the brain or heart can suffer severe damage, leading to brain damage or even death, while failure in other parts may cause only mild pain.


    This last reason is the most crucial, because if one attempts the procedure again, they must endure the same pain once more while also risking the same severe consequences.


    This is why many people avoid it. However, others are willing to take the risk, as some body parts are linked to certain skills, others possess their own skills, and some have special capabilities.


    For example, the Third Eye technique not only allows one to obtain a newly created eye specifically for the skill, which is extremely painful, but also enables the use of another being¡¯s eye as a replacement. Many opt for this second option, as the Third Eye retains the abilities of the original eye, if it had any, and even enhances them.


    Even other races use it, not just mortals as one might assume.


    That is why he wants to use this technique, but he also has no chance of failing for one important reason. Others have to integrate highly incompatible body parts from different races or individuals, but he is using HIS OWN BODY PARTS. Even if they come from another race, his connection to them does not disappear, especially since he possesses his dragon core, dragon origin, and dragon soul.


    Now, it is not like all of his collected parts have skills or special capabilities, only four do. the gems which are connected to his species capabilities to using space, time and dragon powers, as well as the three energies associated with them.


    His eyes can see, things ranging from all dimensions and all places, to the past, present and future, also can see the power flow and energy flow, especially the related to the dragons, his heart which has skills from his species and his brain, this one has skills from his species but also from his too high cultivation realm.


    The other parts do not have unique skills, but they are valuable materials for crafting. The exception is his backbone, which he wants to integrate, not only to improve his reflexes but also to gain better control over his energy and energy flow. More importantly, since the backbone contains bone marrow, it means he can recover his dragon blood, allowing him to transform back into a dragon.


    Also, he does not want to integrate the gems because once he recovers his dragon form, they will grow again with it.


    With that in mind, he took a deep breath and continued the process. He started with the least painful part, his heart. He placed one of his hands on his thigh while sitting cross-legged. With his other hand, he took the large heart, now reduced to a normal size, and brought it close to his chest. Then, with the same hand, he begin making signs quickly.


    Then, a brilliant light started emanating from his chest, almost as if it were devouring the heart. Next, he pushed it into the light, causing a sharp pain that made him squeeze his thigh. After a few seconds, the light disappeared along with the heart.


    He takes a deep breath; he is not stopping here. He grabs his eyes and stares at them, but no vision comes to him, not even a single image. Sighing, he takes them and repeats the process, making him arch his back from the pain.


    After that, even though he is sweating pearls, he takes the backbone and carefully does the same. As the nerves and neurons reconnect to his backbone, an electrifying pain runs freely through his body.


    Finally, while he is almost exhausted, he begins with the last part: the brain. While doing this, he takes extra care, slowly, even though he knows this prolongs his torture. However, he needs to do it with millimetric precision. When the integration starts, he can''t help but let out a scream of pain. Next, he grits his teeth.


    At a certain point, he starts losing consciousness from the immense pain, since he can sense every neuron in his body. Every touch is amplified by thousands... no, millions of times. Even the most delicate breeze causes him pain.


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    Thankfully, this only lasts a few minutes, but it makes him so tired that he can''t avoid falling asleep beside Mariane.


    ...


    A few hours have passed. He wakes up, remembers everything, quickly puts his shirt on, and carefully takes Mariane in his arms again, carrying her like a princess as he goes back the same way.


    After this, he finally leaves the fortress and sees Isabella waiting for him at the established camp. She also sees him and quickly runs to hug him.


    But she stops after seeing Mariane. At that moment, she fell silent. Feicui Long wants to explain this to her, but first, he needs to put Mariane in a safe place. So, he walks to the camp and places her on a spare bedroll.


    He cannot see it, but Isabella has a sad and worried expression, almost as if she wants to cry. However, she holds back and now hugs him from behind.


    Feicui Long turns around and returns her hug, but a loud sound catches their attention.


    Then both get out of the tent and look at the Fortress. In the air, Carlotta is flying. She loudly declares in the Absolute Language: "My sovereign, my work here can finally end. I''m going to wait for your return in the empire, so quickly recover your strength to face what is coming next. This Carlotta is loyal to you, in this life or another. I wish luck to both of you."


    In the next moment, the same space rift that Feicui Long saw that night appears. Carlotta flaps her large wings and enters the rift, but that''s not all. Isabella and Feicui Long can see how the buried Fortress starts to emerge, and at the same time, the ground below it begins to recover its previous state...


    Or so it seems, since Feicui Long knows what is happening. Although it may appear that way at first sight, if you look closely, there is no energy coming from the Fortress to restore the ground. Furthermore, the earth in the buried Fortress is not falling and filling the hole as it normally would.


    But it is being restored in layers because time itself is restoring this zone. Feicui Long can see some trees returning to a previous state. Even the distracted Isabella is now noticing something strange.


    This is the Time Rewind Formation of the Dragonic Fortress. Originally, he placed this formation to restore the damage to the Fortress, since the original function of this artifact is to defend the expansive universe borders.


    Because a universe is in constant danger from extra-universal invaders. For example, some dangerous individuals who want to conquer it, exiled people from another universe, or criminals fleeing from their own universe.


    But the most dangerous ones are those who live in the "void" between universes, or at least, that''s what many people think. Since the space between universes isn''t empty, it is there that one can find the Infinity Ocean. Although it is not filled with water, it is instead composed of pure, savage, and ruthless energy.


    When a cultivator reaches the Astral King Realm, they can survive in space for one to three hours without air while enduring radiation. Upon reaching the Epic Realm, this time increases to three to five days. Once they reach the Spirit Realm, they can survive from one to three months. Of course, between these major increases, there are smaller increments in other realms.


    What does this have to do with anything? A lot. Since they can survive even in the void of space, they can now endure the Infinity Ocean. And that is only considering mortals; for other races, it is easier. The problem is that the Infinity Ocean not only contains powerful and infinite energy, but it also has currents, storms, and other dangers, making survival extremely difficult. Although the Infinity Ocean contains some planets and even galaxies, this happens because sometimes a planet, a galaxy, or other celestial bodies get expelled through a rift from a universe, forced out by the universe''s borders or due to other phenomena.


    So, in other words, it is a hellish place to live. Even in the planets or galaxies that survive the punishment of the ocean of energy, many beings who endure that environment want to enter a universe. However, due to the harsh conditions in which they evolved, they are often highly hostile, disruptive, and dangerous. It is not uncommon for one or two universes to fall to these beings, whether due to misplaced trust or outright invasion.


    However, it is not like Feicui Long does not accept people who genuinely want to live here. Whether they come from another universe or the Infinity Ocean, he accepts them, but he cannot tolerate invaders or disruptive ones.


    This is why he made the Draconic Fortress, the Space Fortress, and the Time Fortress to keep them in check. However, even with those, he still has to fight some of them. So, he made these three artifacts as durable as possible. By the way, they are not the only artifact buildings he has created; he has made even bigger ones.


    Although he has to admit, they are not really that great as artifacts since they are quite simple. This is because he concentrated all of his efforts on designing them for attack, defense, speed, and recovery.


    By the way, each of the three fortresses specializes in one area. The Draconic Fortress focuses on attack, having the highest attack power, low defense, medium speed, and medium recovery. The Space Fortress prioritizes speed, with the highest speed, medium attack, medium defense, and low recovery. The Time Fortress excels in defense and recovery but has low speed and low attack.


    That''s why this formation is necessary, but he only designed it to affect the fortress and the people inside it...


    Who can modify it? More importantly, how did it enter this world? Although, he thinks it is probably due to the connection between him and the fortress.


    He and Isabella watch as the bastion rises into the air, revealing the true size of the artifact building. Isabella''s mouth drops in shock. The bastion spans 21 square kilometers (8.108 square miles), with walls 21 meters (68.90 ft) high and 15 meters (49.21 ft) thick. It has towers reaching 35 meters (114.83 ft).


    The doors are massive, standing 15 meters (49.21 ft) tall and 15 meters (49.21 ft) wide. The central building rises 55 meters tall and spans 45 meters wide. Beneath the fortress, a formation projects energy, illuminating the night across the entire area.


    When the Draconic Fortress reaches the space rift, many chains emerge from within, wrapping around the fortress. Their mere presence radiates immense power, and they pull the fortress like a toy, submerging it into the space rift.


    Feicui Long, witnessing all of this, frowns and shakes his head. He doesn¡¯t know where the chains come from, but it is very annoying to see someone else taking what belongs to him as if they had created it.


    He sighs again and hugs Isabella from behind, saying to her, "My wife, thinking about this is a waste of time, so let''s go to sleep."


    Isabella, a bit surprised, happily follows him.

 Chapter 36 – The Secret of Isabella

    Feicui Long wakes up and analyzes what happened yesterday because something doesn''t fit well. The fortress looked like it had been buried in the ground for a long time. Even the trees surrounding it were nothing but dry wood.


    Something that takes pretty more time than when the space rift appears, the average time is between 6 months to 2 years, depending on the species, the species are oaks, that takes between 1 year to 2 years, eight times the three months and this combines with what Carlotta said in her farewell.


    This realization makes him understand something. Carlotta had been trapped here in a time loop, waiting for him. Now, he feels a little guilty for the way he treated her...


    But who could have predicted his return so precisely? Even more than that, who could have manipulated time itself and made a Supreme Dragon Queen wait for him?


    Feicui Long shakes his head. This is becoming a recurring thing. He has no time to dwell on such matters, at least not right now.


    ...


    Feicui Long and Isabella dismantle the camp. Now, all that remains is to carry Mariane, but that is easy. Feicui Long holds her like a princess once again.


    So, the three of them begin their journey back home. It would have been difficult if Feicui Long didn¡¯t have Kagetsume. Thanks to his beloved raven, they don¡¯t need to waste time remembering which path they took.


    On the way home, Isabella looks slightly upset, as if something is bothering her. However, Feicui Long doesn¡¯t notice the reason, as he is focused on watching Kagetsume in the air to lead the group.


    He knows that she is upset since he sometimes sees her whispering to herself, clenching her small fists, and, on rare occasions, stamping on the ground. It looks like she doesn''t want Feicui Long to know because she tries to do it when he isn''t looking, but he can see her out of the corner of his eye.


    ...


    This goes on until they get home. Everyone is very worried, especially Gloria, who has the task of protecting Isabella.


    Fortunately, they are fine. However, Gloria is still mad at Feicui Long for putting Isabella in danger and not listening to Isabella''s mother''s suggestion.


    He doesn''t want to argue about it or even explain his thoughts, so he just says, "Isabella and I are engaged. She chooses to follow me. I think you should respect that fact."


    After that, he continues walking to his room and places Mariane on a bedroll beside the bed.


    Isabella then asks him, "Honey... are you putting Mariane here?"


    Feicui Long sees her and replies, "Yeah, Mariane is my disciple. I need to watch her to make sure she''s okay. I know you''re worried, but don''t be so concerned, Isabella."


    He quickly changes the subject and asks her, "By the way, didn''t you tell me you had to reveal our engagement to your party and the others?"


    Isabella immediately remembers and says, "Yes, you''re right! I had to prepare something. I''ll look for Annie to help me prepare for it."


    Subsequently her step could be hear in the house, Feicui Long shakes his head and sighs only to say to himself the next moment: "This girl, I need to prepare her to become a woman, like Reiko or she can''t face the consequences of becoming my woman..."


    It''s not that he doesn''t like her innocence or her lovely personality; in fact, he likes these traits in her very much. But he has a dark future ahead of him. Also, with the way the Dragon Clan works, she will have many enemies... because of him and his title.


    Clearing his mind of this, he crouches to see Mariane''s face and caresses her, saying, "Dream well, my beautiful girl. Dream well."


    ...


    At night, everyone is reunited in the dining room to eat as usual, but most of them are surprised because dinner is much more lavish than usual. Every dish is carefully prepared with love.


    Only three people understand what this means: Isabella and Gloria. One, because she is a member of the Sky Lion Family, and the other because of her familiarity with the family. The last is Feicui Long, since his conversation with Isabella.


    When everyone is seated at the table, Isabella starts speaking: "Everyone, I had Annie and Big Sister Gloria help me cook this lavish meal. It comes from the Sky Lion Family tradition, a tradition used in my family for a long time, and it is used for..."


    Isabella takes Feicui Long''s hand, which gives her enough courage to say the last line: "It is for announcing to the most important people that someone is getting married. I know all of you know about my relationship with Feicui Long. He and I want to take our relationship one step further, so we are now engaged. Also, I would like to apologize for making you hear all those things during the night of the first journey..."


    This last part makes Isabella blush.


    Almost everyone in Isabella''s party claps their hands, with only one exception: the beastwoman with a tail and wolf ears. But this awkward moment is far from over, because in the next moment, the beastwoman stands up and hits the table with her hand so hard that, if it weren''t for the reinforcements from the inscriptions, the table could collapse.


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    Then she screams, first, starting with a low voice that increases over time: "Why, Charles? Why! WHY! WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS GUY? I HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR THREE YEARS, AND YOU HAVEN''T EVEN GIVEN ME ONE CHANCE!"


    Everyone is in shock, with only two exceptions: Feicui Long and Caroline. Feicui Long already knew this, and Caroline, as Freja''s best friend and childhood friend, also knew it. However, even she has to admit that she didn¡¯t expect Freja to do this in front of everyone.


    She even pulls her arm and tries to make her sit back down, but Freja is too angry and ignores Caroline.


    Just as Feicui Long is about to reply sarcastically and Gloria is about to stand up to defend Isabella...


    Isabella opens her mouth, looks at Freja with a sad expression, and says, "Freja, I already knew that. I knew you had been in love with me, but I have to say sorry, I can''t reciprocate. It''s not that you''re an ugly girl or a bad person, but... I just don''t like women... I..."


    Then, Isabella does something that, this time, makes everyone in the room open their mouths in shock, even Feicui Long.


    She takes off her mask, revealing her face for the first time to everyone except her family, her close ones, and Feicui Long.


    After that, she says, "I am a woman, Freja. I am not a man. But also, Feicui Long has treated me nicely. He has not only saved my life but also returned my happiness to me. He heals my heart with his sweet words and even listens to my stupid requests. I truly love him."


    This, combined with what she says, makes the shock even greater because Isabella is very kind. It is rare for her to reply to what other people say, although this only applies to those close to her.


    Freja feels like her world is shaking and simply falls into her seat, looking as if something inside her has broken.


    Then, Andrea bursts into tears. This shocks everyone even more. Even Freja, despite her state, is surprised. How can someone that cheerfully be crying now?


    Andrea subsequently jumps from her seat and hugs Isabella, crying. Isabella can only look at her with a bitter smile and say, "Hi, Andrea..."


    It''s not that Andrea likes Isabella; Isabella knows what is happening...


    In the next moment, Andrea, crying, starts speaking: "Isabella, I''m so sorry, I''m so sorry. I''m... I thought I was never going to see you again... After you left, my heart hurt. I''m sorry for not saying anything about what Garret was doing... I''m really sorry..."


    Isabella hears this name and almost freezes, causing her to squeeze Feicui Long''s hand. But thanks to that, she recovers her composure and starts consoling Andrea, saying: "It''s not your fault, Andrea. It''s his fault, all of this. What he did to me is the fault of that bastard Garret. You have no guilt."


    Andrea then shakes her head and replies, "It''s my fault, it''s all my fault... I knew long before that happened..."


    Isabella almost freezes, but she doesn''t stop consoling Andrea and says, "Even with that, you have no guilt, he''s the one who did it."


    Andrea continues shaking her head and says, "I knew long, long before that happened. At that time, I saw Sieglinde, our supposed friend, she was kissing Garret. More importantly, she was already doing that with Garret at that time. I thought they didn''t see me. I wanted to tell you before they realized, but I was wrong, because the next day, both of them stopped me..."


    Everyone remains silent, even Isabella, who is shaking a bit.


    Andrea then continues: "And took me to an alley. In that place, Sieglinde held me by the arms, and with Garret''s superior cultivation, he... he... he..."


    Andrea starts crying harder. Isabella, hearing this and knowing what is coming, hugs Andrea to comfort her even more. This gives Andrea a little more will to continue, and she resumes the story: "He raped me. I cried, I cried and begged him to stop, but he didn''t stop. He continued for hours, and then he threatened me by saying that his father, the commander of the guard and head of the Triumph family, who at that time were the right hand of your family, could make my family disappear. I was hurt and scared. Hearing this made me fear even more..."


    Isabella hugs Andrea even tighter and squeezes Feicui Long''s hand harder.


    Andrea continues: "I was afraid and promised not to say anything. I thought he was going to let me go with that, but instead, he forced me to become one of his ''women'' and continued abusing me for a year. But at the same time, he kept flirting with you, his fianc¨¦e. I could see every time how he only wanted to take your body, how he and Sieglinde had been doing this for a year already, but I couldn''t do anything. My weakness and fear blocked my mind..."


    Andrea then adds to her story: "Until that day arrived. On that day, I finally reunited the courage to tell you. Even his threats couldn''t make me back down. I really didn''t want you to go through all of this. Until that time I saw you in that street, crying in the rain, I knew I was late, too late, and my heart hurt, hurt so badly. In the end, I couldn''t say it to you, because I didn''t want to hurt you more."


    Andrea finally finishes her story: "You have always been too kind and good to the people of the town. I don''t know how someone could do this to you, and I also didn''t want to corrupt your mind with my story. So I shut up, not knowing how this affected you. The Sky Lion Family told me you had gone to live with your uncle in Feldbach. I regretted not saying anything to you. I thought I was always going to live with this regret. This is why I ask you, forgive me, Isabella. I failed you..."


    Andrea continues crying, this time even harder...


    Isabella also starts crying and loudly says: "Why are you always like this?!"


    Isabella then added, "You always worried about me, but you don¡¯t think about yourself for a second. OF COURSE, I FORGIVE YOU! You have always been my best friend, my childhood friend, my sister, Andrea. But what happened to you is a thousand times worse. Why didn¡¯t you tell me?! I COULD HAVE MADE THAT BASTARD PAY FOR WHAT HE DID TO YOU!"


    The two women hug each other and continue crying, while everyone remains silent. Fortunately, the twins had taken the little kids away before. Andrea reached her darkest moment, but now everyone in the room has mixed feelings. Gloria is holding back her anger. Freja is trembling with rage, barely stopping herself from breaking the table. Caroline is silent, but she is also very angry. Even the dwarf Arianne, who is normally very calm, now has an angry expression on her face. Andrea is a very good woman, almost like the mother of the party, a kind soul who always puts others before herself.


    Feicui Long is the only one who remains calm inside, but he has to put on an angry face. He likes Andrea, although she doesn¡¯t interact much with him, and now he understands why. She is very good with the girls and sometimes helps him, as well as Isabella.


    ...


    That night, everyone loses their appetite and goes to sleep.


    Isabella and Andrea go to sleep together. This time, Feicui Long sleeps alone for the first time in more than three months.


    But he is not mad; he sleeps calmly that night beside Mariane.


    The next morning, he learns from Gloria that Isabella once had a fianc¨¦ named Garret Triumph and a friend named Sieglinde Hall. He deceived Isabella into sleeping with him before marriage, and she did. But only three days later, he invited her to his house, only for her to find him having sex with Sieglinde.


    This happened when Isabella was 19 years old, meaning Andrea''s situation occurred when she was 18. Now, both are 24 years old. Then, he eats breakfast and goes to his room to cultivate.

 Chapter 37 – The Awakening of Mariane

    Feicui Long sits down on his bed, accidentally sniffing the smell of his bed, a sweet smell. Although he used to clean his sheets every day, that was before Annie came to the house. Now, she is the one who cleans them every day. The sweet smell of Isabella is impregnated in the sheets.


    This makes him feel a bit strange, even though he can''t define what he feels for Isabella. He can''t help but feel somehow a bit empty not having her by his side.


    He quickly shakes his head. He needs to cultivate, cultivate!


    Feicui Long then begins to gather energy and circulate the energy through his body, only to next guide it to his Dantian.


    This process repeats, once, twice, three times, and so on.


    Until he can almost sense the border, but something is moving the limit away. So he keeps trying, not caring about it. At one point, he touches it, but something blocks his path.


    Feicui Long sighs and says: "Failing again, stupid curse. At this rate, I will break through to grade 2 in twenty more years."


    Feicui Long is a bit frustrated. Even with the help of his body parts, nothing changes at all. Although he almost awakens his special soul, he lets his body fall backward onto the bed, lying down.


    While thinking about the fact that he only needs one drop, one drop of his blood... That''s when he remembers something. Mariane! Mariane has some of his blood, but not just some. She has his blood essence, the second best of the three blood types, only behind the blood origin.


    He jumps off the bed and walks until he is in front of Mariane. Then he says: "Sorry, Mariane, your master must apologize for doing this again."


    After saying this, he kisses Mariane again and introduces his psionic energy, extracting a drop of his blood.


    The drop emanates a mysterious energy, with a color that changes between red, emerald, amethyst, and topaz, but also shows a celestial sight, shifting from stars and galaxies to moments in time and images of power.


    Then he slowly places her on the bedroll again, although he could swear, he sees her smiling. Perhaps it is just his imagination.


    In the next moment, he is once again on the bed, sitting cross-legged, moving his hands in front of his chest, placing one on top of the other, with the top palm facing downward and the bottom palm facing upward. In the middle of both hands, the drop is floating.


    After that, he starts to integrate it, which causes the drop to rotate for a moment before being absorbed into his chest.


    With that, many things happen in sequence. First, the image of a dragon, the exact image of his dragon form inside him but more translucent, opens its eyes. This sends out a wave of soul energy, scaring many beings for hundreds of kilometers to the point that they fall to the ground for a moment.


    The second thing that happens is that the three colorful orbs floating inside Feicui Long finally go from a dull color to a bright one and also begin to orbit as if they were planets. On the same orbit, the three orbs form something like a triangle.


    The third thing is that Feicui Long''s body starts to radiate light and experience changes. Some important changes are his hair, which changes to an emerald color, and his eyes, which now look the same as in his first life. Other changes include marks that appear all over his body, especially in the parts where he has integrated. Additionally, the barrier keeping him in the Elemental Realm Grade 1 completely disappears due to a strong force breaking it.


    Subsequently, Feicui Long senses a gaze from above and opens his eyes, looking in that direction. But in the next moment, his eyes see an extremely bright light, hurting them, and he says: "A god with divine authority! What is happening!"


    He falls backward, covering his eyes with his hands while they bleed, until a powerful wave of energy coming from the three orbs disperses the force and restores his eyes.


    Then the gaze from above disappears. He can''t sense anything anymore, but this makes him realize that he is being watched from the door.


    He runs to the door and opens it abruptly, discovering Annie. He takes her by the shoulder and says: "I need you to sign a contract with me. I can''t let you go after seeing that."


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    Annie, shaking, can only nod and say: "I understand, my lord. I understand..."


    Feicui Long claps his hands and produces a modified servant contract. He could make her his slave, but he is not that cruel, so he only modifies a servant contract that grants her full freedom, but she must be absolutely loyal to him and cannot speak about him without his permission.


    Annie bites one of her fingers and signs the contract. Then she falls, shaking. Feicui Long feels a bit guilty, so he takes a copy of his cultivation technique in this life, along with an empty spatial bag, into which he places some energy stones, around 50, and gives it to her, saying: "You''re now my servant. You are free. The only conditions are your absolute loyalty and not speaking about me. This is for you. I need powerful subordinates. With this, you can now cultivate."


    Annie, a bit surprised, happily takes all these things and, bowing, says: "Thank you, my lord, for showing mercy..."


    Feicui Long waves his hand and says: "It''s nothing. Now we share destinies. It''s the least I can do for you. You came to change the sheets, right? You can enter now."


    Annie nods and enters quickly.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long is going to eat. He has now broken through from grade 1 to grade 2, but more importantly, he can finally cultivate normally. He can also now dispel the curse affecting the twin girls. Of course, it should not be forgotten that he will now be able to produce grade 5 medicines more often. It still will not be 100%, but at least a little, which means he will now be able to earn more money and do other things as well.


    Now, in the kitchen, he decides to make something light to celebrate a little. He takes one of the delicious breads Annie made, some ingredients like tomatoes, onions, and lettuce, and combines them with dried quartz deer meat. Then, he adds a little vinaigrette and sits down to eat it peacefully.


    After a moment, Freja enters with dark circles under her eyes and no energy. Normally, he would not pay much attention to it, but since he is in a good mood, he shares his sandwich with her. She hesitates before accepting it but eventually does and starts eating it happily, improving her mood a little.


    After eating, Feicui Long goes to see Isabella. She is sitting next to Andrea. Although he wants to spend some time by her side, he resigns himself and simply returns home, where he plays with the girls and teaches the twins until nightfall.


    Tonight, Isabella will not sleep with him either. She told him she would be sleeping with Andrea for this night and the next, as they wanted to catch up.


    ¡­


    The next day was nothing special. He cultivated, produced some medicines, made himself a sandwich, shared it with Freja, and played with the girls until nightfall.


    But that night was different because, while he was sleeping, he felt someone climbing onto his bed. Ever since what happened with Isabella, he had regained his sense of alertness, but at the same time, since he usually slept with Isabella, he assumed it was her and hugged her, spooning as they slept.


    The next morning, he was only woken up by Isabella''s angry and surprised shout: "What is going on here? When did you wake up? Why are you in bed with my darling?"


    He could only hear her and others murmuring. This made the tired Feicui Long open his eyes to see what was happening, and he saw it clearly. A girl with onyx-black hair was sleeping in his arms while he hugged her. She looked very happy.


    Isabella, furious, was about to pull her off the bed, but Feicui Long stopped her hand with his own and, shaking his head, told her: "Don''t worry, Isabella. Mariane has the bad habit of sleeping with me. It''s my fault for spoiling her, sorry. But since she is already asleep, let''s let her rest a little longer. She will need food soon anyway."


    Isabella was quite annoyed, but she could only accept it. Feicui Long went with her to have breakfast. During breakfast, Isabella acted clingier than usual, practically not climbing on top of him only because she still had some decency left.


    After breakfast, he took a bath. Isabella wanted to bathe with him, but this time he wanted to bathe alone. After all, he wanted to meditate a little on how he would tell Mariane everything that had happened and what was going on.


    After bathing and getting dressed, by the way, Isabella had to bring him his clothes to the bathroom since he couldn''t bathe in the bath he had built exclusively for them because Mariane was there, and Isabella didn¡¯t want to let him bathe there. Once dressed, he went to Mariane and gently shook her with his hand, saying: "Little one, it''s time to wake up."


    But Mariane wouldn''t wake up at all. He didn''t know if she was pretending to be asleep, but Feicui Long had no choice but to use the heavy artillery: "Mariane, if you don¡¯t get up, the master won¡¯t let you practice with him, and you¡¯ll have to do it alone."


    This made Mariane, still half-asleep, open her eyes like lightning and sit up. Seeing this, Feicui Long couldn''t help but smile. This disciple of his hadn¡¯t changed one bit since the day he picked her up as a baby...


    When Mariane saw Feicui Long, even though he had several differences, like how his new body was a little inferior to her master''s, she recognized him immediately and hugged him: "Master! You''re alive!"


    Feicui Long returned the hug and, smiling bitterly, said to her ear: "No, Mariane, that day I died. In fact, come, I need to tell you everything. But first, you need to have breakfast and take a shower. I already got clothes for you."


    Mariane, a little sad, said: "That means¡­ Master lost?"


    Feicui Long chuckled a little: "I''m not invincible, Mariane. No such thing exists, well, with the sole exception of the Absolute Sovereign and the Absolute Heaven. Everyone else could be defeated."


    After that, Mariane went to have breakfast and take a bath.


    She didn¡¯t realize it, but a very angry Isabella was watching them, biting her lip. And her anger only worsened when she saw that, after this, Feicui Long left together with Mariane without her noticing.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long took Mariane to a secluded part of the forest, threw down the fragmented formation, and slowly began telling her everything that had happened since his death, about the coffin, this life, and the others.

 Chapter 38 – A Reunion Between Master and Disciple

    Feicui Long finished explaining everything that had happened in all this time: "So, that''s all. I found you in a modified Draconic fortress and carried you to my new home."


    Mariane looks at Feicui Long''s face with a sad expression and hugs him: "Master, I''m so sorry for what you''ve been through, and I wasn''t by your side at that moment..."


    Feicui Long gently caresses Mariane''s back and says: "It doesn''t matter anymore, so you don''t have to worry about me."


    Mariane feels something strange about her master. She has spent more time with him than anyone else, even the other disciples. She knows him very well. He is a loving person, although he doesn''t usually express it. He truly loves those close to him.


    That means he can''t be this happy. His happiness feels almost artificial, like a machine. Doubtfully, she asks: "Master, you... you sealed your... f..."


    But Feicui Long quickly puts his hand over her mouth and says: "Don''t worry, Mariane. More importantly, I remember when I took you with me for the first time."


    Mariane wants to say something but sits down and lets her master narrate the story, even though this is like the fifth or tenth time she has heard it.


    So, Feicui Long starts to tell the story.


    ...


    On that day, I was returning from the universe''s border after killing invaders. I could have used my power to teleport back to my empire, to the gate of my God Realm, or even directly into my God Realm itself. But this time, I wanted to see the universe, as I like to do from time to time.


    On my way home, I saw a rare sight, a strange artifact in the middle of nowhere. From a distance, it resembled something between a coffin and a strange capsule.


    This aroused my curiosity, so I approached to see it. But the closer I got, the stranger this artifact seemed to me, because the first thing I sensed was that it had been made by a being on the level of a Supreme God.


    When I finally reached the artifact, I was even more surprised since it contained a human-like baby.


    I stepped closer to touch it, thinking, who would put a baby inside this thing in the middle of nowhere? This world was inhabited, but the nearest civilization was about 25,000 km (15,534 mi) away.


    I tried using my eyes, but I couldn''t see anything. Something was blocking my vision.


    You know, Mariane, there''s nothing my eyes can''t see in this universe, with only three exceptions: people in another dimension or another universe with laws beyond my control, people who use artifacts, and inscriptions to block my vision.


    But these two can''t really hide from me, since the first one I can see when they touch this universe or are around the universe even if they don¡¯t enter. I can also see the changes made even long ago in space, so even if they left, I could see them. Also, I can see them, although a bit restricted, since my eye skills are from my species, only that they are empowered by divine authorities and my technique that I created for it.


    The second one, I can¡¯t really ¡°see¡± them, but that makes it more striking because it''s like a black point in a white map filled with colorful points. Since I can¡¯t see them, but I can see something like a black point, it just attracts more of my attention.


    So, the only ones I really can''t see are... people who are protected by a master of a universe, also called a universe creator, whether it''s from this universe or another universe. Of course, if I have a higher cultivation realm and power, I can ignore this limitation, but if they are at the same level of cultivation and power or surpass me, this is the normal situation.


    The reason behind this is the method. The protection doesn''t block my sight; it directly cuts it through, overwrites the laws for a moment, and deceives my capacity to see the person or their future, past, and present. Every creator can only put this protection on a very limited number of people. The limit is very low, although it can grow with strength.


    But I really don''t think that''s the case, because I not only used it to see who put you in it, but also to see the planet. And what I saw was that the planet was originally in another location, in the center of the universe. It was moved close to the universe border, but thanks to this, I could realize that this world was one of the most ancient planets that have existed since the birth of the universe.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    This part is very important. It''s true that I can see even that far into the past, but thanks to that, I can reach a time when the universe was still too young. Because of this, time is very unstable and fragile, which is why that period of time is seen with interference, or even more so, sometimes I couldn''t see what happened. This situation wasn''t that rare.


    But perhaps you are thinking, What''s the connection with you?


    Simple, when I saw the world, at that moment in the past, the artifact and you were already on the planet, so someone at that moment in time was protecting you and probably moved the entire planet.


    When I realized this, I prepared to turn around and leave. Even at that moment, I had already seen many things, from the fall of entire civilizations to the destruction and annihilation of others. A mortal child, although it made my heart ache a little, was not that much, but the lid of the artifact opened.


    And beautiful baby you, saw me and even more, grabbed the fingers of my right hand, smiling innocently. Even I couldn''t leave a baby in the jungle alone, and in that moment, I took you into my arms. Since destiny decided I had to find you, and even decided that the artifact, which, by the way, I realized later was an incubator, opened by my touch, I chose to follow that destiny. Mariane, you and I were destined to reunite.


    Mariane forgot for a moment what she was saying, due to the new details Feicui Long told her at that moment.


    ¡­


    After the explanation, Feicui Long remembered something and said, "By the way, Mariane, I almost forgot. I realized that you haven¡¯t fully integrated my blood. I suppose it¡¯s because they modified the formation of the crystal coffin I made to help you integrate it while you slept and protected you."


    Feicui Long added, "So I¡¯ll help you do it. Come, take off your shirt and give me your back."


    Mariane obeyed Feicui Long, but she asked him another question, "Master, I¡¯m sorry that you had to choose between me and the treasures of the Dragon Clan, the Space Clan, and the Time Clan."


    Feicui Long laughed a little, "Hahahaha, don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry. I actually told you they were those treasures to convince you to enter, but I gave those treasures to your senior sisters so they could continue taking care of the empire while I¡¯m away. The ones that were in the coffin were my personal treasures, and at some point, I¡¯ll recover them or find others of that level."


    As Mariane listened to this, she realized she had been tricked and was a little upset, pouting. Feicui Long pretended not to care about his treasures, though deep down in his heart, he knew how supremely rare and valuable they were. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain some of them again. This hurt him a little, but recovering his Mariane had no cost for him.


    ¡­


    After helping her integrate his blood, the black hair resembling onyx began turning emerald green thanks to the power of Feicui Long¡¯s blood. With that, the two returned together after a few hours to the house, where a very annoyed Isabella was waiting for them.


    Isabella wanted to complain to Feicui Long about something, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t understand what. After all, he had only gone to spend some time with his favorite disciple, whom he had raised himself. He didn¡¯t think it was anything bad. At least no one in the Emerald-Golden Dragon Palace had ever said anything about it, and in the palace, Feicui Long allowed them to speak freely without censoring themselves since they were his most trusted subordinates.


    To calm her down, Feicui Long promised to help her train as well, which, although a bit confused since she thought he didn¡¯t know much about cultivation, she accepted the offer.


    Later, he assigned her one of the empty rooms next to Annie¡¯s. Although it didn¡¯t have furniture for the moment, it did have several high-quality mattresses. He had bought them in case he ever needed to replace the one on his bed, but he had forgotten about them. Maybe he should create an external storage to move the construction materials there in the boxes so he wouldn¡¯t forget what he had in the main one inside the house, he thought to himself.


    In any case, Mariane had no problem. After all, she was also a battle-hardened cultivator. Besides, it was only temporary.


    By the way, regarding the change in his hair color, everyone is confused by the sudden transformation except Mariane and Annie, but he isn¡¯t going to tell them why. He is also grateful for having been born with green eyes, which helps him conceal the change to emerald green.


    The rest of the day, he works on Mariane¡¯s furniture. Obviously, he can¡¯t complete all of it, but at least he is close to finishing several pieces by the time night falls.


    This time, he rests peacefully at night, although Isabella wants something else. He has no energy left, as using his soul to allow Mariane to integrate his blood exhausts him.


    ¡­


    The next day, he continues working on the furniture while also starting to draw up the plans for the new storage. He isn¡¯t going to make the storage out of the precious emerald-colored granite, which, although far from being true emerald granite, an energy material, still looks beautiful and is something he likes.


    It should be added that it is expensive for a mortal material. In fact, it is one of the main sources of income for the Sky Lion barony, as it is rare and beautiful. For construction, he plans to use common gray granite.


    He is also thinking of making a path since he will soon have twice the workforce. Not because he has advanced in cultivation, which, while it does increase the number of golems he can create, is only a small increase, but because Mariane also possesses the Sovereign¡¯s Quartet and, in fact, has much more experience than him, a lot more.


    Because of this, she will be able to speed up the construction a little. Time passes quickly¡­

 Chapter 39 – Clash of Feelings

    Another three months passed. During this time, Feicui Long and the others managed to complete the external warehouse. Feicui Long also built a small construction workshop in the warehouse since it was a decent size for working with rocks, common gray granite blocks, and other materials.


    He was also about to finish the path that connected his house to the road leading to the Habsburg Empire. It took longer because instructing the golems was not easy. They had to excavate, build aqueducts to divert the water, fill the structure with cement, then place the blocks, and so on. Even though it was close to the Leechwald Forest, it was actually about 3 kilometers (1.86 mi) away, and all that work took time.


    It was quite expensive, especially since they had to hunt several dozen energy beasts, monsters, and others to use their energy cores for the inscriptions. Now, only the final segment was left, which Feicui Long did not need to supervise since, to save time, he had carved the formations into the blocks and the cement long ago.


    During this time, Feicui Long jumped from grade 1 to grade 5 of the elemental realm and recently awakened the contracted beast in the Sanctuary of All Races. It turned out to be a celestial dog, which explained why Feicui Long had been tolerated for so long.


    On top of that, it was worth noting that Feicui Long could have advanced a bit more, but he had been too busy directing the golems, training with Mariane, Isabella, Gloria, the twins, and Isabella''s group. He had also been preparing a new cultivation technique for Mariane since the first technique he created for her, based on his own, had never pleased Mariane. She simply wanted to cultivate his exact technique, despite their combat styles being very different.


    Feicui Long, despite being a mixed cultivator, meaning both physical and internal, as well as a powerful dragon, did not actually have melee combat as his main fighting method. On the contrary, he always started battles from a distance, using his superiority along with his mastery of space and time to tear his enemies apart before they even had the chance to get close. Besides that, he also used his control over these two to avoid being hit by attacks, so he rarely engaged in close combat.


    Even so, his body and his body refinement technique were not weak. They were at the same level as his internal cultivation, and his body was the strongest in the universe, so it wasn¡¯t that he was weak or afraid of fighting in close combat. If he was forced into it, he would use it, or if he felt like doing it, he would, but it was not his first option in battle.


    Mariane, on the other hand, despite possessing the Sovereign¡¯s Quartet, which, by the way, physically weakens the user with each ability that is part of the Quartet. You can counteract it by training, but you will still be weaker than others unless you use body refinement techniques and treasures to improve it. This effect increases if you possess the full Quartet. This is the reason why many avoid direct combat and prefer long melee weapons like halberds, spears, energy rifles, bows, etc. Mariane is an exception, like Amanitore. Both fight in the middle of the battlefield rather than mounted on their tamed or contracted creatures or behind them, while their creatures provide support.


    So, he designed that technique for this unique combat style and for her to be able to improve it herself later. However, this made her hate it. For that reason, he is now directly using his own technique as the base, only modifying it slightly and merging it with his younger brother¡¯s technique and another one called the Mind of the Celestial Sovereign. But in essence, it will still be the same technique for her. Although he has actually already finished it, he is just adding the final details and leaving room for her to modify it as she pleases.


    He was also educating the girls, the twins, and literally everyone except Mariane, as he noticed they had certain shortcomings. Isabella not so much, but the others did, especially Annie and Freja, who did not know mathematics, and the former barely knew how to read and write. The rest of the time, and for the most part, he spent creating medicines and things to sell. He needed to earn more money to buy more materials and build his fortress.


    Having a house was fine, but since it was in the middle of nowhere, he really needed to keep everything safe. To be honest, the energy stones he had, as well as the few energy materials he had purchased, were nowhere near enough.


    ¡­


    Over these months, Feicui Long had noticed that Isabella had changed a little. She had become happier and kinder, but at the same time, even though he was not good at understanding love, he realized that she had also become much more jealous and possessive of him.


    He noticed because every time he was alone with another woman for a while and she saw them, she would appear and interrupt, hugging him from behind or stepping in between them. She even started sitting on his thighs when they ate.


    Besides that, she would constantly ask him questions like, "Honey, am I pretty?" or "Sweetheart, I think we should celebrate our wedding as soon as possible."


    Even though things had calmed down a bit before, that burning desire they had over three months ago, when they did it several times a day, had returned in the past few days, almost as if she wanted to mark her territory.


    But perhaps what worried him the most was her attitude toward Mariane, a defiant attitude that clearly irritated her, as if trying to draw a line against Mariane. However, Mariane was not the type to be intimidated, and Isabella''s defiant stance could only mean there was a conflict brewing.


    This worried him because, although Isabella was not bad at fighting, in fact, she was quite decent for a mortal with so little time and combat experience, Mariane¡¯s combat ability¡­ was monstrous. He would not be exaggerating if he said she had the potential to reach his level, and Mariane was the type who never held back in battle. It was extremely difficult for her to restrain herself.


    Feicui Long knew that this attitude was likely due to the wound to her self-esteem and pride caused by the heartbreak with her ex-fianc¨¦, but she had not been like this before¡­ or, well, now that he thought about it, she actually had. When she was Charles, she did the same thing, but in a more controlled manner because she had to pretend to avoid being discovered. Now that she no longer carried that burden, it was obvious she had become more reckless.


    He would have liked to tell her not to worry, but he felt that he was not the right person to do so¡­


    So tonight, he is going to talk to Isabella.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long gets up from the table with the technique ready and goes to look for Mariane directly. He knows she is with Annie. The two have quickly become friends. Honestly, he does not understand how, but it seems that Annie¡¯s shy and introverted nature and Mariane¡¯s extroverted and direct personality fit together very well. Mariane even teaches her about cultivation from time to time.


    On her own, Annie has reached grade 3 of the Elemental Realm, which is quite an achievement considering the terrible technique Feicui Long has given her.


    As Feicui Long thinks about this, he finally finds them. They are training, and he says, ¡°Hello, Annie, little Mariane, come here.¡±


    Mariane, upon hearing her master call her, jumps up quickly. In just three months, this girl has gone from having no cultivation at all to reaching grade 7 of the Elemental Realm. He is not surprised. Mariane is an absolute monster. Not only does she possess the Sovereign Quartet, but she also has an extremely high talent at Absolute Level Grade 3 or 3 Stars. On top of that, she is a Leader Type - Viscount Rank - Celestial Grade.


    Feicui Long clears his throat. ¡°Ehm, look, Mariane, this is the technique I am telling you about. I know you do not like the first one I created for you, but this time it is my own technique, just with a few additions, almost unchanged. Now that you possess my blood, you are able to cultivate it completely. For that, I will prepare a medicinal bath for you. Although now that I think about it, I also have to prepare one for myself.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mariane¡¯s eyes light up when she sees it, and she quickly takes it from Feicui Long¡¯s hands.


    Upon seeing this, Feicui Long puts on a serious face and pretends to scold her. ¡°Hey! When do I ever teach you to act like that? Not only do you not call me ¡®my lord,¡¯ but you also snatch things from me. Such an ungrateful girl.¡±


    Mariane laughs mischievously, hugs him, and says, ¡°But it is Master who keeps telling me that I only have to address him like that in the palace throne room.¡±


    Feicui Long lets out a fake sigh and, stroking her head, says, ¡°Alright, alright, you are going to make your master feel older.¡±


    Mariane lets out a giggle. Then, Feicui Long takes out a very beautiful necklace that contains his two dragon forms. This necklace is, obviously, one of the artifacts from his previous life. As he places it around Mariane¡¯s neck, he says, ¡°Mariane, I am giving you this necklace. You used to wear it when you were young to pass on my messages. I believe you are worthy of carrying it, and besides, it lets me know where you are.¡±


    Isabella responds, ¡°It does not matter that it is just an ordinary spatial ring, darling. Anything you give me is an unparalleled treasure to me.¡±


    Feicui Long wants to refuse, but Isabella is truly on the verge of tears. Before, she used puppy eyes, but this time, it is real. He can tell that she feels Feicui Long is rejecting her because he does not think she is worthy.


    Feicui Long wipes her tears and kisses her. ¡°Isabella, you are so beautiful. I do not want to see you cry. Just wait, please¡­¡±


    Isabella does not give up and, with a sad voice, as tears run down her face again, she says, ¡°I do not care, darling. If necessary, I would jump into lava for you. P-please, j-just give me a chance, I beg you¡­ Let me prove to you that I am worth it for you, please. I will give you my everything. Every part of me will belong to you. You can do whatever you want with me¡­¡±


    Seeing how determined she is, Feicui Long cannot refuse her anymore, especially while she is crying. He feels something strange in his heart, that feeling he should not be able to experience is there, pressing on him, and resigned, he says, ¡°Alright, let us use our rings as an exchange¡­¡±


    That night, Feicui Long and Isabella exchange rings, sleeping in a sweet embrace.


    ¡­


    Feicui Long then meets with Gloria, as their relationship has improved a bit over the past three months, and today, they are going to hunt a specific type of beast called Blood Pure Beasts, or by their real name, Blood Pure Bull, since there is also another beast that shares the same commonly known name.


    This beast is key for the baths he needs to prepare well. Actually, calling it key is an exaggeration, as any blood-attribute beast could serve.


    Feicui Long takes his halberd in hand and departs alongside Gloria.


    ¡­


    The next day.


    Feicui Long does not know that this is a grave mistake, as he has left Isabella and Mariane alone¡­


    It is right after Feicui Long departs that Isabella, upset over what she saw yesterday, goes to confront Mariane.


    Isabella says, ¡°Hey, Mariane, I know you are Feicui Long¡¯s disciple. I do not know how or why, but could you please control yourself a little? I think it would be decent for you, as a disciple, to have some self-restraint and not constantly try to seduce your master.¡±


    Mariane does not respond; she ignores her. It is not the first time this has happened anyway.


    Isabella gets even angrier and says, "Can you at least pay attention to your superiors? After all, I am still your master''s woman. In position, I am still above you."


    Mariane continues to ignore her.


    Isabella, even more annoyed, grabs her shoulder and says, "Are you deaf, or did my darling take in a girl with problems as his disciple? In any case, I just want you to leave him alone and have the minimum contact with him. I do not want him to be tainted."


    Mariane, this time a little irritated, says, "Why should I stay away from my master? You do not even know him well. I have known him my entire life. I have been with him longer. The only reason I do not answer you is because I respect my master''s decisions, but let me tell you, I do not consider you worthy of him."


    Isabella replies, "I do not need your recognition. After all, he chose this."


    Isabella shows her hand with the ring and says, "Now I am the lady of my darling''s clan. Your status is even lower than before. A poor girl that my darling picked up is not comparable to me. You even pathetically try to imitate him by changing your hair color. I think it would be best to stop. Do you not think you have already taken enough advantage of his kindness?"


    Mariane, who sees the ring, opens her mouth in surprise, but after hearing what Isabella says, this time she feels her rage eating her alive. She has been enduring this brat for three months, but using her master to attack her makes her blood boil.


    Mariane jumps up and says, "You¡­ fucking idiot. Fine, if you want me to shut that mouth, I will do it."


    Mariane steps closer and says, "I want you and me to fight. If you cannot hold out until the third round, you will have to give up that ring, understand? Do not worry, I will restrain my cultivation to two ranks below yours."


    Isabella, angered at being looked down on, says, "Fine, I want to see what you are made of, picked-up girl."


    ¡­


    Almost everyone is present in this improvised training area that Feicui Long made, though he only cleared a few trees.


    Mariane says, "I hope you do not give up in the first round."


    Isabella scoffs and says, "For a parasite that takes advantage of someone else, you sure know how to provoke people."


    Mariane, with an explosion of power from her leg, reaches her front and launches a kick with her left leg. Isabella barely manages to draw her sword and block the attack.


    Without stopping, Mariane punches her stomach with a right hook, lifting her and knocking her down.


    In pain, Isabella gets up and says, "Pff, is this all you have? My sweetheart has wasted all his time on you."


    Then, injecting power into her sword, Isabella says, "Sky Lion Slash!"


    A powerful wind is released in the form of a horizontal slash at close range. Mariane, who is absolutely enraged by Isabella''s last comment, infuses energy into her leg and stomps while saying, "EMERALD CLASH!"


    This makes her jump into the air. Grabbing onto a tree branch, she redirects herself toward Isabella like a diving bullet and says, "I tolerate you saying things about me, but speaking ill of my master just to attack me is something intolerable."


    Isabella quickly responds by sending four attacks at once while shouting, "Sky Lion Fangs!"


    Four wind slashes, shaped like fangs, head toward Mariane.


    At that speed, Mariane would not be able to dodge them, or so Isabella thought, because at that moment, Mariane says, "Emerald Impact!"


    The next moment, a powerful emerald glow bursts forth, shattering the attack as if it were nothing and striking Isabella in the stomach.


    Mariane does not stop there. Jumping from side to side, she aims her strikes to be as painful as possible without seriously injuring her or leaving her beyond recovery.


    Isabella keeps trying to block what she can and launches a few slashes of her own.


    At the end of the second round, Isabella, desperate, launches one last attack: "Oh glorious Sky Lion, let your majestic force subdue your enemies, shattering them into a thousand pieces, SKY LION TEMPEST!"


    Mariane shakes her head and says, "I thought you were more. A disappointment."


    Then Mariane continues speaking, "You are just a mortal girl playing a game. You don''t know what my master has been through, what we have both been through. He is someone destined to stand at the top, and you are destined to remain at the bottom. Two completely separate worlds."


    Mariane, angry, asks her a question, "What will you do, Isabella, if one day my master is forcibly taken from you? No, more importantly, what if my master has to use himself to secure alliances with more powerful forces?"


    Mariane does not dodge the tempest, nor does she even use an attack. She simply stands still and lets it pass through her before striking Isabella in the face with a punch, then continues speaking, "You don''t understand who you are asking things from, who you want to follow your childish whims. You also don''t understand everything my master has sacrificed, the suffering that consumes him..."


    Then, in anger, she forcefully punches Isabella¡¯s stomach again, making her bend over: "A suffering that has left him broken. You can''t see it. Why would you? You''re the only one who suffers, right? You don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to see all futures and know that the death of your loved ones is inevitable. And not only that, but to see yourself die by the hands of those you love. My master is now a broken man, a person who has to live without feelings just to keep going. That is not something any living being should have to endure¡­"


    Then, with a kick, she strikes Isabella¡¯s exhausted legs, knocking her to the ground. There, she grabs her against the floor and says, "My master, the most glorious being in this damned universe, gave his life to protect mere mortals! To protect this entire universe! But those ungrateful bastards forgot him. They deliberately ignored that without him, this universe would have fallen! And now, on top of that, he has to put up with the whims of a child playing at being an adult. YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! WHAT THAT RING MEANS TO THE DRAGON CLAN, TO THE SPACE CLAN, AND TO THE TIME CLAN!"


    She begins to punch her while letting out her rage: "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY, ISABELLA! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF THE EMERALD-GOLDEN DRAGON, OF THE SUPREME DRAGON SOVEREIGN, OF THE MASTER OF THIS MARIANE! HE IS FEICUI LONG!"


    Mariane was about to strike with an Emerald Impact when she was stopped by Annie, who pulled her away from Isabella¡¯s unconscious body.