《Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon》 Book 1: Chapter 1 – Second Chance at Life ¡°Milianna was it¡­ Congratulations, you gave birth to a healthy baby boy!¡± In the back of a horse-drawn carriage, a beautiful but pale-faced woman with long dark hair was lying on her back with her legs spread in front of her. It was clear from the shaking of her body that she was in pain, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. Her eyes were solely focused on the baby being held by the older woman standing in front of her. The older woman looked down with the gentlest of smiles at the baby in her arms before gently lowering him into his mother¡¯s arms. As soon as she held her child for the first time, tears of joy started streaming down Milianna¡¯s face. ¡°My son, you¡¯re my son! I promise to shower you with my love until I die, my beautiful baby boy!¡± ¡°Does your beautiful baby boy have a name, or¡­?¡± Hearing the older woman¡¯s question brought Milianna out of her daydream as she smilingly replied. ¡°Ace, his name¡¯s Ace!¡± ¡°Just Ace? No last name?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Forget I said anything; it¡¯s not my place.¡± The elderly midwife said, sensing that it was a sensitive topic from the frown lines threatening to ruin Milianna¡¯s almost angelic face. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Milianna replied softly as she looked down lovingly at the little boy in her arms. ¡°And no, no last name, just Ace.¡± ¡°Ace is a fine name! Let me leave you two, mother and son, in peace. You guys can have the carriage to yourselves for the rest of the journey. We¡¯ll be arriving at Wushan Town in the next few hours.¡± The elderly woman explained as she made her way to the carriage exit preparing to leave. ¡°No, we¡¯ve imposed on you eno¡­¡± Milianna tried to force herself to stand, but after giving birth, she was far too drained. The Midwife made sure to ease her down gently as she gently scolded the new mother. ¡°You¡¯ve just given birth; you are barely strong enough to stand, let alone walk, whilst carrying a newborn. Just be obedient and stay put. Plus, I should really stretch these old bones of mine every once in a while.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°We¡¯re way past ma¡¯am; I just yanked a human out of your lady parts, for God¡¯s sake. Just call me Surielle!¡± ¡°Thank you, Surielle!¡± Hearing that, the old Midwife left the carriage, allowing Milianna alone to be with her baby. She looked down at her newborn with nothing but love and affection whilst the baby in question looked back up at her with nothing but confusion. ¡®WHAT THE FUCK?!¡¯ Ace screamed in his mind as he looked left and right, scanning the carriage for anything that could give him the answers he so desperately wanted. ¡®Where am I? What exactly happened to me?! The last thing I remember, I was about to breathe my last breath in Luffy¡¯s¡­ Wait, LUFFY!¡¯ ¡°WAAAAH!¡± As he remembered the position he left Luffy in, he couldn¡¯t help but break down in tears, unable to restrain his emotions. ¡®I need to get back; Luffy needs me!¡¯ Ace tried his best to free himself from the strange woman holding him, but he was too weak to do much of anything right now. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Seeing Ace confused and in tears broke her heart, but it didn¡¯t stop her from showering him with her love and affection. ¡°There there, Mommy¡¯s here. It¡¯s okay, shh.¡± Ace couldn¡¯t understand a word she was saying, but it clicked when he felt the warmth of her embrace. ¡®She¡¯s my mother? I¡­ I have a mother?¡¯ His tears stopped as he took another look at the face of the woman holding him. A warmth spread from his chest that seemed to touch every fibre of his being. ¡®So this is how a mother¡¯s embrace feels¡­ It¡¯s not so bad!¡¯ As he thought to there, Ace drifted off with a content smile on his face. Seeing him sleeping with a smile on his adorable little face made Milianna happier than she¡¯d been for as long as she could remember. ¡°We don¡¯t need anyone else, my sweet, sweet boy. As long as we have each other, we¡¯ll be okay.¡± By the time Ace woke up, he noticed they had left the carriage and were now in a small room that held nothing but the bed they were lying on. The only thing that remained the same was that he was still in his mother¡¯s arms. ¡®So this is my mother?¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he studied her face, trying to etch every detail into his memories. After losing himself in the warmth of his mother¡¯s arms, he looked out the window in the corner of the room at the moon that shone high in the night sky. ¡®So I guess I¡¯ve been reborn¡­ Luffy, Pops, Gramps, everyone¡­ I wonder what happened after I¡­¡¯ A helpless sigh escaped his lips as he thought about all the loved ones he had left behind in his previous life. ¡®I want to hurry up and find them, but I have no idea if that¡¯s even possible. Everyone here speaks a different language, and even the air feels¡­ Different. It¡¯s almost as if this is an entirely different world. It¡¯s a ridiculous thought, but no less ridiculous than being reborn after death, I suppose.¡¯ Looking back at his mother, the corners of his lips crept up. ¡®Staying here may not be too bad either. If this really is a new world, then I can¡¯t make as many mistakes as I did in my last life. So many people died because of my impulsiveness. I refuse to let anyone suffer because of me in this life, especially not you.¡¯ As Ace made that silent vow to himself, he had no idea that three ethereal balls of light were looking down, watching over him. The two smaller ones were about the size of a football, and if you were to look closely, the faces of a man and woman could faintly be seen on them. In comparison, the larger ball was the size of a small star, and there was no face on it. Though it did radiate a mysterious light that made people want to stop and stare. It was then that the larger of the three balls suddenly shook softly. ¡°Ok, you¡¯ve seen it for yourself now. Your son has been safely reincarnated. It really is time now; I can¡¯t postpone it any longer¡­ Roger¡­ Rouge¡­ Are you two even listening to me?¡± The ball with the image of a man shook as it let out a faint sigh. ¡°Do you need to continue to rush us? We¡¯re already dead.¡± ¡°You cheeky brat, I¡¯ve already given so much just to allow you to spend the last 20+ years here so you could watch your son¡¯s life!¡± ¡°Sir God, please don¡¯t mind my husband; he¡¯s just sad to say goodbye after all this time. Isn¡¯t that right, Roger!¡± ¡°Right, that¡¯s right, my Rouge is the smartest!¡± ¡°Whatever, I can¡¯t bare anymore of your lovey-dovey nonscience. Just hurry up and go.¡± As it said that, a bright white portal opened beside them. ¡°So that¡¯s the portal to heaven?¡± Rouge asked. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°And when we go in there, we will no longer be able to see what happens in the mortal worlds?¡± ¡°Bingo!¡± ¡°So I won¡¯t be able to¡­¡± Before Rouge could ask any more questions, Roger, in his ethereal form, nuzzled up to comfort her. ¡°You saw the look in his eyes; our boy has finally grown up. He¡¯ll be fine!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Just before Rouge went through the portal, she glanced back at her only son one last time. ¡°Goodbye, my son!¡± After Rouge disappeared, the portal shut behind her. Taking its place was a crimson portal that radiated a bloody aura that would make even the bravest of men shake down to their very souls. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want her to know the truth?¡± The larger ball of light asked. ¡°If she did, she would¡¯ve forced me to share the burden. I¡¯ve already caused both my wife and son so much pain. This much is the least I can do.¡± Roger replied as his figure unhesitantly floated towards the portal to hell when the giant ball¡¯s voice was heard again. ¡°Before you go, I have to know¡­ Do you regret your choice? Giving up all the positive karma you¡¯d accumulated to give your son ¨C who would¡¯ve ended up going to heaven with you and Rouge ¨C a perfect reincarnation, allowing him another chance at life¡­?¡± Roger turned to look at Ace one last time as he answered. ¡°Ace deserves a chance to live a full life, to feel the warmth of a parent¡¯s love, the warmth of true love, and above all else, he deserves the chance to live without having to bare the sins of this deadbeat father of his.¡± As he said that, Roger unhesitantly jumped through the portal to hell. ¡°Gol D. Roger¡­ You are the only mortal to have ever truly earned my respect!¡± As it said that, the portal vanished. ¡°Gol D. Ace, if you end up being half the man your father is, it won¡¯t be long till you too end up before me¡­ Hahaha, at the very least, it¡¯ll be entertaining to watch!¡± Book 1: Chapter 2 – Two Years Later It had been two years since Ace was reborn, and he could now say with absolute certainty that he was no longer in the same world. It took him about six months of focus and hard work to finally understand the language. He also noticed that his perception seemed to have improved, but he had no idea how or why, so he didn¡¯t give it much thought. After learning this new language, he realised this was a world completely different from the one he was used to. There were no pirates sailing the seas, no world government enforcing their ideals. No, this was a world filled with mages, warriors, and all sorts of mythical creatures. He¡¯d even heard rumours of there being deities. It took a while to get used to, especially knowing that he had no way to find out what happened to those he cared about from his past life, but what gave him hope was that since he made it here, making it back surely wasn¡¯t impossible. He silently vowed to get strong enough to not only keep his mother safe in this life but also strong enough to find a way back to those he left behind. Not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, he took his ¡°first¡± step at six months, said his first word at ten months, and began forming sentences at a year. Although it was still extremely fast, it wasn¡¯t ground-breaking. Not that it stopped Milianna from calling him her little genius. By the time he reached his first birthday, Milianna, who had been living in Surielle¡¯s spare room on the condition that she did all the housework, now felt confident he didn¡¯t need so much of her attention. As a result, she decided to take a job as a carer in the town¡¯s daycare/orphanage. It gave her the money she needed to get a room at the town¡¯s inn and provide for both her and Ace whilst also allowing her to take care of him during the days. Whilst at the orphanage during the day, Ace would spend his time in their small library trying to learn more about this new world he was born into. At first, he would be accompanied by one of the members of staff, all of whom found him way too adorable to say no to, but after a few months, he began to shock them with his intelligence as he understood how to read the text almost perfectly. After that, they allowed him to read by himself. It only served to ostracise him from the other children, but he hardly noticed. When in the library, he¡¯d forget that he was in the body of a child. Only when he was around his mother would he allow himself to play the part of a child perfectly. She often encouraged him to play with the other children, but he made it clear that he was more interested in reading than playing. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He would often lament about what his life had come to. He, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace, would rather read than have fun. If any of his former friends or family found out, they would never believe it, but it was true. At first, he found reading to be a chore, especially as most were fictional stories about heroes slaying monsters and rescuing damsels in distress. But he became more engrossed as he started reading factual books about the world. For example, he found out that the Noble family in charge of the town, The Baruch Clan was once one of the four most powerful and prestigious clans in the entire Yulan Plane. They were referred to as Dragon Blood Warriors, apparently because they could transform into humanoid dragon-like creatures. He wasn¡¯t sure how true it was, but there was no denying they were more than likely once a truly impressive clan. He asked the Orphanage¡¯s Maitre d¡¯ about it, but she said she didn¡¯t know all the facts. All she knew was that the Baruch Clan of the past was no more. All that remains of them is the current head of the family, Hogg Baruch. His pregnant wife, Lina, and their oldest son Linley Baruch. As fascinating as all that was, his interest really peaked when he found information about the power system of his new world. Due to it being a library of an orphanage, there was a limit to the amount of information it held. Still, it gave him a general understanding of the progression of strength, and his mind instantly went into overdrive as he started pondering his options moving forward. There were two paths to follow, that of a warrior and that of a mage. Both paths had a total of nine recorded realms of power, rank one being the weakest and nine being the strongest. Above the ninth rank was the fabled saint stage. Unfortunately, not much was mentioned about it, other than that they were apparently immortal, could fly through the skies and crush mountains with a simple wave of their hands, but that was where the similarities of the two paths stopped. According to the books he¡¯d read, just about anyone could walk the path of a warrior as long as they were willing to endure the aches and pain it came with. Simply put, you just needed to exercise the body, and you¡¯d eventually break into higher realms. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t find much information about the path of a mage. The only thing he¡¯d gleamed was that to become a mage, you needed to have a high enough affinity for one of the elements and a spiritual force of over five times the average person your age. Ace was interested in both paths. In his former life, he¡¯d always been strong physically, and after having the fire devil fruit for so long, he¡¯d grown accustomed to controlling the element of fire. He was desperate to begin training immediately, but his mother stopped him and told him that he shouldn¡¯t do it alone, just in case he injured himself. The town offered training to the children, but they had to wait until they were six so their bodies could cope with the stress without doing any long-term damage. Ace decided that even if he had to wait another four years to start training officially, nothing was stopping him from doing light training in the meantime. He¡¯d spend most mornings doing basic exercises he¡¯d been taught by his adoptive grandfather from his childhood in his last life ¨C Monkey D. Garp. If he was going to do this, he might as well do it right. He remembered Garp saying that the more flexible your body, the more strain it would be able to take safely. As a result, he spent the first year training nothing but his flexibility whenever he was alone. As dull as it was, he was determined to build a solid foundation for his future. Book 1: Chapter 3 – Overprotective Mother One night when he and his mother were walking back from the orphanage hand in hand, he suddenly felt his heart begin to race, and his palms start to sweat. He came to a sudden stop as he clutched his chest, hoping this feeling of anxiety would pass. His mother seeing the state he was in, started to panic. ¡°Ace? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Next thing she knew, he was down on both knees clutching at his chest as if he wanted to grab his heart. ¡°SOMEBODY HELP¡­ PLEASE HELP MY SON!¡± People stopped and began gathering around them, but Ace was in too much discomfort to pay them any mind. ¡®This almost feels like¡­¡¯ Ace decided to stop resisting and embrace the feeling tugging away at him. ¡®Haki! This is observation haki!¡¯ As he allowed his observation haki to focus on what was pulling it in the first place, he sensed the aura of three powerful individuals. Turning his head away from his crying mother, he noticed three robed figures running on the rooves of the buildings besides them, and in the arms of the lead man was a woman. ¡®Isn¡¯t that Lina Baruch? Isn¡¯t she supposed to be¡­¡¯ Before he could finish his train of thought, he felt two more powerful auras chasing them, but the gap only seemed to be widening. ¡®The whole town was excited as today was the day Lina was supposed to give birth to her second son.¡¯ It was then that he saw the panic in her eyes as she seemed to be looking back in the direction of the Baruch family manor. At that moment, her face seemed to overlap with the image of his mother from his first life. He realised that if the kidnappers got away, there was a good chance that a newborn baby could grow up not knowing his mother''s love. ¡°STTOOOPPPP!¡± Ace roared furiously. An invisible energy exploded out of the toddler, and one by one, the people around him started falling unconscious. Despite being further away and significantly stronger, even the three kidnappers had to stop as they felt a pressure they¡¯d never experienced before. Ultimately, the only one able to stay conscious was the man in the front, but even he had to stop for a few seconds to shake off the fear welling up inside him. He looked towards the boy on the street beside him, who shouted stop right before that terrifying pressure enveloped him. He shook his head, instantly dismissing the idea that it originated from a child, especially as said child ¨C like the other ordinairy civilians ¨C was now unconscious. He looked around for anyone else present, but he was the only one still conscious. ¡°I don¡¯t know which esteemed expert is watching, but as long as you are willing to let me leave with my little life, I am willing to leave the woman.¡± He said, believing that the expert was protecting his target. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Seeing that there was no response and knowing it wouldn¡¯t be long before Hogg caught up to him, he decided to drop Lina and escape. But not before killing his two comrades and stripping them of their valuables. Moments later, two men arrived on the scene. The one in the lead had a full head of brown hair tinted with white edges showing his age. He was dressed in regal golden armour, with a large crimson-tinted war blade in his hand that emanated a fearful killing aura that seemed to match his own. The other man had long, flowing black hair and was dressed in an all-black armour with a large saber sheathed by his side. The black armoured man studied the environment warily, but the more he looked around, the more confused he became. ¡°What happened here?¡± He asked as he looked at the unconscious civilians littering the floor. The Golden armoured man didn¡¯t have eyes for anyone or anything but the woman on the ground. ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re okay!¡± He said, holding Lina into his chest after ensuring she was still breathing and checking her for injuries. ¡°Lord Hogg, I checked the bodies of the two remaining kidnappers, but I don¡¯t recognise them, and they were carrying nothing on them.¡± The black armoured man reported. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them for now, Hillman. First, check to see if the citizens are okay. I¡¯m going to take my wife back to the manor. Come and find me when you¡¯ve finished.¡± Hogg instructed, not daring to take his eyes off his wife for even a second as though she would disappear at any moment. ¡°Yes, milord!¡± Ace woke up the following day in his mother¡¯s arms. He could tell from how hard she held him that he must have given her quite the fright. A helpless sigh escaped his lips as he remembered what happened. ¡®I guess the idea of a mother being forced to separate from her child has become something of a trigger for me. But that doesn¡¯t explain how I can use haki in this world. I wonder if Haki is something that humans can use in every universe, or if it¡¯s something unique to me¡­¡¯ As his thoughts reached that point, he spread his observation haki as wide as possible. ¡®500 meters? That¡¯s over double what I could do in my past life; I wonder if that has anything to do with my increased intelligence.¡¯ He then tried to coat his arms in armament haki. But almost immediately, he grimaced in pain as his bones began to creak under the pressure. ¡®I guess my body is too weak to bear the pressure of armament haki. Haha, it¡¯s hard to believe, but it looks like I¡¯m going to excel in observation over armament in this life. I guess Pops was wrong when he said I would always be brawn over brain! But why is it I still can¡¯t sense my conqueror¡¯s haki?! I know I have it; I used it last night, for heaven¡¯s sake! Even in my previous life, no matter how much Pops sat down to teach me, I couldn¡¯t use it other than by accident! Was he right? Do I really have a mental knot where Roger is concerned, preventing me from tapping into it? Even if I do, how would I even start to tackle that?¡¯ ¡°Ace¡­¡± Hearing his mother¡¯s waking voice, Ace¡¯s body tensed as he considered how to explain what happened to him. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Milianna asked as she placed the back of her hand on his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m okay, mom.¡± Ace replied weakly, making Milianna think he might still be in some discomfort. She instantly grabbed his wrist to take his pulse. Ace smiled helplessly, knowing how overprotective his mother was on a typical day, let alone after last night. To prove he was fine, Ace jumped out of bed and flexed his non-existent muscles. ¡°See, I¡¯m all good.¡± Seeing his energetic display managed to put a smile on her face and quell her worry, even if only in part. ¡°That¡¯s good, but we¡¯re still going to your granny Surielle¡¯s so you can get a check-up.¡± She said, ruffling his jet-black hair. Ace could only agree helplessly, knowing he didn¡¯t actually have a say in the matter. Despite being unbelievably healthy, to the point of having never suffered so much as a common cold, he would still be dragged to see the town¡¯s doctor, Surielle, at least once a month. Whether he tripped over and banged his knee or just sneezed, his mother¡¯s first reaction was to drag him to get checked over. As inconvenient as it was, it still warmed his heart. He¡¯d never been lucky enough to feel the love of an overprotective mother in his last life, so he did whatever he could to embrace it in this life. Book 1: Chapter 4 – Ace’s Promise As the mother-son duo neared Surielle¡¯s house, they noticed her talking to a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length blonde hair, donning an elegant and well-looked-after spear on his back. ¡®That¡¯s one of the guards from the Baruch Clan. Why¡¯s he here?¡¯ Ace wondered. Almost as if to answer his question, they managed to catch the end of their conversation. ¡°I can lock up for the day and perform Madam Lina¡¯s check-up now. Just give me¡­¡± Before Surielle could finish her sentence, the guard quickly stopped her. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Lord Hogg told me to ask you to come after you finish for the day as he knows that many people in town rely on your expertise. It¡¯d be wrong to ask you to lock up early, especially as Madam Lina is still stable.¡± ¡°Lord Hogg is as benevolent as ever. Mr. Lance, Please tell him that this old bag of bones will hurry over as soon as the day is over.¡± Surielle replied whilst bowing to show her respect. It was clear that everyone in town greatly respected the Baruch family, even if they were no longer as awe-inspiring as they had been in the past. ¡°No need for all that; you¡¯re the one doing us a favour. I¡¯ll see you lat¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Lance felt his breath being stolen as he laid his eyes on what he could only describe as the most beautiful woman he¡¯d ever seen. ¡°You¡¯re blocking the way, old man!¡± Ace said impatiently after spending the last half dozen seconds watching his mother and Lance staring into each other¡¯s eyes bashfully. ¡°Ace, don¡¯t be rude. Say sorry!¡± Ace was entirely against apologising. Even though he was in the body of a toddler, he still retained his pride as the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates; how could someone like that apologise to a trivial guard? ¡°NOW!¡± But when he heard his mom shout at him for the first time since his birth, he instantly put away his pride. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my rudeness!¡± Even though he was looking directly at Lance as he apologised, his observation haki was focused on his mother. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. She was trembling, and to everyone else, it looked like she was just angry, but Ace could feel there was more to it. ¡®That¡¯s not anger; it¡¯s fear. Mom¡¯s terrified!¡¯ Ace knew it had nothing to do with Lance. It was only a few seconds ago that they had been staring into each other¡¯s eyes like it was love at first sight, but he had no idea what could cause his mother, who was usually so gentle, to react like that. ¡°It¡¯s okay; I took no offense,¡± Lance said as he put an arm on the shaking mother to try to reassure her, but as soon as he made contact, Milianna flinched and fell back, tripping over herself in fear and surprise. Not expecting her to react so strongly, Lance stepped forward, preparing to help her to her feet when he was forced to snap his neck back. ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH HER!¡± Ace¡¯s little fist shot past where the warrior¡¯s face had been before he jumped in front of his mother as if he was willing to give his life to protect her. Deep down, he knew Lance was just offering his support, but seeing the fear in her eyes; Ace acted purely on impulse to protect the only family he had in this foreign world. Lance looked deeply at Ace, who stood protectively in front of his mother as if to guard her, and then at the boy¡¯s fist. ¡®That punch, just what was that?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t that the punch would¡¯ve caused him any harm, Lance was far too powerful, and Ace was nothing but a toddler, but his instincts honed from all his years on the battlefield still warned him there was something faintly dangerous about it, which was why he dodged the punch on instinct. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you; it wasn¡¯t my intention. I hope you can forgive me!¡± Lance stated dejectedly as he raised his hands to show he meant no harm before turning to leave, not wanting to cause any further upset. It wasn¡¯t till he left that Milianna finally took a breath and pulled Ace into her arms. She didn¡¯t say anything, but Ace could feel her heart beating through her chest. He said nothing and just hugged her back until she stabilized her emotions enough to lead him back home. Surielle didn¡¯t know what to say either; she just watched silently as they left, not even mentioning why they came. Neither Ace nor Milianna said a word the whole walk back. It wasn¡¯t till they got home that Ace finally broke their extended silence. ¡°Why were you so scared?¡± Ace watched in shock as all life left his mother¡¯s eyes, her body trembling in fear as she registered his question. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Sorry, son. I just remembered something I didn¡¯t want to.¡± Ace was about to apologise for asking when she continued. ¡°Ace, promise me that no matter how powerful you become in the future, you will never use your power to take advantage of those weaker and undeserving.¡± ¡°I¡­ I promise!¡± Hearing his promise, Milianna forced herself to smile before returning to the bedroom. ¡°I feel a little tired; I need to take a nap!¡± Ace watched as his mom left for the bedroom, but his mind was spinning far too much to respond. Having lived through the great age of pirates, he had seen everything from massacres, to pillaging, to rape. After watching his mom¡¯s reaction to a seemingly harmless gesture from a stranger, it was hard for his mind not to think the worst. His fists were clenched so tight that his nails actually broke the skin on his palm, and his body shook in anger. ¡°Mom, I swear on my life; as long as I¡¯m alive, I will never allow anyone to lay so much as a finger on you!¡± Book 1: Chapter 5 – Four Years Later Four years went by in the blink of an eye. After guessing what happened to his mother in the past that caused her extreme reaction that day meeting Lance, Ace trained like a madman, albeit without his mother or anyone realising. He spent the next two years of his life focusing on his flexibility. When he turned four, he began adding light muscular exercises into his workout regimes ¨C all the while making sure to spend his nights training his observation haki. Though, he cursed himself for not paying more attention to pops or the others about the best ways to train it. In his last life, he was content with being a brute, so he virtually ignored his observation haki other than using it in its most basic form. He knew there was likely a better method, but his haki training simply consisted of him keeping his observation haki stretched to its maximum for as long as possible. He realised that he would lose consciousness as soon as he reached his limits, so he decided to make that the last thing he did before going to sleep. After three years, he suddenly remembered Thatch had tried to explain that although spreading your observation haki out in its raw form is effective as it allows you to feel the auras of others, by compressing it, you can see everything in your sphere of observation as if you had a bird¡¯s eye view. The only prerequisite was that you needed to be able to spread your haki over 100 meters. In his last life, his observation haki barely reached 50 meters which was why he didn¡¯t pay the advice any mind, but in this life, it was literally ten times what it was. When compressed, his area of observation was only 5 meters, but everything within that 5 meters was constantly projected in his mind. The other thing he noticed was that in its compressed state, he could see a myriad of multi-coloured specs of light. Although he couldn¡¯t control them in any way, shape, or form, he could still tell that they represented the various elements of a mage. From that day on, he changed his haki training to hold his haki¡¯s compressed state for as long as possible. Though he knew his method of training would probably be described as primitive by those who specialised in observation haki from his previous life, it saw results. After three and a half years, his haki could reach 1 kilometre in circumference in its normal state and 10 meters when compressed. Even though he would consistently train his observation, he refrained from using his armament haki at all, not wanting to do anything to stunt his growth and affect his future. But that didn¡¯t stop him from becoming a training maniac, especially as he began to see the results of his hard work paying off. Still, nothing could compare to the excitement he was feeling today! ¡°Come on, Mom, we¡¯re gonna be late!¡± Ace exclaimed with pure excitement plastered on his face as he pulled his mom through the busy streets of Wushan Town. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Haha, Ace, calm down. We¡¯re already 20 minutes early.¡± Milianna replied as she allowed her overexcited child to drag her down the street with a genuinely cheerful smile. ¡°But we don¡¯t know how long it will take us to register.¡± This was one of the few times Ace didn¡¯t have to ¡®act¡¯ his age. The childish excitement he was exhibiting was 100% real, and it was for no other reason than that today was the day he started his warrior training. Within minutes, the mother-son duo had arrived at the empty area in the town¡¯s eastern region. By the time they arrived, several dozen children were already congregating in three separate areas. The northernmost group constituted children between 6 and 8, the 9 to 12-year-olds stood in the centre, and those in the south were the teenagers. Ace scanned the training fields with an excited grin. ¡®Here is where it starts!¡¯ Seeing him grinning excitedly, Milianna shook her head helplessly before leading him to where two of the Baruch Clan¡¯s guards were leisurely waiting to begin the class. As they neared, the blonde guard with his back to them turned around and was caught off guard at who it was. ¡°Mil¡­ Milianna!¡± ¡°Hi Lance.¡± Milianna shyly replied. Ace could only roll his eyes at their display. Over the last four years since their initial encounter, they would run into each other every once in a while, but their conversations would consist of one or two sentences before they both hurried along. Ace wasn¡¯t against his mom meeting someone as he was well aware that he couldn¡¯t be her everything, but he absolutely refused to be her wingman. Even though he knew the incident from four years ago was still holding them back, and his part to play didn¡¯t help, this was the one battle he wouldn¡¯t help his Mother with. Seeing how Lance and this woman were acting, the other guard, a stocky bald man, seemed to put two and two together. ¡°So you¡¯re Milianna? Lance here has told me a lot about you. I¡¯m Falkes.¡± He said politely. ¡°And you must be Ace? Judging by the excitement on your face, you must be here to start your warrior training. Just to ensure you¡¯re old enough, how old are you now?¡± ¡°I just turned six today?¡± Ace eagerly replied. ¡°You just turned six today? Haha, you couldn¡¯t even wait to start training till after your birthday?¡± The bald-headed guard asked with an amused smile. ¡°Us coming here today is all he wants as a birthday present,¡± Milianna answered helplessly. ¡°Haha, becoming a powerful warrior is the dream of just about every young boy,¡± Falkes added before pointing to the kids lining up in the northern sector of the field. ¡°Go line up with the other kids over there. That will be where you¡¯ll train for the next couple of years.¡± Ace hurriedly gave his mom a big hug, which she happily returned before running over to where all the other kids his age were. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be fine; the training for the younger children is more of an introduction than anything else,¡± Lance explained, trying to ease the worry on Milianna¡¯s face after Ace ran off. ¡°I understand, thank you. Am I alright to stay and watch?¡± Milianna asked in return, evidently still worried about Ace. ¡°Of course, many of the parents often stay and watch,¡± Falkes responded, pointing to a group of adults a few hundred meters away before he continued. ¡°Especially on their children¡¯s first day.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She responded before walking over to the rest of the worried parents. ¡°Take care, Milianna,¡± Lance said, which elicited a shy wave from his crush and a burst of laughter from his fellow guard. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you like that before!¡± Falkes teased. ¡°I can¡¯t help it; she just has that effect on me.¡± Book 1: Chapter 6 – Two New Talents Off where the 6 to 8-year-olds were forming, Ace had noticed a group of kids pointing and laughing at a particularly large kid standing off to one side. ¡°Haha, look at that Killian¡¯s by himself again, as usual.¡± ¡°Of course he is. Who would want to befriend him when his own parents didn¡¯t want him.¡± ¡°I bet it¡¯s cos his skin¡¯s so ugly!¡± Despite having the physique of a giant compared to the other kids around him, Killian was too timid to even look any of the other kids in the eye. It wasn¡¯t until he felt a hand tapping him on his shoulder that he hesitantly looked up from the ground, only to see Ace¡¯s smiling face in front of him. ¡°Is that spot taken?¡± Ace asked, pointing to the spot beside him. ¡°N¡­ No.¡± ¡°Perfect.¡± Ace said as he moved into the position he¡¯d chosen for himself. ¡°I¡¯m Ace, by the way.¡± Ace said as he gestured to shake hands with the caramel-skinned giant beside him. ¡°Killian.¡± The large boy replied meekly as he hesitantly raised his hand to meet Ace halfway. ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s no good. When you shake someone¡¯s hand, you must do it with confidence, or you¡¯ll risk offending them.¡± Ace explained as he shook the large boy¡¯s hand with vigour. Killian looked at Ace, not completely understanding what was happening, but he knew he didn¡¯t want to offend this weird boy. Slowly Killian applied more pressure. ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s better, much better. Just so you know, us shaking hands like this makes us friends.¡± Ace stated, not leaving room for discussion. ¡°Friends?¡± Killian asked as if he was scared his ears were playing tricks on him. ¡°Exactly, friends!¡± Ace confirmed, smiling at the boy. He then cocked his head to glance indifferently at the kids doing the bullying. ¡°And I don¡¯t appreciate anyone bullying my friends!¡± When any of the bullies made eye contact with Ace, they felt their hearts start to accelerate as if they were standing before a predator that was daring them to make a move. Luckily for them, it was at that moment that Hilston cleared his throat, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°For those who want to become powerful warriors one day, you must start working hard now!¡± Hilston shouted as he swept his intimidating gaze over each of the younger kids. Feeling his fierce eyes pass over them, each of the younger kids dared not breathe too loud, fearing his response. ¡°Everyone here today is a commoner. Unlike the children from those powerful noble families, you won¡¯t have access to any secret manuals teaching you how to cultivate battle qi. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. If you want to really make something of yourselves, then you must use the most ancient, most simple, and most basic ways of improving yourselves ¨C good old-fashioned exercise!¡± Hillman roared loud enough for the kids right at the back to hear. Even though most of the youngest batch didn¡¯t understand the true meaning behind Hillman¡¯s words, the older kids were crystal clear about what he was saying. On the Yulan plane, the average body would be stable enough to start formal warrior training from the age of 6, and the majority of males would begin their warrior training from then. If anyone slacked off, they would be looked down upon by others in the future! Some would argue that money was pivotal when discussing power. Still, none could deny that one''s strength was the most important factor when determining power and influence in this world. ¡°When the sun rises in the morning, all things begin to thrive. This is the best time to absorb the natural energy from your surroundings and improve the conditioning of your bodies. Same rules as always ¨C legs spread apart, as wide as your shoulders! Both knees bent slightly, and both hands pressed down at the waist. Assume the ¡®Qi Building Stance.¡¯ When assuming this stance, remember, ¡®focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally.¡¯¡± Hillman instructed as he got into position to show how it¡¯s done. The ¡®Qi Building Stance¡¯ was a simple yet effective way of exercising the body. It was tried, tested, and perfected by those who came before, passing it down for all future generations to practice. The hundreds of youths present all simultaneously copied Hillman and assumed the ¡®Qi Building Stance.¡¯ ¡°Remember, focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally!¡± Hillman reminded them whilst holding his position. Ace, who was training for the first time, spread his observation haki paying close attention to Hillman¡¯s form before demonstrating a near-perfect imitation. Even Hillman raised an eye at this. ¡®This kid has talent.¡¯ After making sure that his form was a mirror image of Hillman¡¯s, Ace compressed his observation haki so he could monitor his own body. As he wasn¡¯t trying to tire himself out, he decided to shrink the radius of his compressed haki to 1 meter. That way, even if he couldn¡¯t maintain it permanently, holding it for 20 mins was still possible. When he did, Ace noticed that along with the usual multi-coloured specs of light he could typically see, there were glistening milky white ones now too, and every time he took a breath in that position, those glistening white specs entered his body. ¡®Hilston said when the sun rises, all things begin to thrive. Does that mean that only at sunrise is this particular energy available to absorb? I¡¯m guessing that becoming a rank one warrior requires me to fill my body with these specs of energy as if it were a container.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he noticed the now plain energy entering his body. ¡®But it¡¯ll take over a year to do at this speed.¡¯ Spreading his compressed observation haki to 5 meters, he noticed that the speed it entered his body was slightly faster than the speed it entered Killian¡¯s and well over twice as fast as the speed it entered the body of the boy directly in front of him. Although, in the case of the boy in front of him, it was fair to assume it had something to do with his poor ¡®Qi building Stance.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s probably fair to assume everything else being equal, the speed we absorb nature¡¯s energy is related to our natural talent.¡¯ Ace guessed. Looking back at Killian, he noticed the body of his new friend was already nearly a quarter filled. ¡®Judging by the speed Killian absorbs the energy, it¡¯ll still take him 9 or 10 months to¡­¡¯ Before Ace could finish his train of thought, he noticed something peculiar happen. The longer they held their stance, the more tired they became, and the more tired they became, the faster their breathing, and as their breathing quickened, so too did the speed at which their bodies absorbed nature¡¯s energy. To test his new observation, despite not being even remotely out of breath, Ace began to take sharp but deep breaths and noticed that the speed he was now able to absorb the energy in the world had increased by almost a third. After a few minutes of playing around with various breathing patterns, Ace realised that by taking shorter sharp breaths faster, compared to the ordinairy breathing, the speed at which he absorbed energy now was 50% faster. Book 1: Chapter 7 – First Friend Hillman, who had been watching Ace from afar, was impressed, not just by the level of talent required to perform a perfect ¡®Qi building stance¡¯ almost immediately after seeing it for the first time, but also by his ability to hold the position for so long. Out of all those from the youngest group, over half had given up, unable to hold out any longer, and of those who were still going, other than Ace and Killian, the rest had all been there for at least a year already. Hillman watched silently as more and more children from the youngest batch dropped out, unable to hold their positions until only Killian and Ace were left standing. Not even a minute later, Killian collapsed, leaving Ace as the last man standing from his batch. Not that he¡¯d even noticed, he was too busy focusing on his breathing to care for anyone else. It took another 5 mins later for his legs to even start shaking. He forced himself to hold on for as long as possible, but after another few minutes, not even he could continue, but by that point, over half the middle group had fallen, unable to carry on. It was only after he fell that Ace realised he was being stared at like he was some sort of monster by Hillman and most of the other kids. ¡°Is¡­ Is today really your first day?¡± Killian asked, clearly still shy. ¡°It is.¡± Ace responded as he fought to steady his breathing whilst studying the looks he was getting. ¡®So they were bullying Killian out of jealousy.¡¯ Ace concluded from the looks both he and Killian were getting from the other kids their age. ¡°Ace, Killian, you two will train with the middle group from now.¡± As Ace heard Hillman¡¯s booming voice, he turned around to see Lance smiling and nodding at him. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess that his mother¡¯s crush more than likely had something to do with his rapid advance. The truth was that Hillman had wanted to put Killian in the group for older kids for a while now, but he didn¡¯t want to add to the poor boy¡¯s problems with the jealous kids. Had it not been for Ace¡¯s presence, he never would¡¯ve told Killian to train with the older kids today so as not to attract any further unwanted attention but seeing how Ace didn¡¯t seem to care and how both boys seemed to be getting on, it made him more comfortable with his decision. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Ace ignored the looks he received as he rolled to his feet and began waddling over to where the middle group was. After taking a few steps, he noticed that Killian hadn¡¯t moved. He was still sat motionless, just staring at the older kids, clearly daunted by their presence. ¡°You¡¯re not going to let your new friend go over there by himself now, are you?!¡± Ace asked as he stretched his hand out to help his new friend up. Though still intimidated, hearing Ace refer to him as a friend gave Killian the strength he needed to face his fears. ¡®Friend¡­ I¡¯ve never had one of those before.¡¯ Killian thought to himself as his heart warmed. As the duo began their pained walk over, Ace¡¯s attention was on a brown-haired child who looked no older than eight but was training with the teenagers. Not only was he training with them, he was one of the only seven able to carry on. ¡®I guess the rumours about Linley¡¯s talent as a warrior are true.¡¯ Ace noted having recognised the famous young master of their little town. Ace and Killian spent the rest of the morning session training with the 9 to 12-year-old kids. Ace was a fish amongst water, able to easily keep up with their session, and although Killian was among the weakest of that age group, he showed great determination, not wanting to let down his first true friend. After the session, Lance came over with a flask of water for each of the boys. ¡°You both did extremely well today. Keep it up, and you might just be the next Linley.¡± ¡°I have no interest in being the next anyone but me.¡± Ace said in response, not appreciating being compared to a child. To which Lance merely chuckled, not wanting to offend the child of his crush. Killian, on the other hand, was doing everything to suppress the feelings of joy he was feeling. First, he made a friend, and now he was being praised by one of the instructors. He was truly on cloud nine right now. Ignoring Lance¡¯s reaction, Ace led Killian back to where his mom was. ¡°Killian, this is my mom. Mom, this is Killian, my friend. As we¡¯re going to the daycare after lunch, can Killian come with us?¡± As one of the carers at the orphanage, Milianna knew who Killian was. Since they were going to the same place, she had no reason to say no, but most importantly, she was over the moon that Ace had finally made a friend. ¡°Hi, Killian darling. Would you like to come for lunch with us?¡± ¡°Ye¡­ Yes, please.¡± Still shy, Killian¡¯s response came out as nothing more than a whisper, but it was enough for Ace to grab his mom and Killian by their arms and lead them back home. ¡°Kil, you¡¯re okay if I call you Kil, right?¡± Ace asked before continuing, not giving him a chance to respond. ¡°You¡¯re in for a real treat. My mom is the best cook in the whole of Wushan town.¡± . . . From that day on, Ace and Killian became nearly inseparable. They would train together, then go and ¡®play¡¯ in private at the daycare where Milianna worked, and Killian lived. Although the games they played weren¡¯t your typical games. It would be ones for Ace to train his observation haki, for example, rock dodging. Killian would throw rocks as hard as he could, and Ace would dodge them whilst wearing a blindfold. Ace knew they couldn¡¯t play those games in front of others, so they made the woods behind the orphanage their personal playground. During that time, Killian¡¯s confidence grew steadily. He remained a boy of few words, but that was more because he didn¡¯t like talking to anyone who wasn¡¯t Ace, Milianna, or even Lance, who spent a lot of time ¡®helping¡¯ them with their training. Or, as Ace thought of it, ¡®buttering up his mom.¡¯ Book 1: Chapter 8 – Town Feast The last six months have been extremely lively in the small town of Wushan. First, a large battle took place between an eighth-stage mage, his personal seventh-stage Velocidragon, and a group of seven mages and warriors. Ace could only sigh watching that battle. Using his haki, he could sense that the Velocidragon was no weaker than an admiral in his last life, and as for the eighth-stage mage¡­ Ace guessed that he wasn¡¯t much weaker than any of the Yonko. When he remembered that there were still levels above that, Ace could only sigh at the difference in strength between his former world and this one. But the scene that had the most significant impact on not only Ace but everyone in Wushan Town was the incident that happened the very next day. That was the day Ace saw genuine saints. He only had to stretch his observation over them for an instant to realise they were the most powerful beings he¡¯d ever witnessed. Their aura made even Whitebeards look like that of a child. Thankfully Lance woke him from his shocked state. The guard immediately shot towards the orphanage carrying Ace and Killian in each of his arms to find Milianna. Luckily the orphanage was on the other side of the town, so everyone there came out unscathed. The rest of the town wasn¡¯t so lucky. Houses had collapsed, and families were crushed inside. It was like a scene straight out of the apocalypse. But the scene of those powerful figures flying high in the sky as if they were gods among men was burnt deep into Ace¡¯s mind. It was there and then that Ace¡¯s desire to stand at the peak of this cruel new world began to blaze like never before. After that day, the town¡¯s training for the kids was put on hold. Luckily, Ace had already learnt what he needed from Hillman and the others. Every day he would subject his body to a near-torturous amount of training. And his efforts paid off. It had only been a little over six months when Ace managed to achieve his first breakthrough. And Killian, who forced himself to do as much of Ace¡¯s inhumane training regime as his body allowed, refused to be left behind. He, too, managed to achieve a breakthrough a few weeks later. Linley was dubbed as the town¡¯s little genius warrior after managing to become a warrior of the first rank after training for a little under a year and a half, but whether it was Killian who did it in just over a year or Ace who achieved his breakthrough in 6 months, both of the boys had shattered Linley¡¯s record. The other thing Ace was pleasantly surprised about was that after becoming a warrior of the first rank, he felt that his observation haki finally had room to improve. One morning after the boys had returned to the orphanage from their morning training session, they overheard the excited conversation of one of the orphans. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Did you hear? Young master Linley has returned from Fenlai City. Apparently, he passed the assessment to become a mage. Our town has finally produced someone with the potential to become a mage!¡± ¡°Not only that, I heard his assessment results were so impressive, he was actually accepted by the Ernst Institute!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Ernst Institute supposed to be the best school for mages on the whole of the continent?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± ¡°Is that why the Baruch Clan have organised a celebratory gathering for the whole town tonight?¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard about that too. Apparently, the Clan¡¯s guards have been hunting several low-level magical beasts for an all-you-can-eat feast.¡± ¡°I heard they have something important they wish to announce at the time of the feast. I wonder what it is.¡± Ace wasn¡¯t all that interested in the gathering at first, but that all changed when he heard they were serving meat from magical beasts. In his last life, Ace could be considered to be quite the foody, and that part of him hadn¡¯t changed; he just suppressed it as he knew his family circumstances didn¡¯t allow for him to eat the quantity he would¡¯ve liked. After becoming a rank one warrior, his hunger only got harder to bear, but he never once complained. He knew his mother was already doing as much as she could to give him what he needed. After spending every single day of the last six months with Ace, Killian knew Ace better than almost anyone. So seeing the dribble trickling out the corner of his mouth, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess his intentions. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we¡¯re off to the feast tonight?¡± Ace didn¡¯t even turn back to face his first and only friend as he replied. ¡°Of course, what kind of townsmen would we be if we didn¡¯t go and congratulate Linley.¡± Killian was well aware that Ace¡¯s intentions were far from what he said, but it didn¡¯t matter to him one way or another; plus, as a warrior of the first rank himself, he¡¯d be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t interested in the food. That night under the moonlit sky, the Wushan Town Centre, which had finally been rebuilt, had been decorated extravagantly. Candles were placed on each of the tables, and banners congratulating Linley had been strung from each of the buildings. ¡°The Baruch Family are really going all out!¡± Killian exclaimed as she looked around. ¡°Of course they are; Young Master Linley has achieved something that no one in town history has. One day all of Wushan Town will be able to proudly say that the Mage Linley Baruch came from our small township.¡± Lance proudly explained. The reason behind that pride was because of the difference in social standings between mages and warriors. Whether it was on the battlefield or off, a mage is thought to bring far more to the table than a warrior at the same level. ¡°But when will they be serving the food?¡± Ace asked impatiently as he scanned the area in an attempt to locate his sole reason for coming, ignoring Lance¡¯s rambling. ¡°Must you always think with your belly?¡± Lance asked helplessly in response. Due to the fact that she wanted to earn extra money to buy more food for her growing son, Milianna decided to take on an extra shift at the orphanage tonight, leaving Ace and Killian in Lance¡¯s capable hands. Over the last six months, the relationship between Lance and Milianna had been progressing smoothly. Slowly, but still smoothly. The fact that an extremely overprotective mother like Milianna had decided to trust him to look after her pride and joy spoke volumes about how she felt towards him. A fact that didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Ace, and to be honest, Ace had become relatively fond of Lance. He could see that the guard¡¯s feelings were genuine, but he still refused to get involved in their business. Book 1: Chapter 9 – Perfect Choice ¡°Good evening, my fellow Wushan Townsfolk. On behalf of my Baruch family, I just wanted to thank you for joining us in celebrating our family¡¯s fortuitous news.¡± Ace and his group followed the sound¡¯s direction to the stage at the front. There, a family of four stood smiling warmly at the crowd before them. Hogg stood in the centre of his family, dressed in a luxurious robe embroidered with a majestic golden dragon. He projected a valiant yet noble aura that made the crowd look at him in awe and reverie. To his right was his brown-haired wife, Lina. She was dressed in a simple yet elegant white dress that only highlighted her undeniable beauty. On her left, holding her hand, was her youngest son, Wharton, dressed in luxurious robes not too dissimilar from his father¡¯s. His four-year-old chest was puffed out as if he was trying to show his noble side, but it only made people want to pinch his chubby cheeks as he was truly too adorable. But most people¡¯s attention was on the man of the hour. To Hogg¡¯s right, Linley stood calmly with his shoulder-length brown hair swaying gently with the wind. His gaze held a hint of pride but was also warm and inviting, leaving people with a positive impression. ¡°As many of you have already heard, my eldest son was lucky enough to be accepted into the Ernst Institute,¡± Hogg announced before pausing, waiting for the crowd''s applause to fade. ¡°As well as celebrating this joyous occasion, we also wanted to announce another piece of good news. Every man of great stature needs a powerful guard, which is why we as a family have decided to choose from the children of Wushan of similar age to become our son¡¯s personal guard. I will personally train said child myself in the ways of the warrior whilst Linley studies at the Ernst Institute.¡± As he said that, the sounds of multiple gasps could be heard coming from the crowd. As a warrior of the sixth rank, Hillman could be considered a man of power and status almost anywhere he went, but Hogg had gone one step further. Despite not having a secret manual to cultivate battle qi, purely relying on his excellent physique gifted by his great genes, he had reached the seventh rank. Despite a difference of only one rank between them, the seventh rank was somewhat of a watershed. The average seventh-rank warrior was no weaker than a group of ten peak sixth-rank warriors. Knowing that, it was no wonder why the crowd was so shocked by Hogg¡¯s declaration. Not only would they be personally trained by a powerhouse at the seventh rank, but due to the Ernst Institute only allowing people to graduate when they reach the 6th rank, it meant that whoever was lucky enough to be chosen would end up the personal guard to a mage of at least the sixth rank in the future. They would have the opportunity to interact with the true movers and shakers of their Yulan Continent. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This announcement caused shock and excitement in every child present, bar Ace, who could sense Linley¡¯s gaze lingering on him. ¡®Why am I getting a bad feeling all of a sudden?¡¯ ¡°For now, though, let¡¯s just focus on having an enjoyable night,¡± Hogg said with a cheery laugh. As he led his family to their seats, the servants began bringing out the plates of food, placing them on the tables. Besides those on the Baruch¡¯s table, everyone else had to go up and get their own food. Thankfully, due to the prestige of the Baruch Clan, no one was running or pushing to get to the front. Other than Ace, that was. As soon as he had caught a whiff of the most beautiful aroma he¡¯d ever smelt, he shot off towards the tables in the middle, where he knew the food would be laid out. By the time the servers had begun putting the food out, he was already queueing up. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he didn¡¯t want to provoke the family feeding him, he wouldn¡¯t have even bothered waiting for Hogg and his family to be served; he would¡¯ve begun sharing his portion already. ¡°Please, please help yourself,¡± Hogg said with an amused chuckle when he noticed the eager look on Ace¡¯s face. Ace didn¡¯t need to be told twice; he sped along the rows of food, sharing out as much food as his plate could hold. By the time he was done, his greedy grin was hidden behind the tower of food on his plate. He quickly reserved two more seats around him for his group before digging in unceremoniously, ignoring all the disdainful looks he was receiving. Killian glanced at the line and then at Ace, or more specifically, his food. It was clear he was jealous of Ace¡¯s quick thinking to get to the front of the queue. Lance, on the other hand, was more surprised by not just the quantity of food but Ace¡¯s ability to put it away. ¡®That food is made from rank one magical beasts. The only way he¡¯d be able to eat food with that much energy is¡­ Has he already¡­ Impossible! Even Linley took a year and a half to reach rank one, and that was with him consuming meals like this every night.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just him. Whether it was Hogg, Hillman, or the more powerful of the guards, they all had similar thoughts as Ace began to stuff his face. ¡®If he¡¯s really a rank one warrior, then we may have stumbled onto the perfect personal guard for Linley!¡¯ Hogg thought to himself as he watched Ace. By the time Killian and Lance got to the seats Ace had saved for them, Ace had already finished and had fallen asleep, sitting up with a smile of contentment lighting up his face. About an hour into the festivities, Ace began to wake from his slumber. ¡®Hmm, where am I? Ooh right. Is there any more food?¡¯ As Ace wiped the dribble from the corner of his mouth, he looked up to see if any food was left. But before he could make his way for a second helping, Hogg¡¯s voice stopped him. ¡°I hope everyone has enjoyed the food and tonight¡¯s festivities. Now though, I¡¯d like to announce the name of the child we¡¯ve chosen to become Linley¡¯s personal guard and my student.¡± Book 1: Chapter 10 – Refusal ¡°I hope everyone has enjoyed the food and tonight¡¯s festivities. Now though, I¡¯d like to announce the name of the child we¡¯ve chosen to become Linley¡¯s personal guard and my student.¡± ¡®Don¡¯t say me, please don¡¯t say me!¡¯ Ace begged in his mind when he heard Hogg¡¯s pause for dramatic effect. ¡°After speaking to Hillman, who¡¯s been in charge of instructing the town¡¯s children in the initial stages of their warrior training, the child we¡¯ve decided on is¡­¡± ¡®PLEASE DON¡¯T SAY ME!¡¯ Ace shouted in his mind hoping that by thinking it louder, he¡¯d be able to think it into existence. ¡°Ace!¡± ¡®FUCK!¡¯ Ace wanted to scream, but not wanting to make things any more awkward than they were about to become, he decided to suppress his impulse. He slowly turned to face the Baruchs with what could only be described as an awkward smile. Not knowing what to say, he looked at Hogg and then at all the faces of the other jealous children eyeing him like he just stole their last piece of meat. ¡°How can I be worthy of such an honour? I suggest you choose from one of the other more qualified children.¡± Ace answered in the humblest voice he could muster. ¡°Hahaha, talented and humble, I¡¯m even more sure of my decision now. Which child here is more qualified to be my son¡¯s head guard than a six-and-a-half-year-old warrior of the first rank?¡± Hogg said as if to reassure him. ¡®Why are you telling people my business, you old oaf. And what¡¯s with that look as if you did me a favour?¡¯ Ace cursed mentally, wanting nothing more than to slap him around the face to lessen his belly full of frustration, but forgetting about the difference in strength; he knew that Hogg genuinely believed he was doing him a favour, and Ace was many things, but ungrateful wasn¡¯t one of them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to respectfully refuse. The truth is, in the future, I wish to go on an adventure and explore everything these lands have to offer.¡± Ace said as respectfully as he could. Hogg frowned when he heard Ace¡¯s response, as did Lina and the family¡¯s guards. Their eyes were trained on him, but Ace remained calm and composed. If it were anyone else present, child or adult, who had to face the semi-unfriendly gazes of so many powerful warriors, they¡¯d likely faint from the pressure. Still, Ace remained utterly unfazed as he calmly maintained eye contact. ¡°Lance, do your job as a guard of the Baruch Clan and convince the child it will be in the best interest of all parties if he accepts.¡± Hillman, the guard captain, ordered coldly. Lance looked deeply at Ace, whom he¡¯d grown close to over the last six months. Then he thought of Milianna¡¯s smiling face when he promised to take care of her son. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and when he opened them, he seemed to have become a different person. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, captain, I can¡¯t do that,¡± Lance replied as politely yet firmly as he could. ¡°Are you disobeying a direct order?¡± Hillman asked icily as he turned his gaze from Ace to Lance. ¡°If you¡¯re ordering me to force a child to do something against his will¡­ Then that¡¯s an order I cannot follow!¡± Lance said defiantly, looking at a man he once wholeheartedly respected. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®Now that¡¯s a man deserving of my mother¡¯s trust¡­ Even if only barely!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as the corners of his mouth crept up whilst looking at the soon-to-be former Baruch family guard with newfound respect. ¡°If that¡¯s your choice, child, then I respect it. I just hope you don¡¯t come to regret it.¡± Hogg said indifferently before things got out of hand. ¡°I may have many regrets, but this will never be one of them!¡± Ace said firmly, keeping eye contact with the town¡¯s strongest man. Hogg took one more profound look at the child before him. For a moment, he felt like he was talking to a peer rather than a six-year-old child. ¡°We failed to convince our first choice, but hopefully, our second choice won¡¯t reject our family¡¯s goodwill,¡± Hogg said calmly before looking at Killian. ¡°Killian, according to Guard Captain Hillman, your talent as a warrior is second only to my genius son Linley and that child Ace. How would you like to be my disciple and Linley¡¯s future personal guard? If you say yes, you can leave behind your old life as an orphan and immediately move into my family manor.¡± Hogg explained warmly whilst not forgetting to throw shade at Ace when he could. Killian turned to the first friend he¡¯d ever made, unsure what to do or say in this position. Even though he¡¯d built up his confidence in these last few months hanging out with Ace, that innate sense of inferiority was still there. ¡°Kil, just follow your heart; if you choose to accept their offer, we will still be friends. But if you don¡¯t want to, just say so; I very much doubt ¡®nobles¡¯ such as the Baruch¡¯s will lower themselves to deal with two children simply for refusing them.¡± Ace said, not forgetting to put emphasis on the word noble, knowing how much of a sore spot it had to be for them knowing the social standing they once held. Hogg, Lina, and Linley all frowned hearing Ace¡¯s subtle insults but knew they couldn¡¯t engage in verbal sparring with a child of no status. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to.¡± Killian mumbled. As several warriors with sharpened senses were present, they managed to hear what the shy orphan had said, but Ace acted as if they wouldn¡¯t be able to hear from their positions. ¡°You need to speak louder, Kil. ¡®Lord¡¯ Hogg and his ¡®generous¡¯ family might not be able to hear from all the way back there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but no, thank you. I want to stay with Ace!¡± Killian borderline shouted with his eyes tightly shut. ¡°Then let¡¯s go home.¡± Ace smiled proudly at his shy friend. He ignored the cold and angry glares he received from not only the Baruchs but also the other civilians. ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to walk us home after the gathering?¡± Ace said as he noticed Lance was yet to move. ¡°I almost forgot; let¡¯s go before your mom starts worrying,¡± Lance said, trying to suppress the confusion he was feeling due to his actions. After the trio left, the gathering continued. The third person chosen to be Linley¡¯s guard was a young boy called Biliora. Luckily for the Baruchs, he instantly agreed, kneeling down and promising to be loyal to the Baruch Clan from now till the day he dies. Biliora is nine years old, not much older than Linley himself. He came from one of the more prominent families of Wushan town, but most importantly, he was very talented in his own right. If it weren¡¯t for the sudden emergence of Ace and Killian, the child with talent as a warrior second only to Linley would be him. He became a warrior of the first rank shortly after his 8th birthday. With that, the gathering began to wrap up, but everyone knew that things were unlikely to end just like that. Later that night, after Linley got into his bed, the glowing, flickering image of a gentle older man appeared in the air above the young brown-haired genius. ¡°Linley, why are you still angry?¡± The gentle-looking old man asked warmly. ¡°That Ace. He showed my family such disrespect in public!¡± Linley said with righteous indignation. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it your family that was rude first?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°But what? But your family are the town¡¯s rulers, so he has no right?¡± The older man asked, finishing Linley¡¯s sentence. Linley didn¡¯t answer, but it was clear from his expression that that was precisely how he felt. ¡°Linley, how would you feel if someone asked you to forgo any dreams you may have and dedicate the rest of your life to protect someone you didn¡¯t even know well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing,¡± Linley argued back. ¡°Why not? Because you¡¯re a genius dual-element mage, and he¡¯d be lucky to follow you?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°Linley, whilst I admit you¡¯re very talented; you must remember that there are others more talented than you, but they still have no right to force you to give up on your dreams for their sake. And more importantly, I don¡¯t know about his talents as a mage, but that boy Ace became a first-rank warrior in six months. His talent as a warrior is no worse than your talent as a mage.¡± Book 1: Chapter 11 – Simple Solution Over the next few days, things went from bad to worse for Ace and his group. First, Milianna was fired from her job. Even though they didn¡¯t give a reason, it didn¡¯t take a genius to see it was because of Ace¡¯s actions. Then Killian was ejected from the orphanage on the grounds that he was a bad seed, and they were worried he would affect the other children. Luckily, he was allowed to move in with Ace and Milianna. To make things worse, Lance was told his services as a guard would no longer be required. It made him sad to think that his former employers would behave like this, but he found solace in how his relationship with Milianna had taken a large step forward. The night he brought Ace and Killian home, Ace had explained exactly what happened, making sure to retell how Lance went above and beyond to keep to his word of protecting him. Milianna was deeply saddened and angry about her son being treated like that, but when she heard how Lance stood up for him, she couldn¡¯t help but tear up and fall into the man¡¯s arms, thanking him. It had been three days since then. After Milianna lost her job, Lance knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to afford payments for their current accommodation, so he offered her the spare rooms at his place. It was only a small cottage, but it was more than big enough for the four of them. Milianna originally wanted to refuse, not wanting to impose, but Ace said that at times like this, they were all better off sticking together. It had been a week since they moved in with the former guard. Ace and Killian had just finished morning training and returned to their new home. ¡°I don¡¯t know what we should do next; I only have enough savings to allow us to eat for another month. I¡¯m too useless!¡± Lance said dejectedly. ¡°No, you¡¯re not useless at all. If it weren¡¯t for us, you wouldn¡¯t be in this situation in the first place.¡± Milianna said, trying her best to comfort him. Seeing the looks of worry on the faces of his mother and Lance, Ace decided enough was enough. ¡°Why do you have to overthink things? If you simplify everything, the answers become obvious. The only thing we really need to spend money on is food, right? But do we really need to spend money to buy something we can just hunt ourselves? Lance, you¡¯re a rank three warrior who would often go hunting back when you worked for the Baruchs. Just hunt a few weak magical beasts every day. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Mom, you¡¯re the best chef in Wushan Town. If you cook the beasts that Lance hunts, it¡¯s problem solved. At most, you might need to buy some seasoning, but seasoning is far less expensive than raw beast meat. We only need to do this for another year and a half or so, at which point me and Kil will be old enough to take the entrance exams for mage and warrior schools, even if neither of us can become mages; you said it yourself our talents as warriors are second to none. At that point, we can reassess our options before making an informed decision about the future.¡± Both his mother and Lance looked at him with blank eyes as they processed everything he said. ¡°Ooh, and if you need backup when hun¡­¡± ¡°Not a chance!¡± Both Lance and Milianna said in unison. ¡°You¡¯re far too young and weak to start hunting magical beasts,¡± Milianna said, not wanting to even imagine her son putting himself in harm¡¯s way. ¡®This was the age Luffy, Sabo, and I began hunting animals and training to be pirates.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he momentarily lost himself in his happy memories of a simpler time. It wasn¡¯t until he heard Lance¡¯s voice that he was woke from his little daydream. ¡°Your mother¡¯s right. Leave the hunting to me; you two just need to focus on your training.¡± Lance said with renewed vigour. ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous out there. Will you be alright by yourself?¡± Milianna said, unable to hide her concern. ¡°I only need to hunt rank 1 and 2 beasts at most, which means I only need to stay on the periphery of the wilderness. I¡¯ll be fine, plus it¡¯ll be a good form of training. I¡¯ve been too static recently.¡± Lance said with a hint of excitement. Ace couldn¡¯t tell if he was excited to go out hunting or to be able to provide for his mother, but either way, he approved. ¡°You¡¯re such a wise kid; you know that, right? Sometimes it¡¯s hard to believe you¡¯re only six.¡± Milianna said as she approached her son. ¡°You said it yourself; I¡¯m a genius!¡± Ace replied with a smile. ¡°Yes, you are!¡± Milianna agreed as she stroked his cheek lovingly. The following year and a half flew by in a flash. The town still ostracised them, but they didn¡¯t care. They were more than happy with their current way of life. Ace had never felt so completely at peace. He liked Lance more and more as time went by, he had made a great friend for life in Killian, and his mother showed him nothing but love every single day, and seeing her so happy with Lance made him happy. By now, he¡¯d already reached the peak of the first rank as a warrior and guessed that he would achieve a breakthrough any day now. His observation haki had also reached a ceiling. He guessed he would have to wait till he reached the second rank before continuing training it. Now he could extend his observation up to 1250 meters and 12.5 meters when compressed. He wasn¡¯t the only one to improve over the last year and a half; Killian had become a late-stage rank one warrior; Ace guessed he¡¯d be ready to make a breakthrough in a month or two. Lance had also improved, having reached the peak of the third rank. According to him, he could make a breakthrough at any moment. This time spent hunting was obviously of great benefit to his training. Ace had to admit that seeing Lance going hunting every day made him jealous. Even though he enjoyed the training, he missed the excitement of letting loose that came with a good battle against a powerful opponent. But he didn¡¯t want to do anything else to worry his mother unnecessarily, so he suppressed his urge, knowing that he¡¯d get the chance in the future. Book 1: Chapter 12 – Incoming ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving in the next 10 minutes. You boys ready?¡± Lance asked when he saw Ace and Killian leaving the room they shared, entering their small living room. ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡± The boys said in unison. Looking over to the door, Ace saw a few bags packed with their essentials. Looking back at the rest of the house, Ace looked at all the furniture and belongings Lance had collected over his time living here. ¡°Are you sure you really want to leave your life here? I¡¯m sure if you asked for your job back after we left, they¡¯d give it to you, especially after you break through to the 4th Rank.¡± Ace said, feeling slightly guilty. Lance looked deeply at the place he had called home for the better part of 10 years. ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said there wasn¡¯t a small part of me that was sad to leave, but after seeing the true face of my former employers, I could never go back to working for them. Plus, I¡¯m ready to start the next chapter in my life with you guys.¡± Lance replied honestly. ¡°Now hurry and help your mom pack the carriage.¡± Ace nodded before he and Killian picked up the last few bags and took them outside. ¡°Ace, Kil, place those bags inside the carriage and come over here,¡± Milianna said when she saw the boys leave the house. Doing as she said, the duo stopped in front of Milianna, who ruffled their hair warmly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything you boys have had to put up with over the last year or so, but I¡¯m so proud of the way you¡¯ve carried yourselves. Whatever happens at your assessment, we¡¯ll make it work, so don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourselves, okay?¡± Milianna asked, worried about the pressure they were under to do well. Both Ace and Milianna had noticed the recent change in Killian¡¯s behaviour. He had become even less talkative than usual, he wasn¡¯t eating as much, but he was forcing himself to train harder. Ace had chosen not to say anything for two reasons: First, even if he didn¡¯t pass the test to become a mage, he, more than anyone, understood how talented a warrior Killian was. It would be impossible for no warrior-based academies to want to recruit an eight-year-old late-stage rank one warrior. Secondly, and most importantly, Killian will more than likely have to face situations far more stressful than this throughout his life. He needed to get used to facing pressure by himself if he wanted to thrive in the future. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Killian just wanted to pay everyone back for taking such good care of them by living up to their expectations, but in doing so, he had put an unnecessary amount of pressure on himself. But Milianna saying what she did alleviated some of his stress and made him feel warm inside. ¡°I understand!¡± Killian said with a gentle smile. ¡°Good. Now for the last time, are you two sure you want to run beside the carriage? There¡¯s more than enough space inside for you to sit down and rest.¡± ¡°Running beside the carriage is the only training we¡¯ll be able to do today if we want to make it to Fenlai by nightfall.¡± Ace replied. The boys spent the next 6 hours running alongside the carriage, making sure to keep taking short sharp breaths to absorb as much of nature¡¯s energy as they could whilst the sun rose. Killian was sweating buckets, but his eyes remained steadfast as he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, making sure to stay beside Ace. Ace, on the other hand, didn¡¯t find the run too challenging. He had still worked up a bit of sweat, but his breathing was steady as he focused most of his attention on taking in as much of the sights as he could. This was his first time leaving Wushan town since he was born, and he could hardly contain his excitement. At the front of the carriage was Lance, steering the two horses, and Milianna, who watched Ace with a gentle but proud smile. ¡°You raised a good son,¡± Lance said, noticing the look on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t actually do much; it was almost like he raised himself,¡± Milianna said, chuckling whilst reminiscing. ¡°Haha, I know what you mean. Sometimes I forget he¡¯s only a child. It¡¯s like speaking to another adult.¡± Lance said, looking over at Ace. ¡°He really is a little genius!¡± Milianna agreed. ¡°Although I won¡¯t be able to call him little for much longer.¡± ¡°Haha, what do you want to do for his birthday tomorrow?¡± Lance asked. ¡°He says he just wants us all to go for a nice meal tomorrow. Knowing him, as long as it includes nice food, he¡¯ll be happy.¡± Milianna replied helplessly. ¡°He truly is a glutton, that boy,¡± Lance said with a chuckle. ¡°How you holding up, Kil?¡± Ace asked, turning to face the oversized eight-year-old. Killian simply nodded, too tired to use words. Ace was about to respond when he abruptly stopped with a deep frown. Seeing him stop, both Killian and the carriage also came to a stop. ¡°Ace honey, are you okay?¡± Milianna said, hurrying to her son¡¯s side, worried he might be hurt. Ace hadn¡¯t even heard his mother. He was too busy focusing his observation haki on four formidable auras he didn¡¯t recognise heading in their direction in a hurry. ¡®Those auras are coming straight towards us, and that bloodlust¡­ They remind me of the Cipher Pol¡¯s agents from my previous life. Why would assassins be coming after us?¡¯ ¡°Lance, mom, please don¡¯t ask any questions right now; I just need you to trust me.¡± Ace said with an uncharacteristically serious expression. ¡°Why wha¡­¡± ¡°Tell us what you need us to do,¡± Lance said, interrupting the worried mother, placing his palm on her shoulder to comfort her. Nodding at Lance, grateful for his trust, Ace started giving out orders. ¡°Mom, Killian, both of you get in the back of the carriage. Lance, you and I will be riding out front.¡± Understanding that now wasn¡¯t the time for discussions, everyone followed Ace¡¯s instructions. ¡°Now what?¡± Lance asked after making sure Milianna and Killian were on the back safely. Book 1: Chapter 13 – First Fight In A New World ¡°Now what?¡± Lance asked after making sure Milianna and Killian were on the back safely. ¡°Now, I need you to steer the carriage that way.¡± Ace said, pointing off the road. Sensing the worry coming from Ace, Lance followed Ace¡¯s directions, no questions asked. Ace, still concentrating on the two auras heading in their direction, wanted to curse when he sensed them turning to follow their new direction and speeding up. ¡®How are they able to track us from so far away? Can they use haki too, or has something been planted on us?¡¯ ¡°What is it? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lance asked, seeing Ace¡¯s frown deepen. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to explain how I know, but there are four auras following after us, and they don¡¯t seem friendly.¡± Ace quickly explained. ¡°Do you have any idea how strong they are?¡± Lance asked as he suppressed all other unnecessary thoughts. ¡°The weakest one is no weaker than me, but the strongest are about as strong as you.¡± Ace answered honestly. ¡®But that 4th one¡­ The energy coming from him is green. It looks similar to elemental essence, which would make him¡­ He has to die first!¡¯ ¡°Judging by your unsightly expression, we won¡¯t be able to outrun them,¡± Lance said, paying close attention to Ace¡¯s expression. ¡°We have to fight!¡± Ace said resolutely. About 200 meters away, four masked figures wearing plain black robes were running side by side. ¡°They¡¯ve stopped about 200 meters ahead.¡± Said the one running just in front whilst looking at a glowing crystal in one hand, holding a guandao in the other. ¡°Looks like they know we¡¯re following them.¡± The well-built man on the far left said. ¡°But how could they find out from so far away?¡± The smallest one, who had a young, feminine, yet cold voice, asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. Little Tiger, remember to stay at the back; you¡¯re only permitted to fight if one of the children is separated from¡­¡± Before the masked man with the crystal could finish his sentence, he felt something suddenly jerking his foot. Glancing down, he noticed that a vine was pulled unnaturally taut before he fell to the ground. By the time the others had stopped to realise what was happening, Ace had shot out from the tree he had hidden behind, holding a small knife in his right hand. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡®If you¡¯re really a mage, you have to die first!¡¯ Ace thought to himself with the iciest of expressions as he neared his target. Without batting an eyelid, Ace thrust the small blade in his hands towards the eye of the mage, hoping to take him out in one go. The others all wanted to turn back and help their comrade, but another figure shot towards them, spear in hand, at an incredible speed. The bulky man drew the great sword on his back, preparing for the imminent clash, whilst the other man grabbed the masked child and jumped back to ensure she didn¡¯t get caught up in that fight. Lance, though, didn¡¯t care about anything but killing the man in front of him as quickly as possible to protect the others. ¡°DIE!¡± Lance roared as he thrust his spear towards the head of the stocky assassin before him. The assassin snorted as he slashed his sword at the spear, but he was shocked by the power behind the spear. ¡®They said he was a late third-rank warrior like me, but this, this is the power of someone at the peak of the third rank.¡¯ The bulky man thought to himself as he tried his best to regain his footing. Seeing the bulky man off balance, how could Lance give him time to recoup? Lance¡¯s spear shot forth over and over, putting more and more pressure on the assassin. Finally, one of Lance¡¯s attacks managed to find a gap in the man¡¯s weakening defence, piercing his right shoulder, but before Lance could follow up and finish his opponent, he jumped out of the way dodging the saber that was aiming for his neck. ¡®Dam, just a few more seconds, and I would¡¯ve killed him!¡¯ Lance thought to himself as he eyed his two new opponents with a hint of caution but no fear. ¡®With these two here and Ace dealing with the other adult, the one left should be the kid that Ace said was a peak rank one warrior. Even if Killian can¡¯t defeat his opponent, he should be able to hold out until either me or Ace is finished.¡¯ Lance hoped to himself while taking a second to glance at each of the battlefields. Seeing the others too distracted to interfere with his surprise attack, Ace focused wholeheartedly on the man before him. He could hear his target mumbling something under his breath, but not clearly enough to decipher it. The look on Ace''s face changed just as his knife reached its target. ¡°Wind bomb!¡± The masked assassin shouted just as the knife reached his eye. A small ball of wind shot towards Ace, who, thanks to his haki, had already begun to dodge. Unfortunately, Ace wasn¡¯t fast enough to completely get out of the way, and his left shoulder bore the brunt of the attack. ¡®Fuck! My shoulder¡¯s dislocated!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he rolled to his feet. ¡°Aagghhhh, my eye!¡± The masked mage roared in pain. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill you, you brat!¡± Ace was about to rush in to finish the job when he noticed the man¡¯s glaive. ¡®He must¡¯ve dropped it when I used the vine to trip him up.¡¯ Ace thought as he bent over to pick it up. The glaive had a glistening silver blade attached to a plain wooden pole almost twice his size, but when he picked it up, he felt oddly comfortable. As he took a deep breath, his body was suddenly filled with strength, bringing a faint sense of security. ¡®It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re right here with me, pops!¡¯ Ace thought as he looked down fondly t the guandao. He didn¡¯t need to use his haki to tell what had happened. He could feel all the energy he¡¯d absorbed over the last year and a half fusing with his body, dramatically strengthening it. ¡®Haha, so this is what it feels like to be a warrior of the 2nd rank? Things should be easier now. Now I just need to kill him quick enough to support Kil.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he saw his only friend confronting a child the same age with powerful, wild, untrained swings of the woodcutting axe they had initially brought with them with the intention of cutting wood for fires. Luckily, Killian¡¯s opponent appeared weary about a direct confrontation. She looked to be trying to tire him out. Still, Ace knew he didn¡¯t have time to waste. Book 1: Chapter 14 – You Have It Too? Whilst Ace was using his observation to assess the situation of the other battles, the mage in front of him began chanting, and although Ace had never seen a real mage do battle properly, he knew from books that Mages used chants to control their spells. Not wanting to find out what spell his opponent was casting, Ace shot towards him, guandao in hand, as fast as physically possible, giving his opponent quite the fright. ¡°Impossible! They said you were only a rank one warrior, but that speed¡­¡± The mage shouted in shock, clearly caught off guard by Ace¡¯s speed! But Ace was more interested in who the ¡®they¡¯ he was referring to were. But before he could ask, he noticed several silvery crescent blades being fired at him in quick succession. He assumed all spells required chants to perform, so when he heard the mage interrupt his chant, he foolishly believed he was safe. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t have been any further from the truth. Though he was taken by surprise, Ace remained ready to react. His guandao swept through the air in front of him with unstoppable momentum slicing through three wind blades with one slash, but he was forced to stop his approach and dodge when he noticed three more coming towards him. ¡®This is what they called a somewhat talented eight-year-old?¡¯ The mage thought to himself in disbelief when he saw the ease with which Ace was dodging his wind blades. He could somewhat accept that he had reached rank two by the age of 8, as although it was rare, geniuses like that popped up every once in a while. He could even accept the ruthlessness required to thrust a knife into another man¡¯s eye. Again, although it was rare for a child, it wasn¡¯t unheard of, but when you add both those points together as well as the combat experience required to perfectly dodge each of his wind blades without being touched. The only word he could think of to describe the child in front of him was¡­ ¡®Monster!¡¯ Ace, on the other hand, was smiling happily as he moved between the wind blades. The longer this went on, the more relaxed he felt. At first, he could only see the wind blades being formed and then had to guess where they were being aimed and move accordingly, but now, through his observation, he could see the intended path of each attack, making them easier to dodge, allowing him to slowly edge closer and closer towards his target as he weaved his way through the onslaught of wind blades. The mage didn¡¯t even realise that he¡¯d been backing away until he backed into a tree. ¡°Aghhh. I refuse to let a child beat me, a dignified rank three mage! Rank 2 Spell ¨C Giant Wind Blade!¡± As the mage roared, a giant wind blade five times the size of the others formed in front of him. Even after seeing the size of this new wind blade, Ace never faltered. His eyes flashed with resolve as he took a deep breath and shot toward him like a bullet. As soon as the Wind Blade was in range, the blade of his polearm turned pitch black, and Ace, using all the strength he could muster, swung the guandao from left to right. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The spell didn¡¯t shatter under his might like Ace hoped it would. Both attacks fell into a stalemate, with neither able to push the other back. Ace felt a shooting pain all along his arm, but he refused to give up. ¡°BREAK FOR MEEEE!¡± Ace bellowed as he forcibly coated the whole of his weapon with his armament haki. The wind blade shattered there and then, but Ace wasn¡¯t done. He knew he didn¡¯t have the strength to do that again, so, as soon as he finished destroying the spell, he sped towards the assassin who had only just recovered from what he saw. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not the only second-rank warrior you kn¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the guandao tear through the air like a shooting star. He hadn¡¯t thought Ace would throw it from that distance, and he definitely hadn¡¯t expected it to travel that fast. The glaive tore through his chest and exited his back before stopping blade first in the tree behind him. Ace, whose body was crying for rest, turned to face the rest of the attackers with crimson eyes. Every cell in his body was burning with fatigue, but when he saw Killian, who was covered in his own blood but refused to go down, and Lance, whose condition was no better, he forced himself to keep going. The other assassins, who had all been trained to keep an eye on their surroundings, had seen what happened and felt a hint of fear when looking at the prepubescent boy, who was barely able to walk. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this stubborn fool; you go kill that kid!¡± The burly man wielding the heavy-sword said to his partner. Not wanting any more accidents to happen, the slender saber-wielding assassin darted towards Ace with every intention of taking his head as quickly as possible. Ace saw the man coming towards him, and even though he knew his body was in too much pain to continue, he carried on walking in his direction. Each step was more painful than the last, but Ace¡¯s fists were balled tight, and his eyes shone with a fierce light that made the man hesitate briefly. ¡°Why am I scared of a snot-nosed brat?!¡± The assassin snorted before speeding up. Milianna, who had been forcing herself to stay silent so as not to distract Ace or the others from their fights, fell to her knees when she saw the saber-wielding assassin running towards her son, who could barely stand. ¡°No¡­ Please stop¡­ My son¡­ SSTTTOOOOPPPPP!¡± She screamed as a familiar invisible energy exploded out of her. Just before the saber could reach Ace¡¯s neck, the assassin collapsed under the sudden pressure he felt from Milianna¡¯s haki. The two remaining assassins didn¡¯t collapse, but they were definitely caught off guard. That moment was all Lance needed to flip the script in his favour. His spear snaked forth, piercing through his opponent¡¯s head like a hot knife through butter. Lance watched as his burly attacker fell to the floor, with all signs of life fading from his eyes. On the other hand, though the young assassin seemed able to easily bear the pressure, she was still in shock over the sudden development. She took one more look at her fellow assassins, all of whom were now either dead or unconscious, before glancing at Ace, who was glaring back at her. She finally turned to take one more profound look at the boy who gave her so much trouble. She could see he was barely conscious and should be unable to swing the axe in his hand anymore, but for some reason, she felt that as long as she stepped towards him, he would swing away with just as much power as before. She couldn¡¯t feel any hatred or killing intent from him, just pure, unwavering determination. She sighed once at the situation before running away, taking advantage of the fact that everyone else was too weak to stop her. It was only when he saw her leave that Ace felt he could breathe a little easier. He then turned his attention to his mother, who was running over to him in tears. ¡®So you have conqueror¡¯s haki as well?¡¯ Was the last thought he had before losing consciousness. Book 1: Chapter 15 – Steady Progression When he woke, he first noticed that he was inside the carriage being held by his mother. Killian was on the seat in front of him, sleeping peacefully. Thankfully, none of his injuries appeared life-threatening. It looked like all the blood on him from before came from several shallow wounds. The more Ace looked at Killian, the wider his smile became. He had truly done him proud. Considering this was his first proper battle, he had done exceptionally well. He then spread his observation haki and found Lance still steering the wagon despite his wounds. Out of all of them, he was the only one to suffer serious injuries. By compressing his haki, he could see that Lance had four stab wounds. Thankfully though, judging by the strength of his aura, it looked like Lance also managed to achieve a breakthrough and had reached the fourth rank. Because of that, none of his wounds were fatal, but he¡¯d still need a period of recovery before he was back in fighting condition. All things considered, they had come out of that encounter with the best results possible. Turning his attention back to his sleeping mother, he remembered the moments before he lost consciousness. That all too familiar energy¡­ ¡®That was definitely conqueror¡¯s haki. Does that mean haki is useable by others, or is it something unique to our family? It could be that, like in my former world, Haki is useable by all living creatures, or it could be that it¡¯s something I brought over with me from my previous life, and mom somehow inherited it from me when she was pregnant with me. Either way, until I know more, we should refrain from using it unless absolutely necessary.¡¯ . . . It took a few hours before they arrived at the gates to Fenlai City and were forced by the city guards to dismount, as only nobles were permitted to travel via carriage once past the city gates. Not wanting to cause any trouble in unfamiliar territory, they did precisely that. Still, due to the injuries of Lance and Killian, who were still sleeping soundly, they decided it would be easier for the mother-son duo to search for a place to stay whilst Lance and Killian stayed on the carriage to continue resting and look after their stuff. The good news was that thanks to the now-dead assassins, they could be considered to be fairly well off after having looted the bodies of their attackers. Each of them was carrying a few low-grade magicite gems, whilst the mage that Ace killed actually had a mid-grade gem. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ace knew from the books in the library that magicite gems were crystallized elemental essence formed naturally underground that had to be mined. Due to the energy they stored, they had several different uses for those with the right know-how. As no one from their group had the required knowledge of how to utilise them correctly, all they could do was sell them off at a pawn shop in the city. In the end, it managed to net them 150 gold coins which was ten times more than Lance initially had saved. Meaning, at least for now, they were okay financially. ¡®Thank god Fenlai City doesn¡¯t permit violence; our group isn¡¯t in any condition to protect our lives, let alone our wealth.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he noticed the odd looks they were getting from others who overheard their transaction. Next, they located an affordable and low-key inn and paid for three rooms for seven days, costing them 30 gold. They dropped the few bags they brought with them off in the rooms before returning to pick up the rest of their group. As Ace and Milianna managed to carry most of their stuff with them on their first trip, it allowed Ace to carry Killian on his back and Milianna to be used as a crutch to help Lance. The only annoying part was how they had to ignore all the weird looks they received. It wasn¡¯t hard to understand why, though. Besides Ace, who managed to avoid receiving any external injuries, and Milianna, who didn¡¯t directly participate in any of the fights, both Killian and Lance were covered in bandages. As they walked on Fragrant Pavilion Road, the primary road of East Fenlai City, Killian found himself turning his head from side to side with awe-filled eyes. He¡¯d never seen such sights. Unfortunately, his constant wriggling only served to agitate his injuries further. ¡°Would you stop moving about? You¡¯re only making your injuries worse.¡± Ace said as he rolled his eyes at his friend¡¯s antics. ¡°I know, but I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before,¡± Killian replied, failing to hide his excitement. ¡°Just try not to worsen your injuries; the city isn¡¯t going anywhere. It won¡¯t be too late to go and explore a little after you recover.¡± Ace said Killian nodded and settled down a bit, but Ace still felt the boy¡¯s head shifting subtly every once in a while. Ultimately, Ace could only sigh, but he didn¡¯t try to stop him again. Unlike Ace, who had seen all kinds of kingdoms in his previous life, several of which were far more prosperous than this, Killian truly was just an eight-year-old child who¡¯d never before today left the small backwater township of Wushan. After settling the young and excited Killian in their room and convincing him to get some rest, Ace walked next door to speak to his mother. *Knock knock* ¡°Mom¡­¡± ¡°Come in, sweetie,¡± Milianna answered softly. Upon entering, Ace saw Lance sitting on the bed with his top off, showing off his very well-defined physique, and Milianna stood in front of him, showing great care as she changed his bandages. ¡°Take a seat on the bed whilst I finish up.¡± Looking at the scene in front of him, Ace couldn¡¯t help but think that if he had walked in on them like this a couple of years ago, they would¡¯ve jumped apart like they¡¯d been caught doing something wrong. Their relationship has really come a long way. ¡®I¡¯m happy for you. Both of you.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as his eyes fell on Lance. ¡®But I refuse to call you daddy.¡¯ Book 1: Chapter 16 – The True Perpetrators ¡°We were just talking about you,¡± Lance said softly, not knowing what was just going through Ace¡¯s mind. Sitting on the opposite side of the bed, Ace couldn¡¯t help but wonder what exactly they were talking about, but he didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. ¡°After you lost consciousness, Lance asked me how I managed to knock out those assassins, but I genuinely didn¡¯t know; I¡¯d never done anything like that in the past. That was when I remembered the night before we met Lance almost six years ago now. Us and several of the townsfolk around us randomly lost consciousness. At the time, I, along with the rest of the town, assumed it was a hidden expert who acted to stop Lina Baruch from being kidnapped, but after today¡­ It was you wasn¡¯t it? You somehow managed to stop the kidnappers with that weird energy.¡± ¡°It was¡­ But I still don¡¯t completely understand how I did it. All I know is that when I woke up the next morning, I had the ability to sense energy without looking at it and the ability to harden myself or external objects I¡¯m in direct contact with. Still, the latter ability seems to be linked to my personal strength, so I can¡¯t use it for very long right now.¡± Ace explained. ¡®Technically, everything I said was the truth; I just said it in a way that allowed me to keep the knowledge of my past life a secret.¡¯ ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me at the time? You should know you can tell me anything.¡± She asked, clearly hurt that Ace hadn¡¯t told her earlier. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ace muttered, looking down at the ground, unable to look her in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s ok, son. Just don¡¯t hide things from me. If you tell me, then we can figure it out together.¡± Milianna said gently as she pulled Ace into her embrace. ¡®Sorry, mom. I don¡¯t want to lie to you, but I¡¯m still not ready to explain everything.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he returned his mother¡¯s hug. ¡°I was just telling your mother that I personally haven¡¯t heard of anyone with abilities like that, but I¡¯m not exactly the most knowledgeable. What I do know is that there are certain families with special bloodlines that give them access to certain abilities. The Baruch family was one. Although they have declined from their peak, their bloodline ability was what allowed them to reign supreme once upon a time. If you¡¯re like them, and these abilities stem from your bloodline, I suggest we keep it a secret until you have the strength to protect yourself from all potential threats.¡± Lance said seriously after giving the mother and son the time to have their moment. ¡°I agree!¡± Ace replied, happy that Lance was on the same page. ¡°But if it is an ability tied to your bloodline, that would mean you inherited it from one of your parents,¡± Lance said as he looked towards the dark-haired beauty beside him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Like Killian, I¡¯m an orphan,¡± Milianna replied. ¡°Did the orphanage tell you anything about your origins?¡± Lance asked, clearly aware of how orphanage¡¯s typically worked. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°All¡­ All I know is I was left on the doorstep of a small orphanage on the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s border when I was still a baby.¡± Milianna said, trying to hold back her emotions. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have asked. It¡¯s none of my business,¡± Lance replied, placing his hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. ¡°It¡¯s ok... But I do need some rest; I¡¯m pretty exhausted.¡± She replied with a forced smile. ¡®Those eyes¡­ The only time I¡¯ve ever seen her like that was when we got home after meeting Lance that day¡­ And it was only for the briefest of moments, but she had a weird look on her face when she mentioned the ¡®O¡¯Brien Empire.¡¯ What exactly happened in this O¡¯Brien Empire?¡¯ Ace thought as he looked into his mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll see you in the morning,¡± Lance said, leading Ace out. ¡°How are you doing, by the way?¡± Lance asked after closing Milianna¡¯s door. ¡°Today, you took a life for the first time. Your first kill is something most people take a while to get over; hell, some never do.¡± Lance continued when he saw the confusion on Ace¡¯s face. As a pirate, he¡¯d killed his fair share of enemies. He¡¯d long become numb to it, but he had almost forgotten that now he was just an eight-year-old boy who had grown up in a peaceful environment. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I have no regrets. If it¡¯s to protect the lives of those I love, I will always make the same choice!¡± Ace replied with pure conviction. ¡°It really is hard to believe you¡¯re just an almost 8-year-old boy.¡± Lance sighed softly. ¡°Anyway, go get some sleep; you¡¯ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow, Mr. Birthday boy!¡± After saying goodnight to Lance, Ace returned to his and Killian¡¯s room and sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling. ¡®O¡¯Brien Empire¡­ For your sake, I hope you did nothing to my mom. If you did¡­ I¡¯ll personally burn your whole empire to the ground!¡¯ . . . The next day the group of four celebrated Ace¡¯s birthday in peace, buying a nice meal from a slightly extravagant restaurant in the city and bringing it back to the inn to eat. The next few days were spent recovering or training in Ace¡¯s case. Five days later, Killian had recovered enough to move around by himself, and Ace decided to take him to explore, as he promised. Walking along the Fragrant Pavilion Road, Ace could only laugh and follow along as Killian felt the need to explore virtually every shop they passed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you ready to go for food yet?¡± Ace asked after almost three hours of window shopping. ¡°Yeah¡­ Wait, what¡¯s everyone doing?¡± Killian asked, seeing a gathering crowd. Ace wasn¡¯t that interested in whatever was going on as he was getting hungry. Still, he had promised to do whatever Killian wanted today, so he followed along as Killian entered the crowd. Squeezing through the crowd, they finally got to the front. Apparently, everyone was gathering around a ring to watch two kids about their age battling. ¡°I can¡¯t believe those nobles started a betting station on their child.¡± One of the men next to Ace said. ¡°I know. It¡¯s only ten gold coins to enter, but you apparently get 100 Gold coins if you win. Part of me wants to enter as well.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s only open to children ten and under.¡± ¡°You can see why they had the confidence to do this, though. That kid¡¯s a little monster. He¡¯s already fought 19 matches and has easily dominated all of them.¡± Hearing the conversation, Ace looked up at the children battling. On one side was a blonde-haired boy about ten years old whom Ace could sense was an early rank one warrior, and in front of him was a brown-haired boy who was also an early rank one warrior, but this brown-haired boy was no older than seven at most. ¡°Why does that brown-haired kid look so familiar?¡± Ace asked himself aloud. ¡°That¡¯s Wharton, the Baruch¡¯s second son.¡± Killian reminded him calmly. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right¡­ How did he become a rank one warrior so fast? He should¡¯ve only turned six a few months ago.¡± Ace wondered as he looked at the young noble. ¡°The Baruch blood, I guess,¡± Killian said absentmindedly as he watched the fight. ¡°Even Linley took over a year to reach that stage, and he has the same bloo¡­¡± Ace stopped talking mid-sentence as he felt a hostile aura nearby. Following his senses, he saw Lina, Wharton¡¯s mother glaring at him. He could sense a mixture of shock, fear, and killing intent. ¡®Why is she¡­ Did the Baruchs send the assassins after us? Surely they¡¯re not that petty to send assassins after a couple of children, are they? But to be fair, they are the only people any of us have offended...¡¯ The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. ¡®What an impressive family! Since you threw such a dirty blow at my family, don¡¯t blame me for what happens next.¡¯ Book 1: Chapter 17 – Dragonblood Warrior Since you threw such a dirty blow at my family, don¡¯t blame me for what happens next.¡¯ At the same time, the blonde-haired child was thrown out of the ring, spitting a mouth of blood. ¡°Whose next?¡± Wharton said disdainfully, looking down at the other children like he didn¡¯t put any of them in his eyes. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind trying my luck against the Baruch Clan¡¯s elite.¡± Ace said with clear sarcasm as he jumped to the stage. ¡°Who¡¯s that child?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he¡¯s courting death. That Wharton kid has defeated god knows how many talented ten-year-olds who had already started making a name for themselves in the city, yet he still dares to challenge him. He doesn¡¯t look to be older than eight either.¡± ¡°I know you. You¡¯re that cocky kid, Ace, who thought he was too good to be my brother¡¯s personal guard.¡± Wharton said with righteous indignation. ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Ace said with a disdainful smirk. ¡°Older brother? As in Linley? This kid said he was too good to be Linley¡¯s personal guard?¡± One of the crowd members asked, unable to believe what he had heard. ¡°Which Linley? Linley Baruch, the genius dual element magi?¡± ¡°Is there another Linley Baruch?¡± ¡°Where does this kid get his arrogance from? Linley¡¯s talent is one in a million!¡± ¡°I heard he¡¯s already been crowned as one of this generation¡¯s two leading genius mages.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just another kid overestimating his ability.¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ Wharton crush him!¡± ¡°Do you hear that? Everyone already hates you and wants me to crush you, but I¡¯ll give you a chance to prove yourself. Since you said you¡¯re too good to be my brother¡¯s guard, why don¡¯t you defeat the person who ended up being chosen.¡± Wharton said with a menacing smirk. As soon as he finished, a red-haired boy about 11 years old gracefully jumped on the stage, showing his elegance. ¡°You remember Biliora, don¡¯t you? He¡¯ll be your opponent. If you can beat him, then you can challenge me!¡± Wharton said arrogantly ¡°Fine by me.¡± Ace said as he calmly threw a pouch of 10 coins over to the Guard holding the money for the challenges. ¡°Billi, make sure he can¡¯t leave the stage on his own two feet,¡± Wharton whispered. ¡°It¡¯d be my pleasure, young master Wharton,¡± Biliora replied, licking his lips. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± One of the men beside Killian asked him. ¡°I am,¡± Killian replied indifferently. ¡®Just not about Ace.¡¯ ¡°That night, you acted so arrogantly. Today I¡¯ll show you why that night is destined to be the biggest mistake of your life. After training with Lord Hogg these last two years, I¡¯ve reached the peak of the 1st rank.¡± Biliora said proudly, expecting to see a mix of fear and shock on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°Are we here to talk or fight?¡± Ace asked with an uninterested yawn. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Biliora, no longer able to stand still, rushed in, wanting to squash Ace¡¯s arrogance. ¡°AAARGHH, WATCH ME POUND THAT ARROG¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a crushing pain in his gut. It was only then that he realised Ace had somehow appeared before him and buried his fist in his stomach. ¡°I guess I was right not to take that position.¡± Ace said condescendingly as he looked at Wharton, half expecting to see some fear, but instead, all he saw was rage. ¡®Does he really think he can win? He¡¯s clearly only an early rank one warrior. What could he possibly have to rely on.¡¯ Whilst Ace was lost in his thoughts; the crowd realised they were looking at a monster no less impressive than Wharton. ¡°That speed, that strength¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s a rank two warrior!¡± ¡°An eight-year-old rank two warrior?¡± ¡°His talent is no less than Linley.¡± ¡°No wonder he refused to be a guard.¡± Hearing the crowd¡¯s reaction only served to enrage the Baruch family¡¯s second young master, but before he could jump back on the stage, he felt a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t let anger cloud your judgement on the stage. He¡¯s definitely a rank-two warrior. If you want to beat him, you¡¯ll have to go all out.¡± Lina said to her calmly to her enraged son. ¡°I understand what to do, Mother. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Wharton replied as he forced himself to calm down before walking back to the stage. ¡°Ooh, and Wharton,¡± Lina called out. ¡°Crush him!¡± Ace had been able to read their lips as they spoke, but instead of fear, Ace felt excited to find out what Wharton¡¯s secret weapon was. Wharton eyed Ace as if he were his prey as he jumped back into the ring. ¡°I guess you¡¯re not all t-¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to let your son stand against me? I¡¯d hate to face the Baruch family¡¯s wrath for injuring their only lizard warrior.¡± Ace said teasingly as he looked at Lina, completely ignoring his next opponent. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; we in the Baruch Clan understand that injuries are common in a battle between warriors. In fact, I promise to pay for your medical expenses from my own pocket if little Wharton injures you too badly when you lose.¡± Lina said with a sadistic grin. ¡°You¡¯re too kind!¡± Ace replied before turning back to face his angry opponent. ¡°What were you about to say? Can you keep it short, though? I don¡¯t want to deal with your chit-chat for much longer.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t let you down,¡± Wharton replied as his body shook in rage at Ace¡¯s blatant disregard. As soon he finished speaking, the crowd started gasping as they saw his muscles expand, but if that wasn¡¯t enough, they saw crystalline blue scales magically form over his body, shredding his clothes. ¡°ROOAAARRRR!¡± Seeing the young Wharton turn into a dragon-type creature, an uproar broke out. ¡°Drag¡­ Dragonblood Warrior!¡± ¡°Wharton awoke the Baruch bloodline¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s the first Dragon Warrior in the family in the last thousand years.¡± ¡°Between Wharton being a Dragonblood Warrior and Linley being a dual element mage, the Baruch Clan is about to rise again!¡± Hearing the crowd, Killian couldn¡¯t help but start to worry, but that worry disappeared when he saw Ace¡¯s indifferent expression. Ace watched calmly as Wharton charged in his direction. ¡®So this is a Dragonblood warrior. It actually increased his strength by a whole realm. Impressive¡­ But it¡¯s not enough!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he calmly evaded each strike with little effort. The crowd was speechless as they watched Ace dance around the Baruch Clan¡¯s little prodigy. It was clear Ace was barely trying. ¡°ARGHH, BE A MAN AND STOP DODGING!¡± Wharton bellowed as he saw the disappointed eyes of the crowd. ¡°If you insist!¡± Ace said calmly, dodging Wharton¡¯s wild and predictable punch. Before Wharton could respond, he felt Ace¡¯s little fist crash into his side like a hammer, forcing him to stumble three steps back, clutching his side. Seeing Ace¡¯s emotionless face looking at him as if he was never his opponent to begin with riled him up. It was he who looked at others like that, never the other way around. Ignoring the pain at his side, Wharton once more darted at Ace, wanting to regain his face, but Ace was done playing around. Closing his eyes, he remembered seeing Lance¡¯s stab wounds as he fought two assassins to protect them, Killian¡¯s bloody body as he kept swinging his axe to defend his mother, and lastly, he remembered his mother¡¯s crying face as she watched on helplessly. Just as Wharton¡¯s fist entered range, Ace¡¯s arm shot forth, wrapping itself around Wharton¡¯s like a snake and squeezed until the sound of bones breaking rang through the air. ¡°AHHHHH, MY ARM!¡± Wharton roared in pain. Ace ignored Wharton¡¯s pain as he grabbed him by the throat and coldly stared at the guards preparing to rush him. Killian jumped onto the stage, ignoring the pain from his wounds that were yet to heal completely, as he prepared to fight to the bitter end to protect his friend. Ace smiled at Killian¡¯s bravery before turning his attention to back to Lina. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who said, ¡®The Baruch Clan understands that in a battle between warriors, injuries are common?¡¯ Don¡¯t tell me that was all fiction. If so, I¡¯m truly disappointed.¡± Book 1: Chapter 18 – Perfect Getaway Wharton¡¯s mother, was on the cusp of completely losing her temper. A mere child who hadn¡¯t even started puberty was talking down to her, a noble, as if she was the child. ¡°Boy, you used an unnecessary amount of force on someone much younger than you in a mere friendly sparring match. If your mother refuses to discip¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ Can¡¯t¡­ Can¡¯t breathe¡­ Help!¡± In Ace¡¯s vice-like grip, Wharton paled as he looked to his mother for help. ¡°LET MY SON GO, YOU SON OF A¡­¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Ace shouted as he looked at Lina with a visage so cold it made her shudder. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you say about me, but if you say anything about my mother, I¡¯ll kill your pathetic excuse for a son right here and now whilst you watch.¡± Lina could see from the look in his eyes that he was deadly serious. ¡°Please let my son go, and we can discuss how to proceed,¡± Lina asked as politely as she could. Ace remained silent for a few seconds as he glared into Lina¡¯s worried eyes. ¡°Hand me my money!¡± Ace said indifferently. ¡°What?¡± Lina asked, not following his meaning. ¡°You owe me 210 gold coins for beating your pathetic lizard-blooded son. Call your dogs off and hand over my money, then I¡¯ll let your son go.¡± Ace replied indifferently. ¡°The prize money was only 100 gold coins. Where did¡­¡± ¡°10 was my own money, so that¡¯s not included. 100 for defeating your husband¡¯s shitty disciple, and 100 for defeating this Lizard.¡± Ace explained coldly, not caring about giving the Baruch Family any face. ¡°I¡¯m not pay¡­¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± Wharton¡¯s cries for help between gasps for breath was enough to shut Lina up. ¡°This isn¡¯t up for discussion.¡± Ace said as his icy gaze remained on Lina as if he were daring her to make a move. Seconds went by in complete silence as the crowd watched in shock, not daring to believe what they were witnessing. ¡°5, 4, 3¡­¡± The crowd could see the colour on Wharton¡¯s face fade with each passing second as Ace¡¯s grip continued to tighten. ¡°2¡­¡± ¡°OKAY, ENOUGH¡­¡± Lina shouted as she threw him a small pouch full of gold coins, worried Ace was really crazy enough to go through with it. ¡°Guards, stand down!¡± ¡°Now, was that so hard?¡± Ace asked with a confident smile. ¡°Hmph! Now hold up your end of the deal; let my son go.¡± Lina said as she tried her best to hold back her rage. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Kil, you hurry back to the hotel and get Lance.¡± Ace said, completely ignoring Lina. ¡°But, what about¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Whilst I have this little Lizard in my hands, I¡¯ll be fine, but I¡¯ll probably need Lance¡¯s help soon.¡± Ace calmly explained as if the situation had nothing to do with him. ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll be back soon; just hold on!¡± Killian hurriedly said as he jumped off the stage, running back to the inn, not caring about the chance of reopening his wounds. Ace watched Killian¡¯s disappearing back with a smile. What he was thinking at that moment, only he knew. ¡°My son. LET GO OF MY SON, YOU BASTARD!¡± Lina screamed. ¡°Bastard? That¡¯s not a very nice way to talk about someone you once tried to recruit¡­ But okay, catch!¡± Ace said as he launched the brown-haired boy in his hands at Lina. Before walking off the stage calmly. ¡°KILL HIM! CATCH THAT LITTLE BASTARD AND KILL HIM!¡± Lina screamed hysterically at her guards. Ace acted as if he hadn¡¯t seen the guards chasing him as he carried on walking as if taking a stroll through the park. Just as the fist of the guard closest was about to reach his right shoulder, he coated it in his armament haki and launched himself forward. ¡°AAAAAHHHHHH! MY ARM, MY ARM, MY POOR ARM! HELP ME; THE BARUCH FAMILY IS TRYING TO KILL ME!¡± ¡°GOOD, NOW BRING ME HIS HEAD!¡± Just as they were preparing to rush after him again, the Fenlai City Guards stormed over and surrounded them. Each of them in dazzling white armour and swords sheathed by their sides, intimidating everyone present into behaving themselves. ¡°What happened here?¡± The guard riding on horseback who appeared to be in charge asked. ¡°Help, please, you have to help me. The crazy Baruch family guards are trying to kill me.¡± Ace said as he stumbled to his feet from the apparent pain he was in. ¡°What happened? Why are they trying to kill you?¡± The head guard asked. ¡°It all started when¡­¡± Ace then went on to frantically explain what happened from the beginning, making sure to leave out anything that would make him seem like the bad guy. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that because you managed to beat 2 of the children chosen to represent their family in this challenge, they decided to ignore the city rules to kill you.¡± The guard asked, not sure what to believe. ¡°Yes, sir. Everything I told you was 100% true; you can ask anyone!¡± Ace said with the most honest expression he could put on. ¡°You there.¡± The guard said, turning his head to a random member of the audience. ¡°Is this kid telling the truth?¡± ¡°Er¡­ Yes¡­ Yes, sir!¡± The man in question responded honestly. That was all the head guard needed to know before he signalled his men to surround the members of the Baruch family. ¡°Your Baruch family sure does have some nerve. For a lesser noble to try and abuse the rules¡­ What kind of backwater town do you think Fenlai City is?!¡± The guard asked as he looked down at Lina coldly from atop his horse. ¡°No, sir, I can assure you everything that little rat said was out of¡­¡± ¡°Enough!¡± The guard interrupted, not caring for her excuses. ¡°Men, take them away!¡± ¡°Do you need help getting home?¡± The head guard asked as he looked at Ace¡¯s pained visage. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be alright. Thank you, sir.¡± Ace replied weakly. The more he looked at the boy before him, the more the stoic guard could feel something was off, but he didn¡¯t feel like interrogating an injured child. With a slight nod, he turned around to follow his men, ignoring the looks of awe he got from the crowd. ¡®Even with my haki, that third-rank guard from the Baruch Family still managed to give me a dead arm.¡¯ Ace thought as he rolled his shoulder to get rid of the numbness whilst staring at the backs of the city guards. He then went on his way with his winnings, not paying any attention to the spectators staring at him as if he were a monster. If anyone had looked up, they would¡¯ve seen a young man with strong ape-like features donning a loose-fit white robe laying down on the back of a giant winged serpent, casually watching everything that happened with an amused smile. ¡°What an interesting brat!¡± Ace, who had no idea he was being watched from above, was lost in thoughts as he pondered over everything that had happened. ¡°ACE!¡± Looking up, he saw Killian leading a worried Lance through the streets. ¡°Ace¡­ Good¡­ You¡¯re okay!¡± Killian said between breaths. It was clear he¡¯d been sprinting as quickly as possible, worried about what might happen. ¡°I¡¯m fine. No need to worry.¡± Ace said, flashing Killian a reassuring smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, but we should get home. Your mother¡¯s probably going crazy with worry.¡± Lance said. Book 1: Chapter 19 – Best Behaviour ¡°¡­And then I was on my way back when I ran into Lance and Killian.¡± Ace explained to lance and his mother. As soon as he got back, after making sure he wasn¡¯t hurt, he was made to explain everything that happened. ¡°How sure are you that it was the Baruchs behind the assassination?¡± Lance asked, still unable to believe the extent his formers were willing to go to for revenge on two little kids. ¡°I can¡¯t be 100% certain, but that assassin definitely mentioned being hired. Between that, Lina¡¯s shock when she saw Killian and me, and how they¡¯re the only people any of us have annoyed, it¡¯s the only thing that makes sense.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they¡¯d go this far, all because two children rejected them.¡± Lance¡¯s fists were clenched tight with anger and disappointment as he thought about the pettiness of a family he once respected from the bottom of his heart. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I ever trusted them!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I promise to make them pay in full!¡± Ace¡¯s voice and face were eerily calm as he spoke. ¡°Ace, I know you¡¯re angry and have every right to be. I won¡¯t ask you to forgive and forget, but don¡¯t do anything silly or impulsive. You have people who love you!¡± Milianna said earnestly, as she could almost feel the anger being suppressed by her son. ¡°I know, mom. Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t intend to do anything reckless.¡± Ace took a deep breath to calm himself down. ¡®In my previous life, I probably would¡¯ve been halfway out the door in a blind pursuit of revenge by now. I guess I really am maturing.¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re mother¡¯s right. The most important thing for you two right now is to focus on the assessment tests in two days. Until then, it¡¯d probably be easier to stay in the inn so as not to draw any more unwanted attention to ourselves.¡± Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Lance smiled and got up to get some more rest. Ace and the others barely left the inn over the next few days. Whilst Killian and Lance spent their time resting, hoping to recover as much as possible before the assessment, Ace was diligently training or spending quality time with Milianna. Two days later, Ace, Killian, and Lance made their way to the city centre from the inn. ¡°I hope Mom¡¯s okay.¡± Ace said as he made his way down East Fenlai¡¯s Greenleaf Road alongside Killian and Lance. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s fine. She understands that if anything was to happen, we stand a better chance of getting away if she¡¯s not with us.¡± Lance replied. ¡°I know. It still sucks, though.¡± Ace said, frustrated at the whole situation. As the trio entered the more popular part of the city, they started receiving more eyes on them. From how they were dressed, they looked exceptionally ordinairy, yet the further they travelled, the more frequent the looks became. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It was starting to make them uncomfortable. Well, most of them, anyway. ¡°I¡¯m so hungry, and that smells amazing! Ooh, so does that¡­ And that!¡± Ace seemed completely unphased as he kept stopping to stare at the various restaurants they passed en route with lustful eyes. Killian tried to calm his nerves but being stared at by so many strangers made it difficult. He didn¡¯t even have the mind to pay attention to the lavishly constructed buildings like he usually would. ¡°Ace, stop messing around. We¡¯re almost there.¡± Despite feeling uncomfortable with people staring at them, Lance forced himself to ignore it as he noticed the tallest and most extravagant building on the road. ¡°So this is the Cathedral of the Radiant Church?¡± Ace asked as he studied the building that looked more like a small palace than a cathedral. ¡°The Radiant Church is in complete control of the entire Holy Union. They have six Kingdoms and fifteen dukedoms that fall under their jurisdiction¡­¡± Lance said as he looked at ace with an almost pleading expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll be on my best behaviour.¡± Ace said with a chuckle, understanding Lance¡¯s concern. ¡°Will we see the Holy Emperor?¡± Killian asked excitedly. ¡°Haha, Holy Emperor Heidens has an extremely high status. He has the power to get rid of any king in the Holy Union. The reason why the cathedral is the tallest building in the capital is to pay tribute to his status. A man like that wouldn¡¯t have the time to watch the assessment of some children.¡± Lance replied with a tone full of respect. It was clear he had a great deal of respect for the church. This morning, the entrance to the Cathedral of the Radiant Church was packed with several hundred people. The vast majority of whom were extravagantly dressed noblemen. Countless carriages filled the space in front of the Radiant Cathedral as the various nobles chatted amongst themselves, waiting for the assessment to begin. As Ace and his group approached, the wealthy nobles started to take note of their presence. ¡°It¡¯s the same every year. These country bumpkins come from far and wide to take part in the assessments, only to fail.¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t your ordinairy country bumpkins, Joel.¡± ¡°Ooh, Wensworth, you know of them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the other two, but that dark-haired child, he¡¯s the one who beat the child from the Baruch family.¡± ¡°That was him? I heard that Wharton boy could even turn into a Dragon Warrior!¡± ¡°He did, but he still ended up being no match for that child.¡± ¡°I guess the dragon warriors don¡¯t live up to their name after all.¡± Ace and his group expected some weird looks, but they definitely weren¡¯t expecting to be the sole focus of everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Ahh, we don¡¯t have time for this; just ignore them. We need to go and register.¡± Ace said as he led the other two to the table near the entrance to the cathedral. ¡°Good morning, sir priests. We¡¯re here today to register these two children.¡± Lance said as he bowed respectfully to the elegantly dressed priests before them. ¡°Name?¡± The priest sat on the left asked impatiently. ¡°Ace.¡± Ace replied indifferently, ignoring the looks he was receiving from Lance ¡°Kil¡­ Killian.¡± Killian mumbled hesitantly. ¡°Ace? The same Ace who beat Wharton Baruch a few days ago?¡± The priest on the right asked, clearly having heard of what happened. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Ace replied uninterestedly. ¡°Haha, interesting, very interesting.¡± The priest didn¡¯t take offence by Ace¡¯s attitude. He was well aware that the more talent a child had, the more proud they were. ¡°I look forward to your results. That¡¯ll be ten gold coins for each child.¡± Handing them the coins, Lance led Ace and Killian away. ¡°What happened to best behaviour?¡± Lance said, exasperated with Ace¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Dragonblood Warrior from the Baruch Family?¡± A man said, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention before Ace could respond. Book 1: Chapter 20 – Sabre ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Dragonblood Warrior from the Baruch Family?¡± A man said, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention before Ace could respond. Turning, they noticed Lina and Wharton leading the rest of their entourage to the table where the priests were sitting. After they finished paying, the Baruchs were about to find somewhere to wait patiently when they noticed Ace and his group. The looks that they received were anything but pleasant, but Ace merely smiled happily and waved as if he was greeting an old friend. The only thing Ace was slightly surprised about was how Wharton¡¯s arm seemed completely fine. However, with the Baruch family¡¯s resources, paying someone to heal his formerly broken arm would likely be as easy as clicking a finger. The thoroughly enraged Wharton was about to dash straight at Ace when the sound of a warm and gentle voice stopped him in his tracks. ¡°The assessment ceremony is about to commence. All of the recruiters for the various major magus and warrior academies are inside, waiting. Everyone here for the test, follow me into the main hall.¡± It was unclear when, but a white-robed official had appeared between the now-opened cathedral doors. The odd thing was that despite the voice sounding so gentle, everyone, including the people at the back, heard it as if he was standing right in front of them. ¡®That aura¡­ He must be a mage as well. Much stronger than that assassin from before, though.¡¯ Ace thought as he used his haki to observe him. Under the guidance of the church official, each of the youngsters and their families in the square were led into the cathedral¡¯s main hall. The floor of the great hall was paved with marble, and hanging above was a massive crystal chandelier. It could easily fit the hundreds of people who entered yet still feel spacious. At the very front of the hall was a line of chairs. Seated on those chairs were representatives and recruiters of several of the great magus and warrior academies throughout the continent. Directly in the middle of the great hall was the testing location. The white-robed church official smiled and said in a clear voice, ¡°The testing location is right here in the centre. All testees, please get in line. Family and friends, please step to one side. Other than the applicants, no one else can enter the circle in the centre.¡± ¡°Kil, you go ahead. I¡¯ll catch up. There¡¯s something I need to check.¡± Ace said to Killian before walking off in the opposite direction If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Killian, don¡¯t worry about Ace; I¡¯m sure he knows what he¡¯s doing. Just focus on the test for now.¡± Lance said, urging Killian to take his place in the queue. Ace walked up to a young silver-haired girl his age. The girl glanced coldly at him before ignoring him and making her way to the back of the queue. ¡°What do you want?¡± She asked icily, noticing she was still being followed. ¡°Who hired you to kill us?¡± Ace asked with a smile on his face. The question alone was enough to shock her but seeing the smile on his face made her tremble uncontrollably. Although it looked warm to others who saw it, as soon as she saw it, she felt as if she¡¯d been thrown headfirst into a river of ice. ¡°As a trained assassin, you¡¯re probably unable to come right out and say who your employers are, so I¡¯ll guess, and you tell me if I¡¯m right or wrong. Hmm, was it the Holy Emperor?¡± Ace asked happily. When she heard that, the girl scrunched her eyebrows as if to ask why one of the most powerful men alive would want him dead. ¡°No? You¡¯re right; why would the Holy Emperor want me dead? How about¡­ Lina Baruch?¡± Ace asked with a playful smirk hanging on his lips. Hearing Ace¡¯s next guess, the little girl¡¯s face turned utterly indifferent, almost as if she hadn¡¯t heard his question. ¡°Ooh, so it really was that old wench! Thanks for the information.¡± Ace said, still smiling as calmly as ever. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Sometimes a lack of response is more informative than a formal answer.¡± Ace explained, pre-empting the silver-haired girl¡¯s inevitable denial. ¡°One more question. Will your organisation try again after failing last time?¡± Ace sighed at the girl¡¯s lack of response. ¡°Ooh, come on, aren¡¯t we friends now? You tried to kill us; I¡¯m allowing you to live now¡­ See friends!¡± Hearing Ace¡¯s veiled threat, the young girl wanted to respond that he wouldn¡¯t dare kill her here, but when she turned to look at his face, she realised his smile had long since vanished. Staring into his eyes, she felt like she was staring into an abyss. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder who was the killer of the two of them. Whilst Ace wasn¡¯t considered a ruthless killer in his last life, as a powerful pirate belonging to what could be regarded as the strongest crew in the world at the time, he¡¯d killed his fair share of opponents. His killing intent was far superior to a little girl, even if she was from an organisation of killers. ¡®He wouldn¡¯t¡­ There¡¯s no way¡­ We¡¯re in public¡­ There¡¯s no way he¡¯d kill me here!¡¯ She tried her best to convince herself he was just bluffing, but the more she studied his expression, the more she doubted herself. Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, the young assassin finally answered. ¡°The client lied to us. They told us you were only a rank one warrior, and that man with you was a rank three warrior. Due to their negligence, we lost three of our people. Lina Baruch has officially been blacklisted from Saber, meaning we won¡¯t take requests from her from here on out.¡± ¡°Saber, huh? Pretty scary sounding name!¡± Ace said as his cheery smile returned. Realising she messed up when giving her organisation¡¯s name, she wanted to slap herself for making such a simple mistake, but there was nothing she could do at this point. Instead, she decided to just ignore the boy beside her, hoping he wouldn¡¯t ask any more questions, but she was destined to be disappointed. ¡°So¡­ How does the testing work?¡± Ace asked as he watched the first child go up. Book 1: Chapter 21 – Four Years The silver-haired girl turned to look at the boy behind her, thinking he was just pulling her leg. ¡°How can you come all this way for a test and not know anything?¡± ¡°I come from a poor family. I don¡¯t have access to the same information the kids from bigger families have.¡± Ace shrugged. Having read the files on her targets, she knew Ace wasn¡¯t lying, but from the conversation they¡¯d had before, Ace acted nothing like an eight-year-old child from a small family. In fact, he acted nothing like a child. ¡°When you go up, you give your name; then the examiner will tell you to stand atop the magic formation drawn on the floor. When it lights up, it¡¯ll scan your body, telling him your age and warrior cultivation.¡± Almost as if it were fate, the examiner¡¯s voice rang through the hall, ¡°Phillip Vetar, age 10, early rank one warrior.¡± ¡°Next, you step onto the second formation. When it lights up, you¡¯ll be subjected to the ever-increasing pressure of the light elemental spell ¨C Overawe. A spell designed to put pressure on the target¡¯s spirit; the longer you remain standing, the better you score.¡± She said whilst watching the boy on the stage. Ten seconds later, the boy on stage fell to his knees, huffing and puffing. The lights of the formation immediately dimmed, relieving the boy of the pressure of the spell. ¡°Spiritual Essence two times stronger than someone at the same age.¡± The examiner coldly stated aloud. ¡°Unqualified for the final test. Next!¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he qualify?¡± Ace asked in confusion as he watched the dejected boy leave the stage as a new child went up. ¡°To pass the spiritual test, you need to achieve a spiritual essence of at least five times someone at the same age.¡± She replied indifferently. ¡°Is the spiritual test really that hard?¡± Ace asked after spending the last 15 minutes watching as dozens of kids went up with not one passing. ¡°The spiritual test is really just a test on your mental stamina. There are two main ways to increase your mental stamina; The first is through meditation which requires one to empty their minds of all distracting thoughts over long periods of time. Most children would struggle to stay still for that long, let alone enter a true meditative state. The second way is trauma. Traumatic experiences have the effect of pressuring you mentally, strengthening your mental stamina, also known as your spiritual essence.¡± ¡°Wharton Baruch, age 6, early rank one warrior.¡± Ace looked towards the stage only to see Wharton staring down at him with pride as he bathed in the crowd¡¯s awe-filled gazes. Next, he stepped into the Overawe formation under the curious and expectant eyes of the crowd. Managing to last a full two minutes, the invigilator smiled warmly as he read the results. ¡°Spiritual essence 11x stronger than those at the same age. High-level spiritual essence.¡± The crowd was in an uproar when they heard that. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Ace turned to his silver-haired dictionary at that point. ¡°Anything under five times is regarded as inferior Spiritual Essence. Between five and nine is superior, 10 to 19 is high level, 20 to 49 is Rare, and 50 to 99 is exceptional.¡± She explained, understanding what that look meant. ¡°What about if your spiritual essence surpasses 99?¡± Ace asked. ¡°The Overawe formation is designed to only go up to 99 regardless of your age. Even if it did go past 100, there hasn¡¯t been anyone recorded in history that has passed 95, let alone 100+.¡± She replied. Looking at the crowd''s reactions, Ace turned back to the silver-haired girl. ¡°If there are so many levels above high level, why did they make such a big fuss about Linley?¡± ¡°First, you¡¯ve seen yourself how difficult it is to find someone with superior spiritual essence, so you can imagine how hard it is to find someone who reaches the high levels. Secondly, although that Linley¡¯s high-level spiritual essence was impressive, the thing that made him so remarkable was his exceptional affinities to Earth and Wind. He¡¯s definitely going to be an incredibly powerful mage one day.¡± She explained slowly. Ace nodded in understanding before lazily watching from his place in the queue. ¡°Even though it¡¯s not quite at the same level as his brother¡¯s, 11x still makes him a rare talent.¡± ¡°He¡¯s also a true blue Dragonblood Warrior!¡± ¡°He will have his pick of both Warrior and Magus Academies as long as his elemental affinity isn¡¯t too low.¡± Ace was neither surprised nor interested in his results. As far as he was concerned, Wharton was nothing but a child undeserving of his attention. What he was interested in, though, was the elemental affinity test. As if to clear his doubts, he witnessed Wharton placing his hands on a head-sized crystal ball. Almost immediately, the crystal shone a deep red in colour. ¡°Congratulations.¡± The examiner said to Wharton before turning to the audience. ¡°High affinity to the element of fire.¡± ¡°Wharton, I represent the Saltier Magus Academy. I wish to offer you a full scholarship to join us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him; I represent the Knights Way Warrior Academy, and we would like to offer you a full scholarship as well as 10,000 gold coins to join us.¡± Wharton was bombarded with offer after offer, but none seemed to grab his attention. ¡°Congratulations, Wharton. You and your brother will undoubtedly bring the glory of the Baruch Clan back to what it once was!¡± An older man said with a warm smile. ¡°I am an instructor from the Ernst Institute; I would like to formally offer you a place so you can study alongside your older br¡­¡± ¡°Hmph, stop selling dreams to the poor boy Peter. Wharton was made to be a Warrior; how could he possibly waste his time with your little magic spells when he could be tempering his body to make the most of his incredible bloodline.¡± A towering man donning crimson armour stood tall as his booming voice projected through the hall. ¡°Wharton, if you join us at the War God¡¯s Academy, I promise that with your bloodline, you will be taken as a personal disciple by a warrior of AT LEAST the ninth rank.¡± Everyone present was taken aback by his offer. A rank nine warrior already stood at the apex of the mortal world, and he said, ¡°at least¡± someone that strong. The only ones above those incredible rank nine warriors were those lofty saints. Wharton, too was shocked by that sudden offer. ¡°Thank you, sir. I would like to ask a question first. If I was to join you, could you make me stronger than him?¡± Everyone followed the direction of Wharton¡¯s finger only to see him pointing at an indifferent black-haired boy looking lazily around the room as though he hadn¡¯t heard the young Dragonblood warrior¡¯s question. ¡°Haha, young Wharton, you still have a lot to learn. How can some unknown brat possibly compete with someone with one of the four supreme warrior bloodlines? You¡¯ll soon forget trash like him as you get exposed to a wider world.¡± The seven-foot titan from the War God¡¯s Academy glanced disdainfully at Ace as he continued, ¡°But to answer your question, yes, as long as you are willing to put the effort in, I guarantee that within four years, you will have long since surpassed that brat.¡± Ace glanced disdainfully at Wharton, then back at the giant warrior, and smirked. Book 1: Chapter 22 – Killian’s Spiritual Essence Seeing the smirk on Ace¡¯s face, the recruiter almost felt as though his dignity was being challenged. ¡°Is something funny, brat?¡± ¡°A grown man has resorted to bullying an innocent child in an attempt to curry favour with an overgrown baby lizard¡­ Even you have to admit it¡¯s pretty funny?¡± Ace lazily replied casually as he looked at the representative from the War God¡¯s Academy. As soon as Ace said that, the whole room became deathly silent. Even the children around him began to edge away. Ace then felt a suffocating pressure envelop him. Looking up, he could see the fiery eyes of the giant warrior, but instead of backing down like most his age would in that scenario, Ace ignored the terrifying pressure and maintained eye contact. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Brutus. Bullying children is no way for a grown man in his 60s who¡¯s here representing one of the most prestigious academies in the continent to behave.¡± Peter, the Ernst Institute¡¯s representative, said indifferently. ¡¯60? He looks no older than 40 at most!¡¯ Ace thought as he raised his brows, taken aback by that revelation. Brutus coldly glanced at Peter, then back at Ace. ¡°Wharton, when you crush this brat in the future, I only ask that you allow me to watch.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. You have my word.¡± Wharton said before turning to face Peter with a slight bow. ¡°Thank you for your offer, but I believe the War-God¡¯s academy would be the best place for me.¡± Peter smiled warmly, not seeming to mind. ¡°I understand. Both you and your brother are destined for greatness. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.¡± As he walked off the stage, Ace remained indifferent as Wharton arrogantly mouthed, ¡°Dead meat.¡± ¡°You really have a knack for angering people, don¡¯t you?¡± The young girl in front of him asked rhetorically. ¡°They¡¯re the ones who went out of their way to provoke me.¡± Ace said lazily. The silver-haired girl couldn¡¯t help but look twice at Ace, not knowing how to reply, as that genuinely seemed to be the case. Over the next hour, things seemed to settle as the exam continued. Over a hundred kids went up on stage, some of which even passed, but none managed to grab the attention of any recruiters in the same way as Wharton, but that was about to change as Killian was up next. ¡°Killian, age 8, peak rank one warrior.¡± The invigilator announced with a hint of admiration Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Ace smiled when he heard that, as he knew Killian was bound to impress everyone with his talent. On the other hand, Killian wasn¡¯t paying any attention to his only friend. Instead, he was glaring daggers at Wharton. ¡°Anyone who can reach the second rank at ten or younger can be considered an elite talent. As long as nothing unforeseen happens, this Killian will definitely reach the second rank long before then.¡± ¡°The warrior academies will go wild trying to recruit him.¡± ¡°But why¡¯s he glaring at Young Master Wharton like that?¡± ¡°Ooh right, you weren¡¯t there when that dark-haired kid defeated Wharton, were you? He and this Killian boy appear to be good friends. I imagine he feels a fair bit of animosity towards him after what just happened.¡± Killian looked like he wanted to jump off the stage and pummel Wharton where he stood. It wasn¡¯t until he saw Ace shaking his head that he forced himself to calm down. ¡°Killian, was it?¡± The white-robed official asked, jolting Killian from his thoughts. ¡°Next, I need you to step on the Overawe formation. Remember, the longer you last, the better your results.¡± With a nod, Killian walked to the centre of the second formation. ¡®Come on, Killian. You can do this, don¡¯t let Ace down after everything he¡¯s done for you.¡¯ When the lights came on, Killian found the pressure easier to bear than he initially thought, but as time went on, it gradually became harder and harder to stand, but he refused to give in. The longer he spent withstanding the pressure, the more shocked the crowd became. ¡°This kid¡­ his spiritual essence has already surpassed Young Master Wharton¡¯s.¡± ¡°It¡¯s starting to approach Young Master Linley¡¯s now.¡± ¡°Even if he only has an average affinity to one of the elements, I suspect the Ernst Institute will reach out as well.¡± ¡°I just realised something. Linley, Wharton, and now Killian. They all came from Wushan Town.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that Ace kid? Regardless of his talent as a mage, or his attitude problems, the fact remains that he managed to become a rank-two warrior at the age of eight. His talent as a warrior is second only to those with the bloodlines of the four supreme warriors.¡± ¡°What exactly are they feeding them over there at Wushan?¡± Even Ace couldn¡¯t help but grin, watching Killian¡¯s performance. ¡®If trauma¡¯s a way of training, then no one can beat Kil. Every day for the last two years, he¡¯s put his body through a near inhumane level of torture trying to keep up with me and then gets up and does it again the next day.¡¯ Just in front of him, the silver-haired girl stared wide-eyed at Killian¡¯s performance, refusing to even blink. What was going through her head, only she knew. At some point, everyone forgot the time as they watched Killian persevere. He was sweating buckets, and his body was trembling, but he grit his teeth and persevered. ¡®Just a bit more¡­ Just a bit longer¡­¡¯ Killian thought to himself as he desperately resisted the urge to collapse. Eventually, the pressure got too much for him to handle, and he fell to his knees. Everyone immediately turned to the invigilator as if to tell him to hurry up and read the results. The invigilator couldn¡¯t hide his grin at this point, even if he wanted to. ¡°Rare Spiritual Essence 41x times his peers!¡± ¡°Rare? Killian¡¯s spiritual essence actually reached the levels of rare?¡± ¡°Incredible!¡± ¡°I wonder what his Affinities will be¡­¡± ¡°At this point, I¡¯m pretty sure most academies will want him even if he only has a low-grade affinity.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget his talent as a Warrior as well.¡± Killian ignored the crowd¡¯s reaction as he forced himself to his feet. When he finally shook off the spell¡¯s effects, he looked to the back of the queue, where he saw Ace smiling with his thumbs up, bringing him no small amount of joy. Book 1: Chapter 23 – An Arm ¡°When you¡¯re ready, Killian, we¡¯ll begin with the final assessment.¡± Hearing that, Killian nodded at the examiner before walking over to the crystal ball and placing his hand on top. The crystal ball shone with a blinding muddy brown light and a fainter but still prominent purple light in the centre. ¡°Exceptional Affinity to the element of earth and high affinity to Lightning!¡± The church official read out excitedly. As soon as he did, the offers began to poor in one after the other. Offers no less enticing than the ones received by Wharton. Wharton watched on with a stomach full of anger but nowhere to put it. Besides him, Lina¡¯s eyes turned frosty as she watched from her spot. Lance, on the other hand, who had just managed to get over the heart attack he nearly had when Ace was provoking the War God¡¯s Academy, was now struggling to hold back his joy as he watched even the Ernst Institute and the War God¡¯s Academy make offers. Killian, the cause of this madness, was stone-faced as he seriously said, ¡°I go where he goes.¡± Brutus frowned when he heard that and tried again, ¡°That boy, while I admit he¡¯s fairly talented, his attitude will be the death of him. A boy of your talent should drop dead weight before it ends up dragging you down with it!¡± Killian¡¯s face was frosty as he glared at Brutus. ¡°I go where he goes!¡± Seeing Killian¡¯s eyes, the oversized warrior understood there was no changing his mind. ¡°Tch. Do what you want!¡± Killian glanced coldly at the infuriated Wharton before walking over to Ace. ¡°You did well, Kil!¡± It was only when he heard that that Wharton smiled like the child he was. The assessments carried on smoothly, with no one standing out from the crowd too much until the silver-haired girl went up. Ace watched on with his interest piqued as she stepped into the first formation. ¡°Alissa, age 7, peak rank one warrior!¡± The invigilator read out in surprise. ¡°Ooh, so she¡¯s only 7? For some reason, I assumed she was eight.¡± Ace said aloud, a little taken aback, having not seen anyone reach that stage as quickly as he had till now. ¡°She¡¯s almost as talented as you,¡± Killian said, looking at the girl strangely. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kil?¡± Ace asked when he saw the look on his friend¡¯s face. ¡°She looks familiar.¡± ¡°Does she? I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡± Ace replied, playing dumb. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Alissa¡¯s results caused an uproar among the crowd, but she paid them no mind as she walked straight into the Overawe formation and looked to the examiner for him to start. The crowd was once more in an uproar when her results were read out. ¡°High Spiritual Essence 17x her peers.¡± This time Ace wasn¡¯t surprised. Though he didn¡¯t know anything about her origins, he could imagine how gruelling the training would be for a child assassin. Not wanting to waste time, she quickly shook off the spell¡¯s effects and placed her hands on the crystal ball for the final test. The crystal ball shone with a bright emerald green light no less impressive than Killian¡¯s. ¡°Alissa, age 7, peak rank one warrior, High Spiritual Essence 17x her peers and an exceptional affinity to the wind element!¡± The crowd was about to enter a frenzy when her soothing yet indifferent voice rang out. ¡°I go where they go!¡± As the crowd followed her line of sight, they realised she was referring to Ace and Killian. ¡®Why does it feel like she¡¯s interested in Kil.¡¯ Ace thought as he stared at the young assassin. ¡®For a second there, it looked like she was blushing when her and Kil made eye contact.¡¯ Before anyone could question her about her choice, she had already descended the stage and stood behind Ace, not paying anyone further attention. Ace shrugged his shoulders as he noticed all the odd looks he was receiving. ¡®It¡¯s not like I told them to say that.¡¯ ¡°Ace, was it?¡± The invigilator asked. ¡°Take your position in the first formation.¡± As he did, he watched the formation glow and a warm energy flow through his body. ¡°When was your birthday?¡± The invigilator asked with a hint of surprise. ¡°Four days ago.¡± Ace replied ¡°When did you break through to the second rank?¡± The church official asked with growing interest. ¡°The day before that.¡± Ace answered honestly ¡°Ooh, so you broke through to the second rank whilst you were still seven?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Ace casually answered as he walked over to the second formation, patiently waiting for the following assessment to begin. Other than Lance and Killian, everyone present was still trying to get over the shock of Ace¡¯s talent as a warrior. That was especially true of the War God¡¯s Academy recruiter, who felt like Ace had done this on purpose. ¡°Even if you¡¯re somewhat talented, before the true talents of this world, what does your little bit of talent amount to?¡± Ace looked at the petty behemoth with a teasing smile that made the man uncomfortable. ¡°You speak about my talent as if you already understand everything about me.¡± ¡°Hmph, a cocky brat who¡¯s no different from a frog in the well! What¡¯s not to understand?¡± The man said disdainfully. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a little bet?¡± ¡°Who wants to make a bet with a snot-nosed brat?¡± ¡°Now you just sound scared.¡± Ace replied mockingly. ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s scared?¡± ¡°Prove it. Put your money where your overgrown mouth is?¡± ¡°I bet you that my spiritual essence is at the exceptional level.¡± ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Only that brat from the Leon family has shown an exceptional spiritual essence in this test in the last hundred years, and you want to bet me you have reached the same level?¡± It wasn¡¯t just Brutus, other than Killian, who had unwavering trust in Ace and Alissa, who felt there was more to Ace than meets the eye, everyone else thought that Ace had let his talent as a warrior get to his head. But Ace didn¡¯t care; his expression remained light as he asked, ¡°Is that your way of backing out?¡± ¡°HAHAHA, don¡¯t go crying to mummy when you lose this bet. Name your terms!¡± ¡°If I win, I want 100,000 gold coins or something to that value!¡± Ace boldly stated. ¡°You what?¡± He asked, thinking he had misheard. ¡°If I win, I want 100,000 gold coins or something to that value!¡± Seeing his eyebrows frowning, Ace decided to apply a bit more pressure. ¡°I mean, you did seem sure of yourself before. If you admit you were wrong, we can forget about the bet. I¡¯m sure no one here will think any less of you.¡± The man understood he couldn¡¯t back down now, or he¡¯d lose way too much face. ¡°What do I get if I win cos something tells me a hill-billy brat like you doesn¡¯t have 100,000 gold coins lying about.¡± ¡°If I lose, you can take my arm!¡± Ace confidently declared. Book 1: Chapter 24 – Magicite Cores Hearing Ace¡¯s wager left EVERYONE speechless. ¡°ACE, STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS!¡± Lance attempted to rush forward, only to be promptly stopped by the church¡¯s guards. ¡°You should listen to him, boy. If you go through with this, you shouldn¡¯t expect me to be light-hearted just because you¡¯re a child.¡± Brutus said disdainfully. ¡°Who needs your mercy? I just thought it¡¯d be the perfect handicap to give that little lizard, so he at least stands a chance if he ever does choose to challenge me in the future.¡± Ace retorted with a mocking snort. ¡°HAHAHA, your arrogance truly knows no bounds!¡± The other adults with the power to stop this bet wanted to but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to offend an influential member of one of the world¡¯s strongest forces in the world for an arrogant child that didn¡¯t know what was good for him. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± Ace asked, paying no attention to the reaction of the crowd. He had no idea what was going through their minds, nor did he care. ¡°Fine, brat. It¡¯s a deal.¡± Brutus said as he licked his lips sinisterly. Seeing Ace nod at him, the examiner started the test with a regret-filled sigh. Ace felt an ethereal energy attempt to pressure his mind, but as someone who¡¯d literally had a front-row seat to sky-splitting battles in his last life, this pressure was virtually non-existent. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was actively paying attention to it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to feel it at all. Seeing Ace¡¯s face of boredom, Brutus sneered. ¡°Just wait, brat. This is only the beginning.¡± Ace didn¡¯t respond; he simply stood with his hands in his pocket as he stared Brutus dead in the eye with a calm confidence. As the pressure increased, the people in the audience sighed regretfully. ¡°It¡¯s already surpassed Wharton.¡± ¡°If he weren¡¯t so arrogant, he would¡¯ve had a magnificent future.¡± ¡°A shame, a real shame!¡± ¡°We all make our own choices in life, and this is his!¡± Ace was no longer even looking at Brutus. He was casually staring at the ceiling, thinking about food, when he heard someone in the crowd gasp. ¡°He¡¯s reached the rare level of spiritual essence.¡± A man in the crowd who was paying attention to the time said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be too affected yet, either.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You don¡¯t reckon¡­¡± ¡°Unlikely, the difference between rare and exceptional is like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Even if he can easily withstand this, it doesn¡¯t mean he has an exceptional level of spiritual essence.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right. I remember a few years back, there was another child in a similar position to Ace. She could easily resist the pressure at the beginning of the rare stage, but in the end, she only reached 42x her peers.¡± As time passed, everyone who doubted him started doubting themselves, especially Brutus. On the outside, he was confidently looking at Ace with disdain, but on the inside, he was beginning to worry. ¡®This is impossible¡­ There¡¯s no way this brat has an exceptional level of spiritual essence.¡¯ Eventually, Peter, the recruiter for the Ernst Institute, broke out into a boisterous laugh. ¡°HAHAHAHA. Brutus, it looks like you messed up on this one. The boy just passed the time for exceptional spiritual essence!¡± ¡°IMPOSSIBLE!¡± Brutus shouted in disbelief. ¡°And yet the facts are clear for all to see!¡± Peter replied, seeming to take pleasure in Brutus¡¯ misery. Though the Ernst Institute and the War God Academy weren¡¯t enemies, the former was the leading institute for mages, whilst the latter was the number one school for warriors. There has always been a rivalry between the two factions. Ace, who was only just starting to feel it, smiled indifferently at the oversized idiot in front of him but said nothing. Looking at Ace¡¯s smiling visage angered Brutus more, he was so close to jumping on stage and snapping the boy¡¯s neck, but he could feel Peter had locked on to him. With the amount of talent as a mage Ace had shown so far, there was no way he¡¯d just stand by and watch him kill him. Especially as getting Ace to join him would mean getting Killian and Alissa as well. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, but there was nothing he could do at this point. Ace was no longer paying any attention to those around him as he began to make plans for the future. ¡®With the 100,000 from that idiot, Mom and Lance should be able to live comfortably whilst Killian and I are at school. I just need to find a way to hide their location so no one can use them to get to me.¡¯ ¡°63x¡­ His spiritual essence has reached 63x. His spiritual essence just surpassed young master Dixie of the Leon family.¡± ¡°This kid Ace just set the record for the highest score of this generation.¡± ¡°And it looks like he can still carry on!¡± At that point, Ace was starting to feel uncomfortable by the ever-increasing pressure, but it was far from unbearable. He hadn¡¯t said a word from the start of this test to now, but his eyes had never left Brutus. Thankfully the intimidating recruiter was dressed in full body armour. Everyone present would have seen the man¡¯s tensed, vein-filled arms if he weren''t. It took every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself from jumping on stage and tearing Ace limb from limb. Even if the others couldn¡¯t, how could Ace, who had his observation locked on Brutus, not notice just how angry the petty recruiter was? But the angrier he got, the wider Ace¡¯s smile became, which only served to anger the man even more. It was like a vicious never-ending cycle. Even as the pressure intensified and Ace began to struggle, his expression never changed. His mocking smile still present. ¡°His Spiritual Essence¡­ His Spiritual Essence has just reached 90x?¡± A member of the audience who had been monitoring the time said aloud. Peter looked at Ace with stars in his eyes. ¡®Even if he has a low affinity, the fact that his spiritual essence is over 90x his peers will make him no less talented than Dixie. I don¡¯t care whom I have to offend; he must join the Ernst Institute!¡¯ As time passed, the crowd watched Ace¡¯s trembling figure with bated breath. ¡°92¡­¡± ¡°95x¡­¡± ¡°96x¡­¡± ¡°97x¡­¡± The crowd was counting in anticipation as they excitedly watched Ace make history. When the formation finally dimmed, the room went dead silent. It wasn¡¯t until they heard Ace¡¯s calm young voice that they snapped out of their shock. ¡°Woah. That was harder than I thought.¡± Book 1: Chapter 25 – Fall From Grace Most present thought Ace was still showing off. They could see that although he started to struggle towards the end, he still seemed far from his limits. But the truth was, he was being completely honest. With him having the mind of an adult and then starting life again with a drastic improvement in his mental strength, as proven by his observation haki, Ace honestly didn¡¯t think he¡¯d break much of a sweat completing the test, but towards the end, he had truly started to feel it. Peter was the first to stand as he excitedly said, ¡°Ace¡­ No, young master Ace, I would like to be the first to congratulate you on creating history here today! On behalf of the Ernst Institute, I would like to offer you a spot at our Ernst Institute and 100,000 in gold coins.¡± Peter¡¯s enthusiastic offer came as a shock to most present. Not only had Ace not finished his assessment yet, but the Ernst Institute was known for not offering anyone special treatment. But when they considered the level of talent Ace had just exhibited, the offers flooded in. ¡°Young master Ace, my name¡¯s Gorgan from the Weilin Magus academy. I would like to offer you a full scholarship, a signing bonus of 100,000 gold coins, and 10,000 gold coins paid at the start of every term that will increase every time you progress by a rank.¡± Ace heard offer after offer, but he didn¡¯t let his success so far go to his head. ¡°Thank you for all the kind offers, but before I make any decisions, I¡¯d like to finish my assessment.¡± He answered, showing humility for the first time all day. His sudden change in demeanour took them by surprise, but they all readily agreed before taking their seats, eagerly anticipating the results of Ace¡¯s affinity test. ¡°But before that, I would like to ask that the almighty recruiter of the incredible War God¡¯s Academy pay what he owes.¡± Due to the shock of Ace¡¯s spiritual essence, they had completely forgotten Ace had made a bet with Brutus. They all turned to Brutus to see what he intended to do, as 100,000 wasn¡¯t a trivial amount by any means. Brutus wanted nothing more than to kill Ace and disappear, but he knew neither option was possible right now. Even more so when considering that he was there in an official capacity representing the War God¡¯s Academy. If he did anything to bring the academy into disrepute, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences. ¡°Tch, what¡¯s a mere 100,000 to a warrior of the 7th rank like myself,¡± Brutus said as he reached into the sack by his side and took out two spherical gems. ¡°Here, catch!¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Seeing these two gems flying towards him, Ace was preparing to dodge. Although the power in the throw wasn¡¯t enough to kill him, he knew he¡¯d break several bones if he tried to catch them. Luckily, just as he prepared to dodge, Ace noticed a pair of hands intercept them, casually catching each gem. ¡°Here you go, young master Ace.¡± As Ace turned to the speaker, he couldn¡¯t help but look up at the church official gratefully. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It was no trouble, no trouble at all.¡± The invigilator said with a polite smile that was quickly replaced by an icy glare as he turned to face the representative of the War God Academy. ¡°Brutus, I have already given your War God¡¯s academy face by remaining quiet till now, but if you carry on, I will be forced to ask you to leave!¡± Brutus could only sit down quietly in front of the church¡¯s official. If it was anyone else, he could act wilfully, but the Radiant Church was a power no weaker than his O¡¯Brien Empire. He didn¡¯t dare do anything that could offend that behemoth. Ace understood full well that the church only chose to stand up for him after seeing his talent, had their intentions truly been pure, they never would¡¯ve allowed things to get to this point. But Ace didn¡¯t blame them; he was under no illusions about human nature. After giving the white-robed man another nod of gratification, he looked down at the two gems in his hand. Assuming Ace didn¡¯t understand what he was holding in his hand, Peter, who wanted to kick himself for acting too slowly and not being able to receive Ace¡¯s gratitude, explained, ¡°They¡¯re magicite cores of two seventh-rank magical beasts, each of which is worth 50,000 gold coins.¡± After visiting various shops during his time in the city, Ace had learnt that magicite cores were essentially the energy core of magical beasts. They served as containers for a magical beast¡¯s energy and only solidified in the bodies of magical beasts after they reached the third rank. ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Ace said appreciatively to Peter before stuffing the two cores in his pocket and walking over to the position of the final test. Ace didn¡¯t immediately place his hand on top of the crystal to determine his affinity. He looked to be lost in thought as he stared down at it. It wasn¡¯t till he heard the examiner¡¯s voice that he woke from his daze. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready, just place your hands on top of the affinity crystal.¡± Looking at the crystal, which would help determine his future, a helpless sigh escaped Ace¡¯s mouth. ¡®Here goes nothing.¡¯ As Ace¡¯s hands neared the crystal, everyone in the audience held their breath in anticipation, but when his hand actually fell on the crystal¡­ ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is nothing happening?!¡± Peter asked the invigilator. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never seen it act like this before.¡± He replied with confusion etched on his face as he watched Ace calmly remove his hands. ¡°Please try one more time. I apologise for this confusion.¡± Hearing the official¡¯s request, Ace put his hands on the crystal again, but there was still no response. ¡°Hmm, let me try¡­¡± As Ace removed his hands, the examiner from the church stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal. Almost immediately, the crystal shone with a deep gold light showing his high-level affinity to the light element. ¡°This¡­¡± Looking back at Ace, he and everyone present seemed to understand that there was nothing wrong with the crystal. The problem lay with¡­ Brutus, who had just been in a terrible mood up to that point, almost fell off his seat with laughter. ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! After all that, the brat has no affinity to any of the elements?¡± Book 1: Chapter 26 – Still A Warrior Even Wharton and Lina were laughing at Ace¡¯s misfortune. Everyone else looked at the figure of the lonely figure on stage with sympathy or regret. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how this is possible¡­ It should be impossible for someone not to have even a low affinity to any of the elements!¡± Peter said in complete disbelief at what he was witnessing. Ace, who was still the focus of everyone¡¯s attention, remained indifferent to their reactions. ¡®So I was right after all. I really don¡¯t have an affinity to any of the elements.¡¯ The truth was, as much as he didn¡¯t want it to be true, Ace had suspected this to be the case for some time now. Whenever he compressed his observation haki, he was able to see small specs of light, which he had already guessed was the elemental essence in the world. When different people were around him in that state, he could see the essences of certain elements interact with them, albeit without that person¡¯s knowledge. This was why he wasn¡¯t even slightly worried about Killian¡¯s assessment. He¡¯d already noticed how the earthy brown motes of light would always dance around Killian as if they were happy being in his presence. Even his mother, who only received the weakest reactions from the green elemental essence, still got a reaction. But Ace was different. Whenever he watched the elemental essences around him, it was as if, as far as they were concerned, Ace didn¡¯t exist. ¡®It probably has something to do with me not originating from this world.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as a bitter smile appeared on his face. The bitterness he felt was washed away by his resolve as he refused to let this little hiccup hold him back. A calm smile suffused his lips as he prepared to walk off the stage, only to be stopped by Brutus¡¯ attempts at payback. ¡°Hold on, before we all just allow a peerless genius to simply walk away, does no one wish to offer him a spot in their respective institutions?¡± The colossal man asked with a knowing smile. ¡°What about you, Peter? Didn¡¯t you just offer him a spot at your Ernst Institute? Don¡¯t tell me you intend to go back on your word in public.¡± Brutus asked as he attempted to get back at the man who took so much pleasure in his misfortune not so long ago. Peter gave Brutus the dirtiest of looks before turning to Ace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I was too rash before. Your final assessment results, unfortunately, prevent you from joining the Ernst Institute.¡± Peter didn¡¯t even give Ace a chance to respond before turning to Killian and Alissa. ¡°But my original offer still stands for both of you. You shouldn¡¯t waste your talent; your decisions today will affect the heights you reach in the fu¡­¡± ¡°I go where he goes!¡± Killian boldly stated, not giving Peter the chance to finish his sentence. Before anyone could get a word in, Killian¡¯s determined voice rang out, ¡°I go where he goes!¡± ¡°I go where they go,¡± Alissa added indifferently. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Turning back to Ace, Peter tried his best to control his rising frustrations. ¡°Even if your future is ruined, shouldn¡¯t you, as their friend, do everything you can to make sure they make the most of their opportunities?¡± Ace could only release a helpless sigh. ¡°I honestly haven¡¯t told him to say that if Killian wishes to join you, I would never stand in his way.¡± ¡°What about the girl?¡± One of the other recruiters asked. ¡°I barely know her. I only met her for the first time today!¡± Ace honestly replied. ¡°If you only met her today, why is she adamant about following you?¡± Another recruiter asked. ¡°My irresistible charm, probably. I don¡¯t know. Why are you asking me? Ask her yourself!¡± Ace answered casually, not caring that each of the recruiters was some of the continent¡¯s more influential residents. His answers didn¡¯t do much to satisfy the crowd, but they all understood that speaking to Ace any longer was pointless. As people turned to start throwing offers at Killian, his immature but unwavering voice rang through the hall once more. ¡°I go where he goes!¡± After he finished, he walked up on stage and stood beside Ace to show his position. ¡°Your loyalty is admirable, but yo¡­¡± ¡°At that point, Killian did the only thing he could think of to show them that he wasn¡¯t interested in their offers. With great enthusiasm, Killian put his index fingers in each ear. Ace¡¯s body shook as he struggled to stop himself from laughing, seeing Killian¡¯s childish antics. ¡°NOT INTERESTED! I GO WHERE THEY GO!¡± Hearing Alissa¡¯s shout, everyone turned their attention only to see Brutus standing over her, clearly trying to convince her to join the War God¡¯s Academy whilst everyone was busy trying to persuade Killian. Whilst everyone¡¯s attention was on Brutus, Alissa used that time to jump on stage, taking her place by the two boys who looked at her in confusion. ¡°You truly are worse than trash. To think, just because you realised your talent isn¡¯t worth a fart, you¡¯re determined to bring down two top-tier talents with you!¡± Brutus said, looking at Ace derisively. ¡°My talent is bad?¡± Ace asked in shock. ¡°Hahaha, bad? No, your talent is non-existent!¡± Brutus said condescendingly. ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t know this, but if you want to break through to become a saint, you need to start to comprehend the profound laws of the elements. For someone like you who has no affinity to any of the elements¡­ Becoming a saint is impossible!¡± It wasn¡¯t just Ace that came as news to most of the people present. Saint¡¯s were just too rare. To put it into context, out of 10,000 people, one might reach the ninth rank, but out of 10,000 ninth-rank experts, the chances of any of them becoming a saint is slim to none. With odds like that, it¡¯s no wonder why hardly any news about saints was known by the masses. ¡°Why would a 60-year-old warrior of the seventh rank who¡¯s been tasked with recruiting potential students instead of prioritizing his training talk about the path to sainthood as if he himself stood a chance of becoming one?¡± Ace asked with an innocent face as if he was genuinely curious. ¡°Becoming a warrior of the eighth rank will probably prove to be a problem for a man of your age. The chances of you reaching the ninth rank are probably slim to none, let alone the saint rank!¡± Ace paid no attention to Brutus¡¯ rising anger as he calmly continued. ¡°You were right, though, my talent as a mage is truly non-existent, but my talent as a warrior isn¡¯t something someone like you is qualified to comment on.¡± It was only then that everyone remembered that Ace was among the elite of the elite in terms of talent as a warrior. As long as he didn¡¯t die early, no one doubted his ability to reach the ninth rank. And in a world where those lofty saints no longer paid attention to the lives of mere mortals, those who reached the ninth rank could be said to be stood at the apex of the mortal world. As they thought to there, the eyes of some of the recruiters from the various warrior institutes lit up, but when their eyes met Brutus¡¯, they could only sigh regretfully. Their respective academies couldn¡¯t even begin to compare to The War God¡¯s Academy, and they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke one of the strongest factions in the world, even for a talent of Ace¡¯s calibre. ¡°Even if you have incredible talent until you mature, all it is is a possible future. With your attitude, it¡¯d be a miracle if you liv¡­¡± ¡°Why is it that all of you from the O¡¯Brien Empire feel the need to be heard at all times?¡± A hooded figure sat amongst the rest of the recruiters, asked lazily. Book 1: Chapter 27 – The Yin-Yang Pavilion ¡°Who do you think you are to speak¡­¡± The mystery man turned his head to Brutus, who immediately stopped speaking when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge. As their eyes made contact, Brutus felt as though he was a mouse being eyed by a lion. Paying no more attention to the oversized warrior, the mystery man finished yawning. He lazily stood up, only to stretch his body as if he had just woken up before leisurely strolling towards Ace as if no one else existed. Just as he got to the stage, the church official stepped forward. His warm expression replaced by one of anger. He was given the simple task of overseeing this year¡¯s assessment exams. As an official of one of the most powerful forces in the world, he thought it would be one of the most straightforward tasks of his career thus far, but people kept challenging his patience. He gave Brutus a lot of leeway because he was from an organisation that was supported by a force no weaker than his own, but now, even a no-named individual decided to treat him, and by extension, the church, as if they were air. ¡°Leave now, your prese¡­¡± The church official couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence before the mysterious man vanished. It wasn¡¯t until he followed the line of sight of the other recruiters that he realised the man in question had somehow appeared behind him. ¡®Impossible, I¡¯m a rank seven mage and rank five warrior. The only people able to move fast enough for me to lose track of are all¡­¡¯ Whilst the church official was starting to understand the threat of the man he was dealing with, Ace raised his arm to stop Killian, who was preparing to attack. ¡®Other than those saints who almost completely destroyed Wushan back then, this man is by far the strongest person I¡¯ve ever seen. Judging by his aura, not even Pops would¡¯ve been this man¡¯s match!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he calmly looked at the man before him. ¡°You don¡¯t seem scared of this king.¡± The man playfully said. ¡°If you wanted to kill me, there¡¯s nothing I or anyone here could do to stop you.¡± Ace calmly replied, ignoring how he referred to himself in the third person as a king. ¡°Don¡¯t you fear death?¡± The mystery man asked in pure amusement. ¡°I do!¡± Due to his hood still being raised, no one could tell for sure, but the man seemed to be staring directly into Ace¡¯s eyes. And despite being unable to see his face, Ace remained calm as he stared back. After what felt like an eternity to the spectators who didn¡¯t dare to breathe too heavily for fear of offending this madman, but was actually no more than 10 seconds, the mystery man roared with laughter. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yahahaha, you truly are an interesting kid! Ahh, where are my manners?¡± The hooded man asked as he raised his hands to lower his hood. ¡°This king¡¯s name is¡­¡± ¡°Wu¡­ ¡°Wukong!¡± Brutus blurted out as he stumbled back in fear. Everyone was shocked when they saw his face, but other than Brutus, only Peter and the official from the church seemed to recognise him. Everyone else seemed to be more surprised by the features of his face. ¡°You look younger than I thought.¡± Ace said honestly as he looked at Wukong¡¯s spiky light brown hair, tanned skin, and piercing purple eyes. In Ace¡¯s eyes, he looked no older than 20, but after finding out Brutus was over 60, he didn¡¯t dare guess the actual age of the people in this world lightly. ¡°That¡¯s what surprised you?¡± Wukong asked with raised eyebrows. ¡°As opposed to?¡± Ace asked, not seeming to follow. ¡°You look a lot like the monkeys me and Ace used to play with as kids.¡± Killian blurted out, looking at Wukong¡¯s almost vampire-like fangs and the golden-brown fur surrounding the young-looking man¡¯s face. As soon as the words came out of Killian¡¯s mouth, everyone gasped, thinking Wukong would be offended. Even Killian himself covered his mouth, realizing he¡¯d spoken without thinking. ¡°Yahahahaha. This king likes you, brats!¡± Wukong exclaimed, patting the top of Killian¡¯s head. ¡°Are you the same Wukong that camped outside the War-God Academy¡¯s front gates challenging all their students five years ago?¡± Alissa asked as stars appeared in her eyes as if she was in front of a celebrity. ¡°The War-God¡¯s academy made sure to keep that information hidden; this king is surprised you heard about that,¡± Wukong said with a chuckle. ¡°I heard you were an early rank eight warrior at the time. You defeated several of their rank eight and nine warriors. It wasn¡¯t until their prodigy, Olivier Akerlund, who had just broken through to rank nine at the time, stepped forward that you stopped. Even then, it¡¯s said he only managed to fight you to a draw!¡± Alissa didn¡¯t notice the glare she was receiving from Brutus as she publicised the most embarrassing incident in the academy¡¯s history. It was only when she noticed the knowing smile that hung on Wukong¡¯s lips did she realise that she had said too much. Wukong, though, didn¡¯t say anything in response. Instead, he turned back to face Ace and explained. ¡°This king is here today on behalf of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, looking for youngsters whose talents meet our entry requi¡­¡± ¡°Yin-Yang Pavilion, I¡¯ve never heard of it,¡± Brutus said when he regained his nerve after concluding that not even Wukong was crazy enough to do anything to him in the Cathedral of the Radiant Church. ¡°It¡¯s a new institute opening its gates for the first time this year.¡± Wukong calmly explained, not seeming to mind that he had been interrupted. ¡°A new institute? Who¡¯s the head of the institute? How many teachers are there? Is it a school for mages or warriors?¡± The church official fired off one question after the other trying to get as much information as he possibly could for when he gave it to his superiors. ¡°Yes, a new institute. The head of the institute is the first brother of this king, and there are only two teachers, not including this king, who is only a substitute teacher.¡± ¡°You have a senior brother? How strong is he? Who¡¯s your master?¡± Hearing the church official¡¯s barrage of questions, Wukong raised his hands to massage his temples as he replied. ¡°Yes, this king has a senior brother. This king isn¡¯t sure exactly how strong he is, but he¡¯s definitely stronger than this king for now. Our master is someone who likes their privacy. Ooh, and to answer your earlier question, the Yin-Yang Pavilion is a school for both mages and warriors, hence the ¡®Yin-Yang¡¯ in the name.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, so the only institute willing to take in Ace, the supreme genius, is a newly opened one that dares to start a school for both warriors and mages with only two teachers? Hahaha, this is perf¡­¡± ¡°If you stop speaking, this king promises, no one will think you¡¯re dead!¡± Wukong said, interrupting the annoying warrior. Book 1: Chapter 28 – This King’s Word ¡°If you stop speaking, this king promises, no one will think you¡¯re dead!¡± Wukong said, interrupting the giant warrior from the War God¡¯s Academy, not even turning around to face him. Brutus glared daggers at the ape-like man, but ultimately, he decided against saying or doing anything that could further provoke the madman. ¡°If Ace joins, I want to join too!¡± Killian said excitedly. ¡°Me too,¡± Alissa said, sneaking glances at the unsuspecting Killian. ¡°Haha, with your talents, you¡¯re both more than qualified to join the Yin-Yang Pavilion.¡± Wukong nodded with a pleased smile. ¡°What about you, Ace? Do you dare to join a newly formed school for both warriors and mages with only two full-time teachers?¡± Ace immediately understood what Wukong was really asking. If he could trust them at the Pavilion to make the most of his potential, despite them being so lacklustre in comparison to the average institute. ¡°If you dare to accept me, I dare to join you!¡± Ace replied with a confident smile. Wukong laughed happily hearing Ace¡¯s answer. He understood that Ace was saying that if the Yin-Yang Pavilion dared to accept him, even after he provoked a warrior with the bloodline of one of the supreme warriors and the dignity of one of the most prestigious institutions on the continent, then he would put his trust in them. ¡°Yahaha, good, good!¡± Wukong laughed victoriously, having recruited three top-tier talents. ¡°Since this king is in such a good mood today, let me, as your substitute teacher, give you your first lesson here and now. As students of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, losing is acceptable, but you can¡¯t lose the pavilion¡¯s face. If someone tries to insult the dignity of the pavilion¡­¡± As Wukong paused for dramatic effect, Ace, with the help of his haki, was the first person who realised that what was left standing in front of them was nothing but an afterimage. Turning his head, he noticed that Wukong was now stood behind the unsuspecting Brutus with a crystal white bo staff in his hand. ¡®Where did the staff come from?¡¯ Ace wondered as he watched from his spot. ¡°¡­You remind them of their place!¡± Wukong said in a playful tone which put the fear of god in Brutus as he realised what was about to happen. ¡°No, you can¡¯t do th¡­¡± Before Brutus even had the chance to try and dodge, Wukong thrust his staff forth like a bolt of lightning. ¡°Eat this king¡¯s staff!¡± Brutus desperately wanted to dodge, but as the staff neared him, he felt as if space itself was compressing around him. He could only watch in horror as the staff shattered his chest plate before losing consciousness. ¡°So strong!¡± Muttered Killian as he watched Brutus¡¯ body fly through the air breaking the giant doors of the hall. ¡®How did he do that?¡¯ Ace wondered as he replayed Wukong¡¯s attack over and over again. Through his observation haki, Ace could sense that Brutus was trying with all his might to dodge but couldn¡¯t. ¡®It was almost as if there was something holding him in place.¡¯ With a flick of his wrist, the glistening white staff in his furry hands magically disappeared. ¡°Interspatial Ring,¡± Alissa said in surprise. Although she was extremely quiet when she said it, how could Ace, who was standing so close to her, not hear with his enhanced senses as a warrior of the second rank? Despite being interested in knowing more, he knew now wasn¡¯t the time nor place to talk about such things. Looking at the church official with a carefree smile, Wukong flipped his hands, and a frost blue magicite core five times the size of the one Ace won from Brutus earlier magically appeared in a similar fashion to his Bo Staff. ¡°Here, this should cover any damages,¡± Wukong said as he tossed the magicite core to the invigilator. ¡°It¡¯s from a rank nine Frost Python that attacked this king on the way here.¡± There was virtually no power behind Wukong¡¯s throw, but the Radiant Church¡¯s examiner showed unparalleled focus when catching it. Afterall, it was a rank nine magicite core. It was worth 5,000,000 in gold coins. Though expensive, Wukong was well aware he only caused a few tens of thousands in damages at most. The reason he gave them so much was because, though he could be impulsive, he was still intelligent enough to know that acting as he did inside the Radiant Churches¡¯ domain could be considered rude on his part, and he didn¡¯t want to offend them for no reason. Plus, he didn¡¯t see the average rank nine beast as anything more than dinner. By the time the invigilator looked up from the treasure in his hand, Wukong had already strolled past him towards Ace, Killian, and Alissa. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Are you kids ready to go?¡± He asked leisurely, no longer feeling the need to pay attention to anyone else present. Lance, who was still standing behind the guards that had prevented him from going forward earlier, genuinely felt like he¡¯d aged ten years in the space of one day. He went from almost having a heart attack when Ace got into a battle of words with that Brutus fellow, to feeling like he was on cloud nine seeing Killian¡¯s results, to feeling both worried and angry when Ace said he was willing to give his arm as part of the bet, to ecstatic when Ace set the record for the strongest spiritual essence ever recorded in history, to feeling at anger towards heaven for stripping Ace of the talent he believed he deserved when they found out he had no affinity. Still, he felt genuinely relieved when Wukong offered both boys a spot in ¡®the pavilion¡¯. That relief turned into excitement when he witnessed Wukong¡¯s strength. As far as he was concerned, the institution couldn¡¯t be too bad with a powerhouse like him there. ¡°Lance, come on, we¡¯re leaving!¡± Ace¡¯s calm yet immature voice woke him from his daze. He watched as the guards that had previously blocked his path hastily moved aside. Lance was well aware they moved due to the presence of Wukong, but it didn¡¯t matter to him. He ran over to Ace and Killian and gave them a giant bear hug. ¡°Thank God you 2 are alright. You worried me half to death!¡± ¡°No need to worry so much; I knew what I was doing!¡± Ace said confidently. ¡°Oww! What was that for?¡± Lance glared at Ace as he removed his hand from the back of the boy¡¯s head. ¡°What happened to being on your best behaviour?¡± Ace could only chuckle sheepishly, knowing he had probably caused Lance no small amount of worry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Ace said sincerely. Even though Ace didn¡¯t regret anything he did or said here today, he was genuinely sorry about making Lance worry. He could hear the panic in his voice when Ace volunteered to bet his arm. He never thought for a second he¡¯d lose, but worrying Lance like that was the last thing he wanted to do. But at the same time, a warm feeling rose in his heart, knowing that Lance cared so much. ¡°Just don¡¯t do something so reckless again!¡± Lance replied, feeling Ace¡¯s sincerity. ¡°And don¡¯t tell your mom! There¡¯s no point in her worrying over spilt milk for no reason!¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± Giving Milianna unnecessary worries was the last thing any of them wanted to do. ¡°Ok, ok, this king doesn¡¯t have all day. Let¡¯s get going already!¡± Wukong said impatiently as he made his way towards the exit. Watching Wukong lead Ace and the others out, everyone couldn¡¯t help but think about how today¡¯s must¡¯ve been the most exciting assessment in history. Ordinarily, it¡¯d be lucky for one genius-level child to appear at an assessment. Every once in a while, two might appear simultaneously, but for four to appear in one go is practically unheard of. And then all the drama that happened on top of it¡­ No one knew exactly what would happen next, but they were all certain that today was just the start. When they returned, Milianna was glad they were all safe and sound but shocked to find the two new additions to their group. Despite her surprise, she immediately gave them both a warm welcome, not seeming to notice or mind Wukong¡¯s Ape like features. Lance then proceeded to explain what happened at the assessment, leaving out anything to do with the conflict between them and Brutus. ¡°Thank you so much for giving my little Ace a chance Mr Wukong!¡± Milianna earnestly said after hearing how Wukong was the only one to step forward to recruit Ace after seeing the results of his final assessment. ¡°No need for thanks; this king was merely doing his job,¡± Wukong replied. ¡°But if we want to make it back in time for enrolment, we must leave first thing tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± Ace asked, slightly surprised. ¡°I thought you said the school year didn¡¯t start till February first. It¡¯s still September, so we still have five months. Why the rush?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. We do have five months, but The Yin-Yang Pavilion is based at the north of the Anarchic Lands.¡± ¡°Anarchic Lands?¡± Ace asked, having never heard of it. ¡°It¡¯s on the other side of the continent. Over 15,000 kilometres away.¡± Alissa answered, still in the habit of clearing up Ace¡¯s confusion, before turning to Wukong. ¡°Forget five months; that sort of distance will take the better part of a year.¡± ¡°Normally, you¡¯d be right, but this king decided to capture a pair of cloud wolves on the way down,¡± Wukong said proudly. ¡°What are cloud wolves?¡± Ace asked when he saw Alissa¡¯s eyes light up in understanding. ¡°They¡¯re rank six wolves that have the offensive strength of your average rank four beast.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re so weak, why did you look so surprised?¡± ¡°Because even though they¡¯re so weak offensively, in terms of speed, they¡¯re no slower than a rank nine beast, but what makes them so special is their balance. It doesn¡¯t matter what type of terrain they¡¯re running on; their balance allows them to run as if they¡¯re running on flat ground. Apparently, it feels like you¡¯re sat on a cloud when riding one.¡± Alissa said, allowing her excitement to get the best of her. ¡°And if a carriage of good enough quality is strapped to them, that feeling of travelling on a cloud will also be transferred to the carriage,¡± Wukong added. ¡°Forget five months; if we travel on cloud wolves, getting there in three wouldn¡¯t be impossible.¡± Alissa blurted out in excitement at the idea of riding on cloud wolves. ¡°That would be true if we didn¡¯t have to stop for food.¡± The Ape like powerhouse leisurely explained. ¡°And it¡¯ll take even longer as you three brats will be hunting for your own food for the duration.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too unsafe!¡± Milianna immediately interjected. ¡°This king understands that it¡¯s a mother¡¯s job to love and protect her children, but your son is training to be a warrior now. As time goes on, his enemies will only get stronger. Unless Ace can improve faster than them, there may come a day when you, as a mother, have to bury your son.¡± Wukong was blunt with his words, but everyone present knew what he said wasn¡¯t wrong. Even Ace, who¡¯d typically be the first to come to his mother¡¯s defence, ultimately said nothing. He better than most understood the veracity of Wukong¡¯s words. He himself had wanted to say it for a while now, but whenever he saw the loving look on his mother¡¯s face when she looked at him, his words would escape him. Milianna was no fool. From the day Ace had first declared his desire to follow the path of a warrior, she knew this day would come eventually, but she never expected it to come so soon. ¡°But there¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Wukong added when he saw the look of dejection on her face. ¡°With this king there, nothing bad will happen.¡± ¡°You promise to keep my son alive?¡± Milianna asked as she stared Wukong dead in the eye with an almost threatening gaze. ¡°You have this king¡¯s word!¡± Wukong promised as his mind wandered. ¡®Women like you are far more intimidating than warriors like that idiot Brutus!¡¯ NEWS/SPOILER – NOT PART OF THE STORY Hi guys, first off, I just want to thank everyone who¡¯s chosen to follow the book so far. Your support is greatly appreciated! I know many of you aren¡¯t happy about the direction in which the story¡¯s taken, so to avoid losing too many readers, I¡¯ve decided to take this chance to drop two spoilers: First of all, Linley and the Baruchs will not be ¡°Antagonists¡± in this story; they just happen to start off very antagonistic. As for how the relationship develops between them and Ace, you¡¯ll just have to continue reading to find out! Secondly, and most importantly, FIRE (hint-hint =D) Fist Ace is not dead! I know many of you were upset about Ace not having an affinity, but there was a reason for it, and it¡¯ll become more apparent as the story goes on, but I assure you, it will NOT stay like that! That¡¯s it for spoilers. The final things I want to address are the release rate, chapter word count, and the constant cliff-hangers. First, allow me to address the constant cliff-hangers ¨C I know they¡¯re annoying, but I do them for my sake. I hate cliff-hangers as much as most of you, but by leaving it like that, I¡¯m almost forcing myself to carry on writing the next day. Anything I can do to keep myself from dropping it halfway through! This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Second, I plan on spending the next few days with family, so there will be no further releases until this weekend, but I hope each of you has a Happy New Years! That being said, due to work and family commitments, unfortunately, I can¡¯t write as much as I would ideally like to. So although I plan to continue writing and releasing, I will have to cut back on my release schedule. But I have just created a Patreon. So if you do decide to support me @ www.patreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon I¡¯ll provide you with additional chapters at a faster rate as a thank you. To start with, I¡¯ll only be releasing one chapter a week on Webnovel, but three a week on Patreon. So the more patrons I have on there, the more chapters I¡¯ll release on both platforms, with the Patreon always releasing AT LEAST twice as many chapters as the Webnovel, and no matter how many chapters a week I end up releasing on there or how much further ahead it is, the price will NEVER increase! But most importantly, from this moment on, each chapter will have a minimum of 1500 words (I know many of you hated the 1000-1500 word chapters). The new release schedule will be: Webnovel/Scribblehub/RoyalRoad ¨C Sundays Patreon ¨C Sundays, Thursdays & Saturdays (Starting this Saturday!) Thanks again, and I hope you continue to follow and support me! Book 2: Chapter 1 - Rank Three Beast A rather large and fairly extravagant carriage could be seen speeding through a forest. It was being pulled by two wolves with glistening white fur, both of which were larger than your average adult horse. There were two males at the front of the carriage. Steering was a young man with spiky brown hair and piercing purple eyes, but his most distinctive attributes were his animal-like features. Everything from his long, pointy ears to his plump protruding lips to his golden-brown fur made him look as though he were half man and half monkey. Beside him was a young boy who looked no older than 10. He had long, shoulder-length curly jet-black hair and was dressed in a plain white t-shirt and plain black cargo pants tucked into the top of his black boots. "Hunting magical beasts in the second rank is getting too easy." The boy on the right said casually, looking off to the side at nothing in particular. "Then hunt rank three beasts from tomorrow." The Ape like man lazily answered as he sat with one leg stretched across the rest of the seat and the reigns leisurely hanging from his right hand. An excited smile appeared on the boy''s face when he heard that. "Rank three beasts, huh¡­" The young boy smiling excitedly was Ace, and the furry man sitting lazily beside him was Wukong. Their group had been travelling smoothly for two weeks now. At first, Wukong did as he originally planned. He forced all three children to find their own food each day, but between Killian''s lack of actual combat ability, the ease with which Ace was hunting rank one and two beasts and Alissa''s willingness to do nothing, Wukong felt the need to make a change. From that day on, Ace was responsible for hunting enough food for the rest of the group. Killian, who had decided to choose the axe as his primary weapon, was told to cut wood every day whilst Ace was away, and Alissa spent that time sparring with Wukong. Well, calling it sparring was generous. Wukong would lower his strength to match hers and also use twin daggers to imitate her. It was during those sparring sessions that Alissa could fully appreciate how talented Wukong was. As an assassin, she''d been trained in the art of close combat to a very high standard, especially when it came to wielding daggers. So on their first day, when she saw Wukong wielding daggers for the first time, she could see he was an amateur. But after a few minutes, she could actually see his improvements, and after 10 minutes, he was no worse than her. What surprised her most was that it almost felt like she was fighting herself. Wukong had copied everything from how she held her daggers to her form when slashing and even dodging. After a few days, she felt as if Wukong''s ability to wield a dagger had completely eclipsed her own. Seeing her mood plummet, Wukong decided to explain. "In terms of actual technique, this king is, at best, equal to you. The reason this king can dominate the flow of the battle is experience. This king has over ten times as much combat experience as you. Even after this king limits his strength to match yours and uses a weapon he''s not used to, those years of battle experience are still there. Thinking you could beat me is just pure, unwarranted arrogance on your part." Despite his words being blunt, they seemed to work as intended. Alissa stopped trying to win and focused on learning as much as possible, and at least in terms of technique and experience, she improved far faster than she had in the past. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Each day after they finished eating, Alissa and Killian would then start their mage training whilst the carriage moved. It took a little while for them to understand what they were doing, but with their innate talent, they learnt to sense their respective elemental essences and absorb them after a few measly days. Whilst they did that, Ace wasn''t lazing around. He would sit at the front of the carriage with Wukong, asking him as many questions as possible so that he could get a better understanding of his new world. After he felt he''d bothered Wukong for long enough, Ace would turn his focus to his [observation haki], which still had room for improvement after his breakthrough to the 2nd rank. "Just try not to go and get yourself killed!" Wukong said, noticing Ace''s apparent excitement. "I''m the one who''ll have to answer your mother if you go kick the bucket." "I won''t!" Ace said, trying to suppress his anticipation. "By the way¡­" "Shoo shoo!" Wukong interrupted Ace as he motioned for Ace to leave. "This king hasn''t got the energy to listen to your non-stop questions tonight!" "Tch. Fine, I''ll go!" Ace said, disappearing into the back of the carriage. ''These two are working hard as usual.'' Ace thought to himself when he noticed Killian and Alissa sitting cross-legged on the carriage floor, deep in meditation. "I hope you weren''t troubling Mr Wukong too much?" Milianna said, looking up from the top she was halfway through knitting. "No trouble at all. We were just talking about my training." Ace innocently replied. Lance, who was sitting beside Milianna, looked at Ace, not believing him but said nothing. Ace then took a seat beside Killian and Alissa and began his haki training. Lance and Milianna didn''t have to ask to understand what he was doing. As the only people who knew the truth about his abilities, they knew he was training his ''[observation haki]'', as he called it. The only thing Lance and Milianna didn''t understand was why he had access to his ''[armament]'' and ''[observation]'', but Milianna didn''t. To that, all Ace could do was feign ignorance. How could he tell them he already knew how to use it from his past life? At the same time, at the front of the carriage, a curious light flashed in Wukong''s eyes as Ace began training. ''What exactly is that brat up to?'' The following day, when the carriage made its usual morning stop for the kids to do their training, Ace hugged Milianna before grabbing the glaive he took from the assassin he killed and left for his hunt. "Rank three beasts today, huh? This should be fun!" Ace appeared completely carefree as he leisurely strolled through the forest, but the truth was he would spread his [observation] every minute or so, not only to search for his prey but also to avoid being caught off guard by anyone or anything unexpected. "There you are!" As Ace found his target, he shot forward, not bothering to hide his presence. "Finally, a real challenge!" It wasn''t clear if it was out of excitement or hunger, but Ace licked his lips when he saw what looked like a 10-foot hippo with dark brown fur and a single horn above its eyes lazing around under a tree. When it noticed him, the hippo hurriedly rolled to its feet and began growling. Seeing the little human ignore its warning, the wild hippo charged toward the child it''d decided to make lunch. Not daring to hold back against a beast of a higher rank than him, Ace jumped as high as he could in the air in an attempt to use gravity to increase the momentum of his attack. As he descended, a hint of a smile could be seen on Ace''s face, ''so this is what pops felt charging in with nothing but his glaive.'' Ace coated the blade of his glaive in [haki], swinging it down with all his strength, doing his best to imitate the man he respected most from his previous life! But as the glaive and horn made contact, shock could be seen on Ace''s face. "Shit, that thing''s stronger than I thought!" Despite using everything he had, Ace was still forced to take five steps back before regaining his footing. And if that wasn''t enough of a surprise, his opponent didn''t take a single step back. "A magical beast of the 3rd rank is no joke." Whilst Ace was getting over his shock, the hippo seemed to be hesitating as it looked at the child in front of it. It expected to send the boy flying with one hit, but instead, the child it saw as no more than an easy meal managed to stop its charge dead in its tracks. A magical beast''s instincts tended to be superior to humans. It''s how they can tell whether or not they should run from other more powerful beasts in the wild. The horned hippo''s instincts told it that the ugly ape in front of it was weaker than it was, but as they were about to clash, his instincts flared up, warning it of danger, but now its instincts were once again saying the weird-looking ape was too weak to pose a threat. It had never experienced anything as confusing in its life and was struggling to decide whether it should escape or not, but when it saw the excitement on Ace''s face as if this weak ape was the predator and it was the prey, it growled in anger. "HAHAHA, COME!" Ace roared in excitement. Book 2: Chapter 2 - Honest Feedback Not seeming to have learnt his lesson, Ace once again clashed head-on with the wild-horned hippo, and once more, even with his [haki] to strengthen his attacks, he was sent retreating. Nevertheless, his smile grew with enthusiasm as he felt his blood boil with excitement. For as long as he could remember, Ace had always had a chip on his shoulder. It was as if he always had something to prove to somebody. And even if that chip hadn''t disappeared, in a world where no one knew the tales of Gol D. Roger, the king of the pirates, he didn''t feel anywhere near as burdened. That allowed more of his true personality to come to light. ''Hahaha, I never knew fighting could be so¡­ Fun!'' Ace had never been one to shy away from a battle, and the whole of his previous world could attest to him having always been strong, but never in his previous life had he truly enjoyed the thrill of battle. Not like this anyway. There was no one he felt he had to prove anything to. There was no part of him worrying about living up to anyone''s expectations. Other than the enemy before him, everything else seemed to disappear! "HAHAHA. AGAIN¡­ COME AGAIN! AGAIN!" Ace would constantly swing his glaive with all the power he could summon as if he genuinely believed he was strong enough to end the fight with one attack, but every clash would end with him being the one pushed back. His arms had long gone numb and were covered in bruises, but his smile only widened with every clash! The hippo, who had been steadily dominating its opponent this whole battle, felt fear for the first time. Genuine fear. Every time it pushed this little ape back, the aura he emitted increased. And now, the aura Ace was subconsciously emitting was almost suffocating. Ace could almost smell the hippo''s fear at that point, and when he saw its beady little eyes looking for a direction to escape, his interest in continuing this battle disappeared. Whilst the hippo was still in a daze, unsure how to proceed, It didn''t even notice the black blade of Ace''s closing in on it until it was too late. The wild hippo didn''t even manage to squeal in fear before Ace thrust his glaive through its ear, piercing its brain. In the sky, Wukong sat cross-legged on the back of a large pitch-black eagle staring down at Ace with a hint of a smile. "Ok, let''s go back, and then this king promises to let you go!" Wukong said, glancing down at the eagle he had mounted. . . . "That¡­ That''s a Horned Hippo! Ace, did you hunt that yourself?" Lance was the first to notice Ace return as he dragged the semi-decapitated beast along the floor. "A Horned Hippo is a Magical Beast of the third rank¡­ How did you defeat a rank three magical beast by yourself?" Alissa asked as she ran over to examine the corpse. "Are you okay?" Killian asked, not seeming to have even noticed the beast. "Haha, I''m fine. How could a stupid overgrown pig best me?!" As if to prove it, Ace tried to raise his arms to flex them. But between his fight and then having to drag his dinner over a mile back to the campsite, Ace''s arms were far too sore to be raised that high. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Ace, your arms¡­ They''re completely bruised and swollen!" Milianna, who''d rushed over from the carriage, worriedly held her son''s arms to examine them. "Where''s Mr. Wukong? He prom¡­" "Mom, it''s fine. It''s only some light swelling. It''s no different from when I do intense training." Ace said in an attempt to calm his overprotective mother. Milianna knew he was right. After a particularly hard training session, both Ace and Killian would struggle to walk as their bodies were too sore. Seeing them like that was bad enough, but she could deal with it as it was done to themselves by themselves when training, but this was caused by a powerful magical beast that had been trying to kill him. Even though she, as a loving mother, didn''t like it, she knew full well that the path Ace chose for himself was a dangerous one. All she could do was be there to support him. "Come take a seat; let me rub some ointment on your arms to ease the swelling." Understanding that arguing would be a pointless endeavour at this point, Ace followed his mother''s directions and took a seat on one of the many chopped-down logs that littered the campsite. "I still don''t understand how you killed it. First of all, Magical Beasts tend to be stronger than humans of the same rank. Secondly, it was a whole rank higher than you, and finally, when a magical beast breaks through to the third rank, they form their magicite cores." Alissa tossed over a small spherical crystal that was tinted blue. "A horned hippo of the third rank would''ve developed its magical ability ¨C water bullet. It''s a fast and deadly ability even to warriors of the same rank, let alone those weaker than it." Alissa studied Ace''s body curiously as if she was looking to see if he was hiding any other injuries. "So, how did you do it?" Ace, who had now gotten used to Alissa''s presence, shrugged. "It didn''t use any magical abilities; it just kept charging at me¡­" Alissa looked deeply at Ace as if to see if he was lying. "Even if it decided you were too little of a threat to waste energy using its magical ability, it''s still a genuine rank three beasts. Physically, you should''ve been outmatched in every way." "The abilities of a genius aren''t something that can be understood by mere mortals like you." Ace shamelessly replied. It was at that moment they noticed Wukong returning dragging two giant silver-scaled crocodiles. Tossing them over to one side as if they were nothing. "Those are Dragonscaled Crocodiles. A fully mature one can grow to Rank eight." Alissa, who''d become something of a walking dictionary, said in awe as she looked at the two elephant-sized beasts Wukong tossed. Wukong didn''t seem to notice what Alissa had said as he smiled playfully, looking at Ace. "Your meal looks a bit¡­ small." Ace rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply. He had long since gotten used to Wukong''s teasing. Every day after he got back from his hunt, Wukong would come back from his hunt with a couple of beasts of at least the seventh rank, sometimes eighth. He''d then cook it and share a small amount with Lance and an even smaller amount with Milianna. It wasn''t that he was selfish; it''s just that the amount of calories in higher-ranked beasts is astronomical. Take the crocodile for example. Lance, despite being a warrior of the fourth rank, would only be able to eat a leg by himself before getting full. Milianna, as someone who''d neither stepped onto the path of a warrior or mage, would be lucky to be able to finish a whole bite. The worst part was that Ace, Killian, and Alissa would be forced to smell the adult''s meals but were only allowed to eat the food Ace brought back. It wasn''t like they ever went hungry, but when they smelt the incredible aroma coming from the other meal, each of their mouths would water uncontrollably. The only good thing was that Ace noticed that by eating fresh magical beast meat every day, his training speed more than doubled. That was especially true for lance, who got to eat the meat of such high-ranking beasts on a daily basis. After eating, everyone returned to the carriage to carry on with their journey. As usual, Lance and Milianna sat at the back with Killian and Alissa, who carried on with their mage training, whilst Ace got on the front with Wukong. "How did you find it?" Hearing his recruiter''s question, Ace knew he was referring to his first battle against a rank three beast. "They''re definitely a lot stronger than rank two beasts. I was lucky to win as easily as I did." Wukong nodded appreciatively, hearing Ace''s honest reply. "Did you notice any mistakes you made during your fight?" "It wasn''t really a mistake, but I''d say my ability with the glaive is far from passable, but I guess that''ll improve with time the more I fight." Ace said, clearly haven given it some thought. "This king admits that your technique with the glaive is genuinely horrible, but there is more to it than that. Your fight was horrible to watch. This king hadn''t noticed as much when you were fighting the weaker beasts because you were able to easily dominate them, but your attack pattern is too predictable, and quite frankly, it doesn''t suit you!" Ace was taken aback when he heard that. "How did you even see my fights? I didn''t sen¡­" "Sense me?" Wukong finished Ace''s sentence with a knowing smile. "You know?" Ace asked in surprise when he saw Wukong''s face. "Of course. Every night when you''d go in and meditate, this king could feel an odd spiritual presence. It wasn''t hard to guess it came from you after a few nights of it repeating. This king guesses that ability of yours is why your spiritual essence is so ridiculous for your age." "I guess so¡­" Ace said, unsure of what he should even say at this point. Book 2: Chapter 3 – Sudden Enlightenment Not seeming to realise Ace¡¯s dilemma, Wukong continued with his analysis. ¡°What about your ability to turn part of yourself or your weapon black, is that part of the same ability?¡± ¡°Yeah. I call it Haki.¡± Ace answered, realising the cat was almost completely out of the bag. ¡°Haki? That¡¯s a weird name.¡± Wukong said. ¡°Well, whatever you want to call it, it¡¯s a pretty unique bloodline ability.¡± ¡°Bloodline ability? I thought only the four supreme warrior clans had bloodline abilities?¡± Ace asked, trying to pry for more information. ¡°They¡¯re definitely the most famous of those with bloodline abilities, but there are others. There just happens to be very few of us!¡± ¡°Us?¡± Ace asked in genuine surprise. ¡°Yup. It¡¯s a bloodline ability allow that allows the user to copy any technique they see.¡± Wukong explained casually. ¡°Is that how you so easily managed to catch up with Alissa regarding your dagger mastery, despite having apparently never used one before?¡± Ace asked in surprise ¡°Pretty much,¡± Wukong answered, casually revealing what most would consider secret information. ¡°This king calls it [Monkey See Monkey Do].¡± Ace had heard Alissa complain of Wukong¡¯s monstrous rate of improvement in wielding daggers. ¡°Is that why you haven¡¯t been able to carry on improving any further?¡± ¡°Pretty much. It really is a cheat-like ability. As long as it¡¯s a technique that doesn¡¯t surpass this King¡¯s current level of comprehension, this king can copy any technique or ability, be it spell or martial art. But to improve further would require this king to put in additional work.¡± ¡°That is a cheat ability!¡± Ace said with a hint of envy. Wukong gave Ace an odd look before turning back to face the path ahead. ¡°What about you?¡± Ace glanced at Wukong before explaining. ¡°My ability has two parts: First is [armament haki], which allows me to harden my body or anything I touch by turning it black. And second is my [observation haki]. That allows me to sense the world around me, including everyone and everything in it.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m guessing your [observation haki] allows you to sense the path of your opponent¡¯s attack?¡± Ace looked at Wukong in surprise. ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard to guess after your battle with that Baruch brat and your fight today. Despite starting your attacks after the Horned Hippo, your glaive would always manage to intercept its charge at the perfect angle for a battle of strength. Those kinds of calculations should only be possible for a warrior with a tonne of battle experience, and you¡­ Your battles show that you have virtually no battle experience.¡± Ace took that personally. What kind of battle hadn¡¯t he taken part in or seen? He had literally been killed in a war that shook his former world to its core. How could he be said to have no experience? ¡°Even though you had a much longer reach with your weapon, you decided to engage in a battle of strength with a beast whose power was superior to your own. It¡¯s like you only know how to try and hit hard, even if your opponent hits harder. Even when you were fighting that Dragon Warrior kid, it may have looked impressive to those weaklings in the crowd as you dodged his punches, but your movements were wasted in each of your dodges. If you were up against someone with more experience, they would¡¯ve easily punished you for it.¡± After putting his pride away, Ace realised Wukong might be right. ¡®Weather it was against Teach or Akainu, the most I could do was rely on my devil fruit to try and overpower them, even after they proved they were stronger than me in a direct clash.¡¯ After spending a few seconds deep in thought, Ace looked up at the young man who¡¯d become something of a mentor to him over the last couple of weeks with resolve shining in his eyes. ¡°What do I do to improve?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Wukong smiled when he saw that. Ace was one of the most talented children he¡¯d ever seen, no less talented than himself. He knew full well that the more talented a child, the more prideful they were, but if Ace genuinely wanted to improve, he had to lower his pride! ¡°Don¡¯t worry; this king has an idea!¡± . . . The next day instead of going hunting like he usually would, Ace followed Wukong to a small clearing in the forest where they could train freely. ¡°Ok, the first thing you need to work on is your shoddy glaivesmanship.¡± With a flick of his wrist, a glaive with an emerald pole and a crystalline blade appeared in Wukong¡¯s right hand. Ace didn¡¯t have to ask to know that Wukong¡¯s was of a far higher quality than his. ¡°This belonged to a rank seven warrior bandit that was stupid enough to try and rob this king!¡± Wukong said when he saw the look of longing in Ace¡¯s eyes. As Wukong neared Ace, he spun the Glaive around his hands in a way that seemed to captivate Ace. ¡®It¡¯s almost as if the glaive became an extension of his hand.¡¯ ¡°The thing you need to know about not only the glaive but just about every polearm in existence is that there are three foundational techniques. All the more complicated techniques you will ever encounter are all created based on these three techniques.¡± Wukong said, bringing the black glaive in his hands to a stop. ¡°Watch carefully; I¡¯m only going to show you each form once!¡± As soon as Wukong said that, he felt Ace¡¯s [observation] cover him, but unlike his usual night-time training sessions where he spread his condensed haki simply to tire himself out, this time Ace was focusing his attention solely on his instructor. Wukong felt as if his body, both internal and external, was laid bare before Ace¡¯s haki. ¡®Interesting. Since he¡¯s paying so much attention, I guess I should take this seriously.¡¯ At that moment, Ace sensed Wukong¡¯s leisurely aura disappear, only to be replaced with one of unyielding confidence as he walked over to the nearest tree. ¡®So this is the real Wukong!¡¯ ¡°The first form you¡¯re going to focus on is¡­¡± Pausing just long enough to give the tree before him the faintest of taps, Ace saw five leaves fall from their respective branches before he heard Wukong call out. ¡°The [Thrust]!¡± Wukong thrust his glaive towards the first leaf, perfectly piercing its centre before moving his body, so he was facing the next leaf and performed another perfect thrust. Ace gave Wukong his undivided attention as he engraved everything about his demonstration into his mind. ¡®It¡¯s almost impossible to tell where one attack ends, and the next begins. There¡¯s no hesitation, no gaps, and every move flows perfectly into the next!¡¯ Before long, Wukong had finished his demonstration of the thrust. Ace noticed that each leaf was attached to the tip of the glaive, having been pierced through their centre. Wukong then proceeded to thrust his glaive towards the sky. Each of the leaves stuck to his glaive flew into the sky in unison, but before they had the chance to separate, Ace heard Wukong¡¯s voice once more. ¡°The second move; [Chop]!¡± Ace watched as Wukong raised the glaive above his head with his hand now holding the glaive from the base of the shaft. In Ace¡¯s eyes, Wukong had become an indomitable God of War. As the glaive came down, the air itself seemed to move aside. If that wasn¡¯t enough, Ace noticed that the leaves seemed to halt in mid-air as the glaive cut them in half. ¡®There it is again. It¡¯s the same thing he did to Brutus!¡¯ Ace replayed the shocking scene of space compressing over and over in his head, hoping to gleam something as the leaves, now cut in half, fell slowly to the floor. ¡°The third move; [Slash].¡± As each half-leaf entered his range, Wukong would deftly swing his glaive. No slash was particularly fast, nor was there any aggression in his movements, but Ace felt a sense of serenity wash over him as he saw it. ¡°Each move is free of flaws, but it''s more than just that¡­¡± It was at that moment that Ace¡¯s eyes glazed over as if he had been possessed. He crouched down and raised his glaive to his chest as if to perform a thrust. Wukong was about to scold Ace for being too impatient, but when he saw the look of emptiness, he immediately moved back and said nothing for fear of disrupting him. ¡®This brat couldn¡¯t even wait till this king finished his demonstrations to gain enlightenment!¡¯ Ace held his position for over 20 minutes. He didn¡¯t say a word. In fact, he was barely breathing. It was as if every fibre of his being was in an extreme state of focus. Wukong watched in surprise as Ace subconsciously fixed his form over time until it was virtually perfect. It was as if Ace had become a carbon copy of him, albeit smaller. He then closed his eyes, and as if he wanted to commit the feeling of the form into his muscle memory, he held that position for another hour, not moving so much as a muscle. Suddenly his eyes jolted open. Wukong felt Ace¡¯s aura become similar to the glaive in his hand, unbending, heavy, and sharp. ¡°First Form; [Thrust]!¡± The glaive in Ace¡¯s hand shot forth like a meteor piercing right through the centre of the trunk. ¡°Second Form; [Slash]!¡± As Ace¡¯s glaive tore through the tree trunk like a knife through butter, Wukong¡¯s face turned to one of shock. ¡®This brat!¡¯ ¡°Third Form; [Chop]!¡± Ace was already in the perfect position for his next attack as the tree toppled over. His glaive descended, cutting it cleanly in two, and the shock on Wukong¡¯s face had become one of excitement. ¡®One with the Glaive¡­ He became one with the glaive after one demonstration?¡¯ As Wukong was lost in thoughts staring at Ace as if he was some sort of monster, Ace just snapped out of his enlightenment. ¡°That feeling¡­ How did I¡­? What was that?!¡± Ace remembered everything that happened, he knew it was him making each move, but at the same time, he felt as though if he tried to do it again, he wouldn¡¯t be able to. ¡°It¡¯s called sudden enlightenment,¡± Wukong said to clarify Ace¡¯s doubts. Book 2: Chapter 4 – Three Month Wager "Sudden enlightenment?" "It''s an extremely rare state of mind that very few ever enter. In that state, you will comprehend whatever it is you''re trying to understand hundreds, if not thousands of times faster than you usually would. But after the enlightenment ends, your mind tends to forget how you did what you just did, but your body never does. With a bit of training, you should be able to turn that enlightenment into your true comprehension." Understanding dawned when Ace heard his instructor''s explanation. "When I was being enlightened, my glaive¡­ It felt like it was a part of me. Wielding it was no different from moving any other aspect of my body. That feeling was incredible." Wukong nodded with a smile as he explained. "For warriors, there are different levels of comprehension that you need to achieve before you can think about becoming a saint. The first level, which you just touched upon, is ''one with the weapon,'' or ''one with the glaive,'' in your case." "What about your ability to compress space around your target? What level is that?" Ace asked the question he''d been dying to know this whole time. "That''s called Impose. But that''s way off for the current you. You should focus on spending the next year trying to truly grasp one with the glaive." "Year? Isn''t that a bit long?" Ace asked. "Long? Did you think just because you did it once whilst under enlightenment, you''d be able to comprehend it yourself in a few hours or even days?" Wukong could easily see from the sheepish expression on Ace''s face, that was exactly what he expected. "Only 50% of warriors comprehend one with their weapon. And of that, the average warrior might easily take over 20 years. To take one year is already frighteningly quick!" Wukong explained, hoping to prevent Ace from putting added pressure on himself. "But I bet you managed to do it immediately using your [Monkey See Monkey Do], didn''t you?" "Yes and no." Seeing Ace''s confusion, Wukong explained. "Someone this king deeply respects is a glaive user like you. This king was able to near enough instantly comprehend ''one with the glaive'' by copying them. Even though the staff and glaive are both polearms and share many similarities when being used, there are still some intrinsic differences that needed to be accounted for. In the end, it took six months of intense training before this king was able to use the understanding of ''one with the glaive'' to comprehend ''one with the staff.''" "What?!" Wukong asked, seeing the hint of defiance in Ace''s eyes. "Three months!" "Three months?" Wukong asked helplessly, despite knowing what Ace was referring to. "You knew it took you six months, so you gave me double your time. Now I''ve decided to comprehend one with the glaive in three months. That''s half your time!" Ace said competitively. Hearing Ace''s declaration, Wukong roared with laughter. "Hahahaha. If you can do it in three months, this king promises to give you a gift that you''ll love, but if you fail, you have to do my bidding for a year!" "It''s a bet!" Ace unhesitantly replied with a confident smile. "Fine, but to give you the best chance at succeeding, we need to change your training schedule slightly," Wukong said with a chuckle. "Firstly, you''ll only do the hunting twice a week." "Does that mean we''ll be able to eat the beasts you bring back?" Ace asked as he salivated at the thought of eating those high-ranking beasts. "Not a chance. On the five days you don''t go hunting, Alissa will do the hunting." "Can she even hunt rank two beasts?" Ace asked dejectedly at the thought of the quality of his food dropping. "You shouldn''t underestimate her. She''s maybe young, but she''s a genius-level assassin!" Wukong replied. Ace nodded as he remembered the few times they sparred. In Alissa''s eyes, there was a huge difference in ability between them, as she couldn''t even come close to touching his clothes, but Ace knew the truth. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ''If it weren''t for me being of a higher rank and having observation haki, I would probably struggle, and as an assassin, she doesn''t even specialise in frontal combat. I honestly don''t understand how Kil was able to survive longer than a few attacks against her.'' "As for the other five days, you''ll focus solely on your glaivesmanship. You''ll do 10,000 thrusts, 10,000 slashes, and 10,000 chops." Ace''s eyes widened at those ridiculous numbers. The glaive he was using wasn''t too heavy, but under those sorts of numbers, it''d be a struggle to lift his arms, let alone his glaive. "And you can start now!" Wukong said as he walked off in the direction of their makeshift camp, not seeming to notice the look of pleading in Ace''s eyes. An amused smile suffused his lips as his mind wandered. ''3 months, huh?'' Over the next two months, each of the children saw drastic improvements under Wukong''s guidance. Alissa had broken through to become a warrior of the second rank, and like Ace, she was still seven when she did it. She had also proven her talent as an assassin time and time again. Whilst she was still a peak rank one warrior, she was easily able to hunt rank two beasts, and it was clear from looking at the wounds that they were all killed in one clean attack. Killian had also recently broken through to the second rank as a warrior, and even though he was eight when he did it, he would still be classed as a top-tier elite talent wherever he went. After his breakthrough, Wukong, who was finally happy with his basic axemanship, had him go on hunts with Alissa several times a week. Although he was nowhere near comprehending one with the axe, even Wukong had to admit his perception was well above average. The thing that made both Killian and Alissa ecstatic was that they both recently broke through and became rank-one mages. Killian first and then Alissa a week later. Wukong told them they had to wait till they arrived at the pavilion before they learnt any spells as he had no spells of their element or level for them. Despite feeling slightly jealous, Ace was still happy for them, especially Killian. He had watched Killian develop over the last few years. He grew in confidence and ability with every day, especially over the last couple of months during their travels. Ace was also happy with his own improvements. Although he hadn''t made any definitive breakthroughs, his gains were still very noticeable. His [observation] had reached a bottleneck after reaching 1500 meters when normal and 15 meters when compressed. From this, he guessed that with each breakthrough he made as a warrior, his new limit would increase by 250 meters. He could even feel his armament haki increase as his strength did. But he was most proud of the improvement in his glaivesmanship. His whole fighting style had gone through a metamorphosis. He went from copying Whitebeard''s ''one shot kill'' style to a more fluid fighting style which still showed hints of an untamed wildness. With his new understanding, he could see that while his new fighting style wasn''t necessarily better than whitebeard''s, it was better suited to him. It had gotten to the point where most rank three beasts could no longer injure him in their fights. Under Wukong''s guidance, he could find a beast''s weak spot at a glance. And despite being slower than most, he could control the flow of the battle, giving him the chance he needed to put them down. At the moment, though, Ace seemed to be struggling against a four-armed sloth with an emerald-coloured skin-tight aura coating its body. Other than having four arms, the odd thing was that, unlike what one would expect from a sloth, this one was anything but slow. If it weren''t for Ace''s [observation] allowing him to track its attacks, Ace would''ve definitely lost by now. In fact, even though he hadn''t lost yet, Ace was still steadily being suppressed. The sloth''s attacks were all fast and deadly. Forget counter-attacking; Ace was struggling to block and parry. There had been several close calls where Ace had to shift his body at the last minute so that the hits he couldn''t avoid weren''t fatal. But even with his less-than-ideal situation, his face remained completely calm as he focused on the battle. As time passed, Ace found it easier to block and parry all of its attacks. Eventually, he even found chances to counterattack. From the outside, it looked as though either Ace was speeding up or the sloth was slowing down, but neither of those was true. The truth was that as time went on, each of Ace''s techniques began to flow smoother into the next. As the sloth slashed at his neck, Ace calmly spun his body out of the way. Using the momentum of the dodge, he smoothly transitioned into a [slash], aiming to cut the sloth in two from the neck up. Sensing danger, the sloth jumped back to avoid Ace''s attack, but it wasn''t fast enough. Seeing the deep gash on the sloth''s chest, Ace knew now was his chance to really apply pressure. His glaive pierced through the air like a bolt of lightning, aiming to pierce between the eyes of the beast. The sloth was fast enough to dodge, but not without losing part of its ear. Having suffered two injuries in a row from an opponent it had been dominating till now, the sloth let out a wrathful screech, but its situation didn''t change. Ace refused to let his building momentum go to waste. He forced his opponent into a corner with his constant barrage of flowing attacks. The way he went from thrust to slash, back to a thrust, it was almost as if he was dancing. And the more injuries the sloth picked up, the slower it became. It barely managed to dodge another one of Ace''s slashes when it launched itself out of the way, but in doing so, it crashed into a tree. Ace refused to let this opportunity go to waste. Using the momentum from his slash, Ace lifted his glaive into the air and brought it down, aiming to bisect his opponent. The four-armed beast once again managed to barely dodge, but Ace''s glaive still managed to take both its right arms. Ace remained utterly indifferent to the beast''s pained and heart-rending screech as he thrust the black blade of his glaive into his opponent''s heart. "I know, I know. Fast Rank 3 Magical Beasts are still a weakness of mine." Ace said between breaths when he sensed a powerful presence steadily walking towards him from behind. Book 2: Chapter 5 – Beast Tide ¡°They are, but you were facing magical beasts of a higher rank than you. A weakness or two is to be expected. Not to mention, among rank three magical beasts, the Emerald Sloth ranks pretty high up the list. Its magical ability [Wind Speed] coats its body in a skin-tight green aura that allows it to move at the speed of a rank four beast, and its claws are no less sharp or hard than your glaive even after you use that haki of yours. The fact that you could hold your own and even defeat it is an impressive feat in and of itself.¡± Wukong explained, having had front-row seats to the fight. ¡°Is there nothing I can do to improve my speed?¡± Ace asked, clearly not happy with this glaring weakness. ¡°You have three options: One, wait till you become a warrior of the third rank. Two, get your hands on a movement technique, but those are extremely rare. Or three, comprehend one with the glaive. Even though it¡¯ll do nothing for your movement speed, the speed and power behind your attacks will see a drastic improvement.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Ace asked as his eyes flashed with excitement. ¡°What, comprehend one with the¡­¡± ¡°Not that, the second option.¡± Wukong raised an eyebrow at the youngster¡¯s overexcitement. ¡°Get your hands on a movement technique.¡± Noticing Ace¡¯s broad smile, Wukong shook his head as he explained, ¡°This king advises you not to get your hopes up in that department. Movement techniques are extremely rare, and virtually all of them require the use of battle-qi.¡± Ace barely registered what Wukong had said as his mind went into overdrive. ¡°Instead of focusing on that, shouldn¡¯t you focus on your glaive comprehension? You only have two more weeks before the deadline for the bet.¡± Wukong said semi-gloatingly. Ace could only grunt in response to Wukong¡¯s teasing. He¡¯d been rapidly improving every day since his enlightenment, but he noticed he''d hit a bottleneck during the battle with the sloth just now. It wasn¡¯t a physical bottleneck he could feel, but he could still sense it. He could feel that if his comprehension of the glaive took even half a step forward, he¡¯d really become one with the glaive, but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t see a path ahead. Ever since he had his enlightenment, it was like he instinctively knew what he needed to do to improve, as if his glaive was guiding him, but towards the end of that fight, that guide just suddenly vanished. ¡°Haha, judging by the expression on your face, you¡¯ve hit a bottleneck. I guess I can look forward to you being my little minion for the next year.¡± Wukong said with a mocking smile, but the truth was, even he was a little shocked by Ace¡¯s rapid improvements. Wukong expected it to take him at least six months to reach this bottleneck. To do it in a little over two was incredible, even by his standards. ¡®Even if he can¡¯t do it in the next two weeks, it shouldn¡¯t be longer than another month¡­ This kid never ceases to amaze¡­¡¯ ¡°SCREEEEECH!¡± Before Ace¡¯s head could turn to face what he subconsciously believed to be a threat, his [observation] haki had already locked on to the source of the screech. As he did, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but bulge in shock as he sensed its strength. ¡®Magical Beast of the 8th Rank?¡¯ Glancing up, he saw a giant silver feathered falcon with four wings diving towards them. He instinctively wanted to jump back from the incoming threat, leaving it to the seemingly invincible Wukong, but the eagle was too fast. By the time he had tensed his legs, the rank eight bird was already virtually on top of them. ¡°That¡¯s enough, you silly bird, don¡¯t go around scaring kids!¡± Wukong said lazily as he casually slapped the incoming bird as it landed in front of him. The falcon stood at a little over 10 feet, pouting at the staff-wielding warrior with an expression that looked like it had been wronged. ¡°Don¡¯t give this king that look, you dumb bird. Ooh, and give me that!¡± Wukong snorted as he snatched the scroll that was in the falcon¡¯s beak. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Since they met, Wukong¡¯s expressions had always remained light and easy, so Ace was a little surprised to see Wukong¡¯s face darken the more he read. Ace didn¡¯t want to disturb him even after he¡¯d finished reading but seeing the look in Wukong¡¯s eyes when he looked at him made Ace curious. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°This king needs to take care of something and thought you might want to come.¡± ¡°What¡­¡± Not wanting to waste time with interruptions, Wukong cut the youngster off. ¡°Before you ask anything, let this king explain everything. Silverlight City is one of the more powerful cities in the Anarchic Lands and is currently the only formal ally of our Yin-Yang Pavilion. Right now, they¡¯re facing a beast tide. Meaning swarms of magical beasts threaten to overrun their home, and this king has been asked to support them. Seeing as the vast majority of magical beasts are between the first and third ranks, this king thought it would be the perfect opportunity for you to gain some invaluable experience. Still, you to understand it will be dangerous, and this king won¡¯t necessarily have the time to take care of you.¡± ¡°What about Kil and Alissa? Are you going to ask them as well? And what about my mom and Lance? We can¡¯t just leave them here¡­¡± Ace replied after listening to Wukong¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Killian has improved drastically over the last three months, but he¡¯s not ready for something like this yet, and as strong as Alissa is, she isn¡¯t suited towards direct combat with large groups of magical beasts in that sort of environment. Something like this would be too much for the current her. We¡¯ll drop the others off at Shurgard City. It¡¯s on the way, and the city lord owes me a favour.¡± Wukong explained. ¡°So, are you in or out?¡± Hearing that, Ace¡¯s blood began to boil in excitement as he unhesitantly replied. ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± . . . ¡°Alright, mom, I¡¯m going. We should be back in a few days,¡± Ace said as he gave his mom a tight hug. ¡°Ok, honey. Stay safe and follow Mr Wukong¡¯s instructions,¡± Milianna replied. ¡°I will, don¡¯t worry,¡± Ace said before jumping on the back of the giant silver bird. ¡°Why can¡¯t we all go if you¡¯re just going to train?¡± Alissa asked, clearly displeased that she was being left out. ¡°Because you and Killian aren¡¯t ready yet,¡± Wukong answered for the hundredth time. Instead of telling everyone the truth, that he and Ace were about to fight against a rampaging horde of magical beasts. Wukong told the others that he was taking Ace to do some intense training for a few days to try and help him comprehend ¡®one with the glaive¡¯. Although frustrated, Alissa didn¡¯t say anything further. Over the last two months, she¡¯d been Ace¡¯s sparring partner a few times and watched how his ability with the glaive had improved at an astonishing speed. Although it wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as Wukong¡¯s speed when learning to wield a dagger, it was still like nothing she¡¯d seen before. She, who¡¯d been hailed as a genius by those in charge of her training as an assassin, wasn¡¯t used to kids her own age outshining her, but she had no way to compete with Ace. ¡°Oii baldy, take care of them. If when we get back, there¡¯s so much as a single hair missing¡­ Hmph!¡± Hearing Wukong¡¯s threat, a stocky bald man donning shining silver armour hurriedly stepped forward. ¡°Do¡­ Don¡¯t worry, milord. I¡­ I will treat them as if they were my own family.¡± Sensing his meaning was understood, Wukong turned to the bird beneath him and said, ¡°Come on, you stupid bird, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°So, how long will it take to get to this Silverlight City?¡± Ace asked when his family and friends had disappeared from view. ¡°We should arrive by nightfall.¡± Wukong lazily replied. ¡°Nightfall?! I thought flying on the back of a rank eight bird-type magical beast would only take a couple of hours at most.¡± ¡°The Anarchic Lands isn¡¯t just the most chaotic region on the Yulan Continent; it¡¯s also the biggest! If we were taking the cloud wolves, it¡¯d take the better part of a week to get there.¡± Wukong explained. ¡°Ooh, and hold on tight.¡± ¡°Wh¡­¡± Before Ace could ask, the falcon took off like a bolt of lightning, almost shaking Ace from its back. Looking down at the side of the bird¡¯s face, Ace could¡¯ve sworn he saw it smirk. But, when he turned to Wukong, he saw the man standing steady on the bird¡¯s back, no different to if he was on the ground. Using his [observation] to really observe him, Ace noticed Wukong seemed to be using energy to keep him still. ¡°It¡¯s my battle qi. When you develop the ability to use battle qi, you¡¯ll be able to do this too.¡± Wukong explained when he sensed Ace¡¯s haki. It was then that Ace realised not only was he using ¡®battle qi¡¯ to keep him steady but also to project his voice. Even with the winds raging in his ears, Wukong¡¯s voice was easily heard, as if the Ape-like warrior was talking directly into his ear. Ace then noticed that Wukong had removed the battle qi from his feet but could still easily stand on its back. ¡®It¡¯s slight, but every time the stupid bird is going to flap its wings, Wukong shifts his weight to counter its movements.¡¯ With his [observation], Ace could easily see how Wukong could stand so easily on top of a giant speeding bird. Wukong watched with a smile as Ace tried to copy him. He almost fell off a few times, but he quickly started to get the hang of it. Standing steadily on its back, an intoxicated grin suffused Ace¡¯s lips as he felt the wind against his face. ¡®Now this is freedom!¡¯ With time, he could even apply the same mechanics so he could sit down. Whenever the bird turned or flapped its wings, Ace shifted his weight accordingly. ¡®This brat really is a little monster.¡¯ Wukong thought to himself as he saw the incredible speed Ace was able to learn to balance from him and even improve on it. Ace had no idea what Wukong was thinking; he just couldn¡¯t be bothered to stand for the next few hours. The sun hadn¡¯t long set when Ace saw what he assumed was their destination. He only thought that because he saw a couple dozen archers standing atop the city walls staring vigilantly at the forest to their east. Book 2: Chapter 6 – A Good Leader ¡°How far can you spread your [Observation]?¡± Wukong asked as the falcon hovered above the clouds so as not to alert the soldiers below to their arrival. ¡°A kilometre and a half,¡± Ace answered honestly. ¡°Can you sense any magical beasts?¡± Wukong asked, ignoring the shock of Ace¡¯s ridiculous range of perception. ¡°No, none,¡± Ace replied. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Ace asked, not understanding Wukong¡¯s frown. ¡°A beast tide is a pretty regular occurrence around here. Once or twice a year, the Forest of darkness over there will become overpopulated with beasts. As a result, the stronger beasts in the depths of the forest force the weaker ones to attack the human settlements that touch the borders of the forest. It''s not usually too hard to withstand, though, as the strongest beasts that come out tend to be of the seventh or eighth ranks, with there rarely being beasts of the ninth rank. But the most important thing to remember is that a beast tide operates almost like that of a ripple. Whether it¡¯s a seventh, eighth or even ninth rank beast leading the tide, until those stronger beasts reach the periphery of the forest, the weaker beasts that generally reside there would still be there.¡± ¡°So where are the weaker beasts now?¡± Ace asked, still not completely understanding the problem. Wukong didn¡¯t seem to hear Ace as he silently gazed at the forest of darkness with a dignified expression. ¡°Take us down.¡± Hearing Wukong¡¯s order, the giant falcon descended slowly. Ace¡¯s body tensed, thinking that the archers standing on the walls might fire at them, thinking the falcon was part of the beast tide, but it seemed he was overthinking. In fact, it almost looked as if the archers felt relief when they saw the bird. ¡°Here, take this to first brother and hurry!¡± Wukong ordered the bird as he tossed it a note to catch with its beak before lifting Ace with one arm and jumping off its back, landing outside a large manor stationed in the centre of the city. ¡°Would it have killed you to give me a heads-up before doing that?¡± Ace asked, clearly not a fan of being manhandled like that. But before Wukong could respond, Ace sensed the emergence of several powerful individuals exiting the large manor. ¡®Five Warriors and two mages, but all of them are at least of the sixth rank, and one¡¯s actually at the eighth rank like Wukong.¡¯ Ace noted. ¡°Ahh, thank God you made it in time!¡± The man in the centre of the group said in relief. It wasn¡¯t hard for Ace to guess that he was the one in charge. Not only because he was the strongest but also due to the looks of respect he got from the others. The man had long sandy brown hair tied in a ponytail and emerald-green eyes that shone with an innate confidence that was hard to fake. He was dressed in a simple, lightweight silver armour that only seemed to add a layer of elegance to his valiant aura. ¡°Haha, how is this king¡¯s favourite Brother-In-Law?¡± Wukong asked as he gave the man a bear hug. ¡°Put me down, you brat. You¡¯ll ruin my image in front of my people.¡± Even though he said that, from where Ace stood, it looked as if there was nothing the man could say or do that would make the others even begin to think any less of him. ¡°And who do we have here?¡± He asked whilst looking at Ace. ¡°Ahh yeah, Ace, this is Venerin Lilt, also known as Lord Silverlight. An epithet he got because flashing lights of silver are all you see when his sword moves.¡± Wukong introduced. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°When an expert like you says that, it only feels like you¡¯re mocking me!¡± Venerin interjected with a wry smile. ¡°Haha, you think too much!¡± Wukong replied. ¡°Ooh, and this is Ace, one of the talents this king recruited to join the Pavilion.¡± ¡°To be called a talent by little Kong, you must really be quite the talent,¡± Venerin said as he extended his hand to shake the Ace¡¯s. ¡°Little Kong?¡± Ace asked, looking back with a mischievous smile. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, you snot-nosed brat!¡± Wukong said as he glared at Ace. Ace smirked slightly but didn¡¯t say anything more on the topic. Instead, he raised his hands to meet the handsome city lords. ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± Venerin nodded at the boy before turning back to Wukong. ¡°But why did you bring him here? This is no place for a child!¡± ¡°He¡¯s here because this is his opportunity to prove himself,¡± Wukong explained. Ace merely snorted, thinking Wukong was mockingly referring to his approaching deadline to comprehend one with the glaive. Still, the city lord looked wide-eyed at the child, then back at his brother-in-law, seeming to have understood something. Before he could say anything on the matter, Venerin¡¯s gaze turned serious as he spun his head to face the gates where the sound of a gong being hit originated. Venerin and his men ran in the direction of the wall, with Wukong and Ace following beside them. ¡°How much do you know?¡± Wukong asked. ¡°I know that the weaker magical beasts that used to roam the periphery of the forest of darkness seem to have disappeared,¡± Venerin replied. ¡°Something like this has only happened once before. I can¡¯t be sure, but the last time it happened, it was because a saint-level magical beast was leading them.¡± ¡°Saint?!¡± Ace blurted out in shock. Seeing Ace¡¯s shock, Wukong decided to explain. ¡°Magical beasts have lower levels of intelligence than humans, but their intelligence increases with every rank. By the time they reach the seventh rank, their intelligence already matches that of the average child, but as saints, their intelligence is no worse than an adult human. Typically the beasts would just charge at the human settlements in masse, hoping to crush it, but if a saint-level magical beast were to take control, with their mental dexterity, they¡¯d be able to implement tactics to make the tide far more dangerous.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s ignoring the fact that we don¡¯t even have a saint of our own,¡± Venerin added. ¡°Do you know if Matthias will be able to make it?¡± ¡°I gave a note to Elsie to get to him, so hopefully, he should be able to make it in time,¡± Wukong replied. ¡°Good, that¡¯s very good!¡± Venerin said with a hint of hope and relief in his voice. When they made it to the wall, the archers and soldiers stationed there immediately bowed and moved out of the way of Venerin and his party. ¡°What¡¯s the latest?¡± Venerin asked a man Ace could sense was a mage of the fifth rank. ¡°Milord, I just got back from doing a preliminary scout, and using the spell Windscout, I could sense the emergence of magical beasts. There were too many for me to count, so I came back.¡± The mage explained. Having heard that, Wukong glanced at Ace, who merely nodded what Wukong wanted. Within seconds the ape-like warrior saw the genuine shock on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°There are a few hundred beasts about a kilometre out, all between the second and sixth ranks. None of them are moving; they just seem to be waiting for something.¡± Ace quietly explained so only Wukong could hear. Wukong understood that Ace wanted to keep his abilities private for now, and he respected his decision, but the most crucial issue right now was the magical beasts. ¡®It looks like I might¡¯ve been right.¡¯ ¡°OPEN THE GATES!¡± Venerin roared. As the gates opened, hundreds of warriors swarmed out in a surprisingly orderly fashion before taking position in front of the walls. He didn¡¯t know if it was because they were about to battle with an army of magical beasts or if they knew something more was coming, but Ace could sense the fear exuding from the soldiers below. ¡°Every year we face the beast tide, and every year we remain standing.¡± With his battle qi, Venerin, who wasn¡¯t speaking particularly loudly, could be heard clearly even by the soldier¡¯s standing furthest away as if he was right beside them. ¡°This will likely be our toughest challenge to date, but I promise that tomorrow¡­ SILVERLIGHT CITY WILL STILL STAND!¡± One of the rank seven warriors who had been following Venerin since they left the manor, a large lance-wielding woman, stepped forward and roared. ¡°FOR SILVERLIGHT CITY!¡± ¡°FOR SILVERLIGHT CITY!¡± Without fail, every foot soldier, mage, and archer all roared back in unison. And just like that, the nerves and fear the soldiers were feeling were reduced drastically. Every soldier stood with their backs straight and eyes blazing with an unwavering will. ¡°Sometimes a good leader is more important than a strong one,¡± Wukong said as he watched that scene with admiration. Hearing that, the image of a certain muscular back came to mind. It was a back that radiated an indomitable aura, a back that made his enemies cower but brought strength to his allies. ¡°You¡¯re right about that!¡± Ace said as a wistful smile suffused his lips. His reaction didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Wukong but now was neither the time nor the place to get distracted. Book 2: Chapter 7 – Dragon’s Pride It wasn¡¯t till the sky darkened all of a sudden that Ace snapped out of his daze. Looking up, he noticed a gigantic creature covering half the sky. ¡®Is that a¡­¡¯ ¡°ROOAAAARRRRRR!¡± That roar alone was enough to bring half of the warriors present to their knees. The aura it radiated was like nothing they¡¯d ever felt before. Even Ace could only look up in horror. ¡®That dragon is the strongest creature I¡¯ve ever seen.¡¯ He didn¡¯t even need to use his haki to realise it was far stronger than either of those two saints who fought above Wushan Town all those years ago. In fact, he didn¡¯t dare use his haki for fear of attracting its attention. ¡°You humans have really crossed the line this time.¡± The dragon¡¯s voice boomed through the city. Just the sound of his voice forced some of the weaker humans to cover their ears to resist. And even the stronger ones felt their legs shake as they realised what a talking magical beast meant. ¡°Sss¡­ Saint¡­ Saint-level Black Dragon!¡± One of Venerin¡¯s men muttered, barely able to spit his words out under the pressure of the enraged dragon. ¡°What happened?¡± Wukong asked as he fearlessly stepped forward, seemingly unphased by the dragon¡¯s presence. ¡°Hmmm.¡± At first, the dragon was surprised that a human was able to talk to him so calmly as he was certain that there were no saints on the human¡¯s side, but when he laid eyes on the ant that had dared to talk back to him, a hint of shock flashed across his cold reptilian eyes. ¡°What are you?¡± Ace was slightly surprised by the dragon¡¯s question, but he was also curious as it was clear that Wukong wasn¡¯t wholly human. But after finding out about Wukong¡¯s unique bloodline, he assumed it was just a permanent mutation caused by said bloodline, unlike the Baruch family¡¯s controlled ability to transform into dragon warriors. Wukong didn¡¯t seem to bat an eyelid at the dragon¡¯s question, almost as if he¡¯d expected it. ¡°This king is Wukong!¡± ¡°I said what, not who.¡± The dragon said icily. ¡°This king heard what you said, and my answer remains the same,¡± Wukong replied fearlessly. The dragon didn¡¯t respond for what felt like an eternity to everyone else, and every second that ticked by seemed to add to the ridiculous pressure they were already facing. ¡°Interesting!¡± The dragon said. Ace couldn¡¯t tell because he couldn¡¯t see all of its face but from the look in the dragon¡¯s visible eye, it looked almost as if he was smiling. ¡°Seeing how I¡¯m in a good mood, I¡¯ll give your people a chance to give back what was taken, and I promise no saint-level magical beast will get involved in the tide.¡± The dragon said in a somewhat magnanimous tone. ¡°Do you have any idea as to who it was and what they took?¡± Wukong asked, fully aware that even if it were one of the residents of Silverlight City, they wouldn¡¯t fess up with a saint-level black dragon looming overhead. ¡°I don¡¯t know who, but they dropped this as they escaped.¡± A colossal black scaly claw descended from the sky and flung its arm in Wukong¡¯s direction. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about what they stole; you just need to know that we dragons will do whatever it takes to get it back!¡± Wukong caught the bloody arm with one hand, not seeming to mind the goriness as he examined it. ¡°What, do you know who it is?¡± The dragon asked, excited by the thought of getting what was stolen when he saw the interesting ape-man¡¯s eyes focus on the arms bicep. ¡°This tattoo is the insignia of the cult of shadows.¡± Wukong honestly replied. ¡°This king doesn¡¯t know where the man is now, but this king knows he isn¡¯t here.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The dragon paused at the name of the ¡®Cult of Shadows.¡¯ As an almighty saint-level beast, he, of course, knew all the major human powers, but when he thought of what they stole, all hesitation vanished. ¡°I know he¡¯s not here now, or I would¡¯ve smelt him, but I can smell that he definitely came through this way.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you go around this city? The residents had nothing to do with all this?¡± Wukong pleaded, not wanting a senseless massacre to take place. ¡°Since the thief was human, all humans must suffer. Either you deliver us the human thief, or we crush every human we find that happens to be on the path of that man¡¯s escape.¡± The dragon said arrogantly. Wukong didn¡¯t know what to say at this point, he knew full well that he couldn¡¯t force the Cult of Shadows to do anything, especially not hand over a treasure so valuable that it had the dragons willing to go so far, but he also didn¡¯t want to just let so many innocent civilians die. Glancing at Ace, Wukong seemed to have thought of something as his eyes flashed with cunningness. ¡°Which would you say are the superior race, magical beasts or humans?¡± Wukong asked as if he was genuinely unsure. ¡°Us magical beasts are superior in every way!¡± The dragon replied, almost insulted by the fact that he even had to answer. ¡°How about we make a bet?¡± Wukong said mockingly. ¡°We have three different battles. The first is for those between ranks one and three. The second is for those between ranks four and six. And the last for ranks seven to nine. If your magical beasts can win on at least two or more battles, what happens next is up to you, but if we win at least two battles, you go around the city before you carry on.¡± ¡°Hmph! Why would I even need to make a bet when I can destroy you and the city in the blink of an eye?¡± The dragon said with unconcealed disdain. ¡°This king was always told that dragons were creatures with pride like no other¡­¡± Wukong shook his head with disappointment. ¡°Hmph! A DRAGON¡¯S PRIDE IS NOT SOMETHING THE LIKES OF YOU IS QUALIFIED TO UNDERSTAND!¡± The dragon roared. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll play your meaningless game. I¡¯m sure the boss will find that human thief anyway, so I can afford to play around with you a bit.¡± ¡°The King of the Dragon¡¯s pit is involved as well?¡± Wukong said in shock with a hint of horror, having understood the only creature this saint-level dragon would refer to as boss is the ruler of all the dragon¡¯s living in the forest of darkness. ¡°Hmph! Whether it¡¯s the Cult of Shadows or the O¡¯Brien Empire, we will get back what was taken from us!¡± The black dragon growled, showing the stance of the Dragons on the matter. ¡°Ooh, and just so you know, you¡¯ll be the first I eat when you lose!" It said, eyeing Wukong as if he was looking at his dinner. Wukong paid no more attention to the dragon. Instead, he turned to Ace with a confident smile. ¡°You make sure to win this round one, and we get to leave with our lives.¡± Ace knew that Wukong was likely confident in his ability to win the final battle but held no such faith in the warriors of Silverlight city to win the second battle, which meant¡­ ¡®He¡¯s betting it all on me!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he flashed a confident smile and walked to the edge of the wall. ¡°Leave it to me!¡± ¡°What are¡­¡± Before Venerin could finish his sentence, Ace had jumped off the wall landing behind the human troops. ¡°Kong, are you mad? He¡¯s just a child; this battle is too much for him!¡± Venerin shouted, enraged at Wukong¡¯s irresponsible behaviour. ¡°That child¡¯s talent surpasses that of even this king. He¡¯s the ONLY reason this king could afford to make such a bet!¡± Wukong calmly explained. ¡°And us winning this bet is the ONLY way we make it out of this alive!¡± Venerin was shocked by Wukong¡¯s statement. He more than most understood how deep Wukong¡¯s arrogance ran. For him to admit his inferiority, to a child no less, Ace must genuinely be a genius the likes of which he can¡¯t even imagine. But even so, the thought of putting so much pressure on a child didn¡¯t sit right with him. He was about to try and convince him to call Ace back when he noticed the blood trickling from the palm of Wukong¡¯s furry fist. Looking up at the titan-sized dragon covering the skies above, he understood that Wukong likely didn¡¯t want to do this, but he saw no other choice. ¡°I understand.¡± On the ground, as Ace made his way towards the clearing between the two forces, the Silverlight city soldiers stared at him with varying emotions. They had all heard Wukong¡¯s voice when he was talking to the black dragon in the sky. None of them could believe that a kid was being chosen to fight on their behalf against a bloodthirsty magical beast. Looking at his age, they knew he was, at most, a warrior of the second rank, and even that was unlikely. They also knew that the beasts would likely pick a magical beast of the third rank. Forget defeating a magical beast of a higher rank; everyone knew that magical beasts were usually superior to humans at the same rank. In their eyes, this little child was being sent to his death. The guilt they felt was palpable, but none could find the strength to speak out against the decision, not with a saint-rank black dragon looming overhead. They could only pray that this brave boy didn¡¯t suffer before death. Ace, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem the slightest bit nervous. His gait was steady, and a calm, confident smile hung on his lips as he deftly spun his glaive ¨C that was taller than him ¨C in his hands. ¡°So, which one of you is my opponent?¡± Ace asked as he came to a stop 20 meters in front of the front line of the Silverlight army. An excited glint in his pitch-black eyes as his jet-black hair swayed in the wind. Book 2: Chapter 8 – Future Saint The black dragon glanced at Ace before looking back at Wukong. "Is this some kind of joke? You want to send a kid to battle? Are you underestimating us?" Hearing the dragon''s words, a fiendish grin suffused his lips as he fearlessly looked up at the god-like beast that hovered above them. "You said magical beasts are superior to humans? I just want to see if that''s really true. Surely you''re not scared of a little child, are you?" As the dragon snorted, a strong gust of wind shot out its nostrils, pushing several foot soldiers off their feet. "If you''re really willing to send a child to his death, then who am I to deny one of my subordinates a free meal? Zarconul, you go. Tear that arrogant boy limb from limb!" As he said that, a 6-foot brontosaurus with purple scales hopped off the dragon''s back. Venerin''s eyes bulged when he saw that. "It''s a Thunder Lizard. They actually sent a magical beast of the dragon race up. Kong, you know all beasts with dragon blood are superior to ordinairy magical beasts anyway. Are you-" "Don''t worry; he won''t lose!" Wukong said confidently, interrupting the city lord midsentence. He would be lying if he had said he had been entirely confident the whole time. He knew that the Ace was strong enough to beat almost any third-rank beast, but at the beginning, he was worried that the pressure of having so many lives at stake would be too much for him to bear. But looking at Ace''s back, he could tell, he was just as calm as ever. He didn''t know how an eight-year-old could show such composure in circumstances such as these, but he already knew Ace was no ordinairy eight-year-old. ''Peak of the 3rd rank?'' Ace noted as he calmly watched the creature crash land on the ground in front of him, creating a small crater and cloud of smoke concealing its body from sight. As the dust cleared, all the soldiers of Silverlight waited with bated breaths; many couldn''t even bring themselves to watch. Those that did felt their hearts stop as a purple bolt of lightning tore through the smoke aiming straight for Ace. As the bolt pierced through Ace''s head unimpeded, crashing into the floor in front of them, the onlookers could only clench their fists and look away in frustration at their weakness and inability to do anything to change the fate of a small child. Without fail, every single one of them believed Ace was dead. Even the city lord, who had faith in Wukong''s vision, watched with reddened eyes as the bolt of lightning perforated the young child. Even though he only met Ace that day, the thought of a child who didn''t even live in Silverlight losing his life trying to protect his city put an unimaginable strain on his heart. His head snapped to his right as he glared at the ape-like man who caused this. "KONG, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" But even as Venerin grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, Wukong merely smiled calmly as he said. "I already told you he wouldn''t lose." "What are you talking about? That poor boy ju-" "RRAAAHHHHH!" Hearing the pain-filled roar of what sounded like the brontosaurus Venerin turned his attention back to the battlefield, where he saw a sight he would never forget. A young boy with long curly black hair casually stood holding a glaive over his shoulder, looking down at the decapitated body of an adult-sized magical beast. "Well, that was easier than I expected!" Though the cloud of dust had covered the body of the Thunder Lizard, how could Ace, who had his [observation] active from the moment he jumped off the wall, be caught off guard by an attack like that? As soon as he noticed the lightning essence being summoned, his smile widened as he thought back to the higher-ranking members of the world government he fought against in his previous life. They were all able to use a movement technique that allows the user to move at rapid speeds. At the time, he found the users of this particular technique more of a nuisance than anything else. Fortunately, with the help of his fire elemental devil fruit, Ace had never struggled too much against them. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But when speaking to Wukong the other day about speed being his weakness, it was that very technique that came to mind. As soon as the lightning bolt was fired, Ace kicked off against the ground ten times in an instant, allowing him to not only dodge the incoming attack but also appear behind his opponent before it realised anything was wrong. By the time it realised someone was behind it, the blade of Ace''s glaive was already mere centimeters away from its neck. All it could do was roar unwillingly as it was cleanly decapitated. ''Who thought I''d ever feel thankful to the World Government for anything? But I have to admit, [Soru] is definitely a useful technique.'' Ace thought to himself as he glanced up at Wukong, who was looking down at him from the top of the city''s outer walls. "That brat," Wukong said as he looked at Ace in surprise. "When did he learn a movement technique?" "Movement technique?" Venerin asked in shock. "You mean¡­" "That lightning bolt only hit Ace''s afterimage," Wukong said with a slowly widening grin as he looked back at the new student he had recruited not long ago. "Yahaha, I guess humans aren''t that weak after all." Though Wukong hadn''t spoken loudly, as a saint-level magical beast, how could the dragon not have heard him? Several of the weaker members collapsed under the might of his rising aura. "Don''t tell me you''re already planning on going back on our agreement. What happened to your dragon''s pride?" Wukong asked, trying to force the colossal dragon to keep his word. Though the smile on his face was light as ever, his staff was firmly grasped in his hand, ready to react to whatever happened next. The black-scaled behemoth in the sky glanced at the boy standing over the corpse of one of its fellow dragons. He wasn''t stupid; he understood what it meant for a boy so young to be able to defeat a magical beast of a higher level. That glaive-wielding child was undoubtedly a prodigy. It was common knowledge that although beasts tended to be stronger than humans at the same level, there was a small number of humans who were able to defeat beasts at the same rank and an even smaller number of humans who were able to jump ranks to defeat magical beasts, but for there to be one who was not only exceedingly young but also able to defeat a magical beast of a higher level with such ease¡­ He had half a mind to kill him right there, and now before he could grow and turn into a genuine threat. But when he heard the human-ape mocking his dragon pride, he couldn''t bring himself to go through with it. It wasn''t just his face he''d be besmirching; it was dragons everywhere. "That was just the first match," The dragon snorted disdainfully. "It''s far from over!" . . . As Ace made his way back, he noticed the expression on the faces of everyone he passed had done a complete 180. Gone was the pity and silent regret; replacing it was respect and awe. He could also feel the morale rising slightly. Though everyone knew they were far from being out of the woods, Ace''s win meant they only had to win one more fight to escape this tribulation unscathed. Even in the face of a saint-rank black dragon ¨C a creature that would otherwise mean certain death ¨C Ace had given them hope. Hope that they''d get the chance to go home and see their families again. As he climbed back on top of the wall, Ace was immediately approached by Venerin. Before he could say anything, Venerin took a deep bow, and using his battle-qi, he was able to project his voice into the ears of every person on the battlefield. "Ace, on behalf of Silverlight city ¨C Thank you! Your contribution won''t be forgotten, and neither will it be wasted." Facing the city lord''s show of gratitude, Ace was rendered speechless. He wasn''t actually here to help them. Ace was no hero. If it weren''t for Wukong telling him it''d be a good opportunity to train, even if he had known they were about to face a beast tide, Ace never would''ve gone out of his way to help them. But, in the face of Venerin''s sincerity, he would be lying if he said he wasn''t affected. "It was my pleasure," Ace replied as he put his hands under the man''s shoulder. "There''s no need for such formalities." "Of course there is. Thanks to you, we''re one step closer to avoiding a calamity. Now you can sit back and leave the rest to us!" Venerin exclaimed before turning back to face his six loyal generals. "Hysode, I''ll leave the next fight in your capable hands." Ace watched with a hint of surprise as the youngest of the six generals calmly stepped forward. It was a beautiful woman with long silky brown hair who looked to only be in her 20s. She was dressed in tight-fitting light silver armour that accentuated her alluring curves, a black leather skirt with a tear running up her thigh that allowed for ease of movement, and a liuyedao sword similar to Venerin''s. "Yes, master. I won''t let you down." Hysode softly voiced as she elegantly jumped off the wall. As beautiful as she was, Hysode still exuded a sharp and valiant air that prevented others from underestimating her. But a slight frown appeared on Ace''s face as he watched her head to battle. Of the six generals, only two were at the seventh rank. The other four were all at the sixth rank. From their respective auras, Ace could tell that one of them was only half a step from breaking through to the seventh rank. On the other hand, Hysode was only at the early stages of the sixth rank, and judging by the stability of her aura, she appeared to have only broken through recently. Of all the options available, though she wasn''t the last, she definitely wouldn''t have been Ace''s first pick. "Don''t worry about Hysode," Venerin said slowly, as if he could read what was going through Ace''s mind. "My disciple may be the youngest of my generals, but she''s also the strongest of all the intermediate warriors and, without a doubt, the most talented warrior in the city. As it stands, she''s the one that stands the best chance of all of us at becoming a saint in the future." Book 2: Chapter 9 – An Incredible Disciple "You little brat!" Wukong laughed when Ace made it back to his side. "I thought you were gonna struggle a bit more than that!" "I already told you you''re underestimating me." Ace smugly replied. "Don''t get cocky," Wukong snorted with clear disdain as he reminded Ace of the rapidly approaching deadline of their wager. "You still haven''t comprehended one with the glaive yet." "Hmph, Whatever!" Ace retorted, too agitated to think of a retort. A victorious chuckle escaped Wukong''s lips before he changed the subject to give voice to the foremost question on his mind. "Where did that movement technique come from anyway?" "Who knows?" Ace retorted with an enigmatic smirk as he attempted to get a rise out of the man who recruited him. Unfortunately, Ace was destined to be disappointed. "Ahh well, it doesn''t really matter where it came from," Wukong shrugged before flashing the little genius beside him a telling smirk. "All that matters is that I''ve mastered it now!" "You cheater!" Ace snapped back after remembering the young man''s bloodline ability. As Ace and Wukong bickered amongst themselves without an apparent care in the world, everyone else''s eyes were focused on the makeshift battlefield between both armies. Though she stood only a hundred meters away from an army of magical beasts that would love nothing more to devour her whole, she kept her composure. Though she held the weight of her fellow brothers and sisters in arms desires to return to their families on her dainty shoulders, Hysode remained the picture of tranquillity. It was only when she finally saw her opponent that her mood changed. Off the back of the monstrous black dragon floated a small building-sized magical beast. "Twin-Headed Silver Dragon?!" Wukong frowned as the grip around his staff tightened. Tracing Wukong''s gaze, Ace saw a large twin-headed dragon with beautiful silver scales slowly fly down to meet its opponent. As it landed, the dragon licked its licks in anticipation, emitting a dense bloodthirsty aura as it greedily eyed its dinner. Looking back at Wukong, Ace could see from his expression that he was seriously considering intervening. It was only when he glanced down at Ace that he managed to reign in his emotions. Unfortunately, Venerin didn''t share the same level of self-control at that moment. "HYSODE!" The city lord roared as his body vanished, leaving nothing but an incredibly lifelike afterimage in his wake. His body glided through the air with incredible grace at speeds that left Ace, who had his [observation] still active, speechless. If it weren''t for the gravity of the current situation, Ace would''ve stopped to admire the profundities of the man''s movement technique. "VENE-" "Ugh!" Before Ace could even react, Venerin, who had launched himself through the air to rescue his disciple, was sent flying back in the direction he came from. If it weren''t for Wukong acting so quickly, he would''ve crashed into and seriously injured or even killed Ace before he could even think about reacting. Though the three of them all skidded into the concrete wall behind them, other than Venerin, who had taken the attack of the saint-level beast head-on, Wukong and Ace managed to get up unscathed. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Looking up at the dragon floating in the clouds above, Ace could''ve sworn he saw regret in its one visible eye. ''That was definitely done on purpose!'' "What do you think this is?" The dragon snorted as he slowly moved his gaze from Ace to glare at Venerin. "I''ve already been magnanimous enough to agree to your terms for this pointless battle, and you still dare to intervene? Don''t test my patience any more than you already have, or I give you my word; I will personally crush this puny city of yours and everyone in it." Venerin glared defiantly at the dragon in the sky, unwilling to allow his disciple to go up against the dragon before her. Though it wasn''t fully grown, it was still a genuine dragon. One that would automatically ascend to sainthood upon reaching maturity. It''s not something a Thunder Lizard with trace amounts of dragon blood could compare with. Before Venerin could reply, though, a polite yet gruff and steady voice rang through the air. "Sir Dragon, please understand that girl''s our city lord''s only disciple. Him watching her die would be no different from a father watching their daughter die in front of them. This would all be resolved if you allow me to battle in her place." The man speaking was another of the Silverlight generals. He was the same man Ace sensed to be on the verge of breaking through to the seventh rank. He was a large, well-built middle-aged man with what would''ve been short brown hair if not for the greys that were starting to colour his full head of hair. He, too, was dressed in a glistening silver full-body armour and a giant war hammer strapped to his broad back. Venerin''s head snapped to his right so he could face his general, a man he considered a brother in arms. "Luciarde, you¡­" "City lord, there''s no need for you to say anything. Hysode can''t be allowed to die here; the future of our city will one day depend on her. It''d be my honour to give my life so that she can live." Luciarde stated respectfully. "As touching as that display was, consider your request rejected," The dragon stated with a callous indifference. "There are no takebacks in war. YOU made your choice; now YOU must live with the consequences. If you''re unhappy, feel free to call off this little game, and commence with the war." The dragon made no attempt to hide his voice. The whole army Silverlight army heard his declaration. Venerin could feel the fear and unwillingness radiating from his troops as they stood before what would undoubtedly be a certain death for the vast majority of them. He knew full well that even with Wukong''s support, they stood no chance against their foe this time. The right decision was obviously to allow his disciple to give her life for the greater good, but as he looked at the back of the young woman he practically raised, he couldn''t help but hesitate. "Let me fight!" Hysode voiced, cutting through the rising tension like a knife through butter. "Hys-" "Have faith in me," Hysode said, using her battle qi to project her voice through the battlefield. "I''m the disciple of Venerin Lilt and general of the Silverlight army. I won''t lose!" Her words struck a chord in the hearts of her master, her fellow generals, and all her subordinates. The fear and dread in their hearts turned to resolve. Despite all their years on the battlefield, it was two youngsters who had shown the most courage that day. The eyes of every resident of Silverlight city fell on the back of the young woman, a back which seemed to double in size. They didn''t know what would happen in this fight, but no matter what happened from here on out, they would make sure to show the world the determination of Silverlight City. A single pride-filled tear fell from Venerin''s eye as he looked at the back of his indomitable disciple. "I believe in you!" As they weren''t residents of Silverlight City, Ace and Wukong didn''t feel the same level of inspiration the others did at Hysode''s words, but the light in which they looked at her changed. They could feel the changes in those around them. It once again highlighted the importance of a great leader having not just power but also charisma. In his previous life, Ace had spent most of his life leading different people. Whether it was his role as an older brother, the captain of a relatively successful pirate crew, or the commander of one of the divisions of one of the most powerful pirate crews in the world at the time, he had a lot of experience as a leader. Still, he had to admit, he never showed any of the charisma required to be considered a great leader. In fact, there were only two people he had seen who were naturally gifted with that kind of charisma¡­ ''Pops¡­ Luffy. Out of all the people I''d ever met, you two were the only ones who were able to inspire those around you without even trying.'' "You really found yourself an incredible disciple," Wukong said sincerely, staring at the valiant young woman standing tall on the battlefield. "I know," Venerin said softly as he unblinkingly waited for the battle to commence. As if she could feel her master''s anticipation, Hysode, in an identical fashion to the city lord, with her hand holding the hilt of her sword still sheathed by her side, she seemed to merge with the wind appearing directly in front of her opponent. In one fluid motion, she drew her sword. The blade of which appeared as nothing but a blur as it arced towards one of the necks of the fearful beast. Book 2: Chapter 10 – Battle Qi It was at that moment that the beast suddenly sprang into action. Its beautiful silver wings whistled through the air intercepting the sword aiming for its neck. Despite knowing that she would come out on the losing end in a match of brute strength, Hysode didn''t bat so much as an eyelid at the incoming silver-scaled wing. Ace, who could only barely follow their movements with the help of his [observation], thought Venerin''s disciple was about to be sent flying, when her sword suddenly seemed to come to life. ''One with the sword.'' Ace noted to himself as he saw the incredible control she had over her sword. After leaving nothing but a mere afterimage for the silver-scaled wing to slice through, Hysode''s sword elegantly arced through the air at a speed that Ace couldn''t follow even with his [observation]. As the blade and scaled neck made contact, Hysode raised an eyebrow at the sight of her blade failing to leave so much as a mark, other than the white line that quickly dissipated. In response, the dragon seemed to smirk at its opponents'' futile attempts. As it exhaled, silvery-white plumes escaped the corner of its mouth, causing Hysode''s eyes to bulge. "ROOAAARRRR!" As the silvery-white flames left its mouth, Hysode once again moved like the wind, barely dodging the dragon''s breath. She was so focused on dodging, Hysode completely forgot that it was her subordinates to her rear. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as she watched the scorching white flames shooting towards her fellow soldiers. But even as the flames neared and their armours began to melt, the soldiers remained steadfast. They showed no fear, despite knowing that their deaths were rapidly approaching. But luckily, when the flames were under a meter away, a purple ball of thunder came out of nowhere to intercept it. Though most were too slow to react to an attack like that, Wukong wasn''t like most people. As soon as the white plumes escaped the dragon''s mouth, Wukong reacted by casually summoning a ball of lightning to destroy the dragon''s attack. But how could the casual attack of a rank-six beast compare to the attack of a rank-eight lightning mage? Even if it was a dragon, Wukong''s talent was no inferior to Ace''s. As the two attacks met, it took all but the briefest of moments for it to destroy the dragon''s fire breath and continue on towards the enemy''s army. Though it didn''t care about the lives of the weaker magical beasts that made up its forces, if the black dragon allowed Wukong''s attack to hit, it would be a stain on his pride. With a casual swipe of its giant tail, Wukong''s lightning ball was dispersed. It then turned its attention back to Wukong, who had his arms raised. "My bad, I was in such a hurry to protect my men that I failed to control my strength properly." "Consider this your first and last warning. If anything like that happens again, I''ll be the one to attack!" The dragon growled threateningly. Ace looked back from the dragon to Wukong in awe. Though it didn''t look like much, Ace could sense from the energy in Wukong''s spell that it wasn''t much weaker than the average attack of Whitebeard. ''This world is definitely a lot stronger than my last.'' Ace sighed. Hysode was thankful for Wukong''s interference. Had the dragon''s breath landed, even if she did go on to win her fight, she still would''ve been riddled with guilt. Her eyes frosted over as she glared daggers at her opponent. Once again, Hysode''s body turned into a blur as it approached the dragon, but it was no slouch. As soon as she entered its range, the dragon''s tail sliced through the air like a whip, aiming to turn her head to a pulp. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The young general calmly leant back, allowing the tail to pass over her, just millimetres above her nose. The silver dragon continued its flurry of attacks, trying to prevent its opponent from getting too close, but no matter what it tried, Hysode was ready. She elegantly danced around the dragon''s body, dodging each of its attacks. Whether it was its teeth, tail, or even the occasional dragon breath, Hysode dodged with incredible ease and grace. It appeared to be a stalemate. The dragon couldn''t land an attack, and Hysode couldn''t get close enough to attack one of its weak points. As the dragon''s tail pierced towards her, for what felt like the hundredth time, Hysode once again calmly evaded it, but this time, before it could completely retract its tail, Hysode''s sword exploded into action. It was at that moment that Ace understood the meaning behind the name "Silverlight." Though it was too fast to get a proper look, Hysode left a flashing silver light in the air as her sword arced towards its target. "ROAARRR!" As the dragon''s pained roar threatened to shatter the eardrums of many of the soldiers, Ace watched as the end of its tail fell to the floor, cleanly cut from the rest of its appendage. "So you finally allowed her to cultivate her battle qi?" Wukong asked, turning to the City lord who stood beside him. "Only after she broke through to the sixth rank naturally," Venerin replied with a hint of pride. "Unfortunately, that was her limit." Ace, who''d spent the last several months travelling with Wukong, was no longer the ignorant child he once was. Wukong had already explained that the [Qi Building Stance] he was taught back in Wushan Town was the simplest of all body tempering methods as it only allowed you to absorb the neutral essence of heaven and earth, which only appeared as the sun rose in the morning. In contrast, others allowed warriors to absorb the elemental essence in the atmosphere like mages; only, it was used as fuel for the body instead of being turned into mageforce to fuel a mage''s spells. That being said, the biggest difference between the [Qi Building Stance] and the other body tempering techniques was "battle qi." Battle qi was a form of energy used to strengthen physical attacks and was stored in a fist-sized container located just beneath the navel, but the only form of essence that could be turned into battle qi was elemental essence. But what still made the [Qi Building Stance] so popular was that as the energy absorbed using the [Qi Building Stance] couldn''t be stored in the Qi vassal below the navel, all the energy absorbed was used to temper the body, meaning that the bodies of those who used the [Qi Building Stance] tended to be stronger than other warriors at the same rank. Unfortunately, the further you progressed using the [Qi Building Stance], the harder it was to continue. The average warrior will reach their limits at the peak of the third rank. Those who were able to reach the fourth rank were all elite-level talents, and it was said that unless you were a descendant of the four supreme warriors, it was impossible to surpass the peak of the sixth rank, but all who made it that far were prodigies usually only seen once every hundred years. Although Hysode didn''t make it to the peak of the sixth rank, the fact that she made it to the sixth rank at all spoke volumes of her talent. Ace and the others watched with their eyes peeled as Hysode refused to give the dragon a chance to breathe. Its slip in concentration due to pain gave Hysode her opportunity to finally close the distance between them. Even though she was moving too fast for Ace to follow, with the help of his [Observation], Ace was able to catch the briefest of glimpses of her blade, allowing him to see the sharp, silver aura coating it. When Ace first heard that you needed to absorb elemental essences to cultivate Battle Qi, he assumed that his lack of elemental affinity would hinder him, but Wukong told him that unlike the ways of a mage, the warrior training manuals didn''t rely on affinity. They allowed anyone to forcibly absorb the essence of any element, regardless of one''s affinity but having a higher affinity did make it easier to absorb the essence of that element. ''I can''t wait till I get to cultivate my Battle Qi,'' Ace thought to himself with a sigh. The increase in power was incredible. Hysode, who was previously unable to leave so much as a dent in the dragon''s seemingly impenetrable scales, was now able to draw blood with each slash. The power and speed of her attacks weren''t the only things to see an increase; even her movement speed spiked as she used her battle qi to strengthen her legs. Ace couldn''t see the heroic young woman at all by that point. All he could see was the dragon''s attacks becoming increasingly frantic as it angrily tried to destroy the annoying ant before it, but Hysode refused to back down. Hysode''s domineering performance lit a fire of hope in the rest of the army as they watched their young general completely control the flow of the battle. Unfortunately, Venerin didn''t share their optimism. He watched with his fists clenched so tight the cracking of his knuckles could be heard by everyone around him. As her master, he knew that since she had only just begun cultivating her battle qi, although it gave her a drastic increase in power, her qi reserves would soon run dry. All he could do was pray she could finish it before that. Thankfully, Hysode wasn''t the only one who was slowly weakening. With each blow it suffered and attack it released, the dragon''s stamina also waned. But unlike Hysode, it wasn''t able to keep its composure. Book 2: Chapter 11 – Now It’s My Turn ''Why is it that any creature with dragon blood ¨C be it human or beast ¨C is an idiot?'' Ace thought to himself as he looked at the now reddened wings on the back of the twin-headed dragon. The more injured it became, the more angry and reckless it became, which only served to benefit the young general as her opponent left more and more openings to take advantage of. Whenever the dragon used its wings to attack, Hysode made sure to do as much damage as possible to prevent it from flying off, and it was a good thing she did. Due to the loss of blood, the dragon was finally starting to noticeably slow down. It was only when it noticed its precarious position that the foolish dragon finally remembered it had wings. It spun both heads round to create a ring of fire, forcing Hysode to jump back for fear of getting caught by the scorching white flames. Unfortunately, even after getting the space it needed, its wings were too injured to lift the rest of its colossal body. Hysode, who despite never suffering a direct hit from the flames, had half of her armour melted, ignored the severe fatigue she felt as she once again vanished like the wind and appeared directly in front of the giant beast. As she swung her sword with all her remaining strength, Ace instantly recognised the difference. Even though it was still extremely difficult for him to follow due to her fatigue, Hysode''s attack speed had slowed just enough for Ace to follow, but that wasn''t what caught his attention. He didn''t understand how or why, but as she swung her sword, it was as though it suddenly multiplied in weight ¨C going from a lightweight liuyedao sword to a giant battle axe. As the sword cleaved through the dragon''s left neck, chopping one of its heads clean off with virtually no resistance, Hysode, unable to find the strength to counter the momentum generated by her strike, fell to the ground rolling several meters before shakily propping herself up with her sword. Wukong raised a brow in surprise at her last strike. "Wielding light as though it were heavy?" It wasn''t just him; even Venerin looked down at his disciple in disbelief. "Haha, she did it. She really comprehended it! As a rank six warrior, no less." "What did she just do?" Ace asked, turning to Wukong for answers. "After ''one with the weapon,'' the next boundary of comprehension is ''wielding.'' It refers to a warrior''s ability to wield a heavy weapon as though it were light, or in this case wielding a light weapon as though it were heavy. In doing so, Hysode was able to wield her sword with the power you''d typically only see in heavy weapon wielders whilst retaining her speed." Wukong explained to the youngster beside him as he watched the tired young general drag her enervated body towards her opponent''s, one feeble step at a time, preparing to finally put an end to the fight once and for all. The dragon genuinely looked to be on its last legs, but with his ability to vividly sense energy, Ace''s eyes widened in shock. "RUUNNN!" His words came as a surprise to everyone, including Wukong and the black dragon, who was in the process of attempting to reign in its anger, believing one of the pure-blooded younglings from his dragon clan was about to lose its life to a pathetic human. Hysode, who was running on fumes at that point, instinctively followed Ace''s instructions and jumped back, despite not understanding the reasoning. Unfortunately, she was too slow. The dragon, who was on the verge of death, suddenly found a burst of energy at the last minute. Its one remaining head suddenly burst to life, biting down on the left shoulder of Hysode''s now unprotected body. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "AAGGGHHHHH!" "HYSODE!" Venerin roared unwillingly when he heard the pain-filled scream of his disciple. Just as he was about to jump to her rescue, Wukong quickly pinned him down. "GET OFF ME, KONG!" "LOOK UP!" The ape-like warrior instructed as he forcibly pinned down the city lord, preventing him from moving. As he did, Venerin noticed the black dragon looking down at him in what appeared to be anticipation. Almost as if it wanted him to try and intervene. As if he wanted a reason to call this competition off. He knew that Wukong did the right thing, but the thought of the girl he raised as if she were his own dying right under his nose filled him with terror. Turning back to the makeshift arena, Venerin watched as his disciple struggled with all her might to free herself from the dragon''s fangs. Unfortunately, it was of no use. Suddenly, she felt its hold loosen, but before she could jump back, she felt the temperature skyrocket. Looking back at its jaws, she saw the familiar silvery-white flames forming. She instantly understood that with her current strength, she was incapable of dodging, so she decided to go for broke. Like her opponent, she too was able to somehow find a sudden burst of strength out of nowhere. Her sword moved faster than ever before as it pierced straight through the eye of the dragon, followed by its brain. An attack that killed the beast instantly. Unfortunately, she was too late. Just as her qi-coated blade pierced its brain, Hysode''s head was instantly incinerated by the dragon''s flames. Venerin opened his mouth, but no sound came out. All he could do was watch as his disciple''s headless corpse fell to the floor. His eyes reddened as they welled up with water, but the only thing that fell was a single crimson tear. Even though he made no attempts to move, Wukong made sure to keep a firm hold on him, just in case he did something foolish that got everyone killed, but his heart still ached for the man he referred to as his brother-in-law. Venerin wasn''t the only one in pain over Hysode''s death. She was an integral part of the city whom everyone loved. Without fail, the heart of every soldier of Silverlight City ached over the loss of their young general. All they could do was stare at her decapitated body in shock. It wasn''t until they saw a young boy with long black hair scoop the woman, who was almost twice his size, into his tiny but strong arms. Holding Hysode in his arms, Ace turned back to look at the trembling City Lord. His face may have been immature, but as Venerin made eye contact, he didn''t feel like he was looking into the eyes of a child but a man who had experienced firsthand the vicissitudes of life. "General Hysode gave her life so that Silverlight City would live on, don''t let her efforts go to waste!" Though he was talking to Venerin, all the members of the Silverlight army felt as though Ace was speaking directly to them. After Hysode''s death, their morale was at an all-time low. They had been moments away from breaking point, but Ace''s words had been precisely what they needed to hear. If they had let their lack of morale be the reason they lost, it would be no different from shitting on Hysode''s grave. There would be a time for mourning, but it wasn''t now. Right now, they needed to follow Hysode''s lead and focus on protecting their home. "You can get off me now," Venerin said softly to the young man pinning him down. "I won''t do anything foolish. You have my word!" A sigh of relief escaped Wukong''s mouth when he heard that. He had enough stress with the saint-level magical beast above; he didn''t have the time or energy to keep Venerin from doing something stupid. As he got up, the young man couldn''t help but look at Ace appreciatively. To march on to the battlefield under the eyes of so many powerful beings and not only retrieve the body of one of their comrades but also say exactly the right thing at precisely the right time took both courage and wisdom. Even if the courage he showed could be explained by childish naivety, there was no denying the wisdom he showed. Every time he thought he finally had a good understanding of Ace''s ability and potential, he''d find another layer to peel back. But he wasn''t complaining. Now that Venerin was stable, he could finally focus on the last remaining battle. As Ace made it back up the wall with Hysode''s body, he gently placed her on a couple of crates by her master. "I''m sorry for your loss." He said sincerely. "I appreciate it, and I appreciate everything you''ve done for us today. I am in your debt; we all are!" Venerin said as he once again took a bow, but this time he wasn''t alone. His five remaining generals and all the other soldiers on the wall also bowed with him. Ace had not only won the first battle, a feat that none of their low-ranking warriors would''ve been able to do, but he had also saved them from themselves in their time of need. Just as Ace was about to tell them they need not go so far, he heard Wukong''s voice. "Just accept their gratitude; you deserve it." He said, patting the boy on his shoulder. "Now it''s my turn. You can just sit back and relax as this king finishes this once and for all." Book 2: Chapter 12 – A Profound Death "You?" The black dragon asked, having watched everything that transpired from his front-row seat. "You think I''ll allow you to take part?" "This king''s an eighth-rank warrior and mage. There''s no reason why this king can''t participate." Wukong stated directly, not willing to back down. But when he heard the dragon''s logic, he was at a loss for words. "You said this was a competition to determine who was stronger between humans and magical beasts. I can tell from your scent that you''re not human. Not completely, at least!" Like Killian, Wukong was an orphan, so he didn''t know who his parents were, but he wasn''t an idiot. He was well aware of the physiological differences between him and other humans. Whether it was his external appearance, his physical attributes, which resembled magical beasts, or his bloodline ability, it was obvious he wasn''t entirely human. He''d even been told by his master that his energy signature wasn''t entirely human either, but it never mattered much to him. The only reason he was taken by surprise was because he never expected the dragon to use such a loophole to prevent him from fighting. "I admit the humans have done a lot better than I thought they would originally, but this is the end of your good luck." The dragon declared confidently. "Sartius, you win this, and I''ll personally help you become a saint. Don''t let me down!" As he said that, a giant beast ten meters long and three meters tall with pitch-black scales the same size as an adult palm covering its monstrous body leapt off his back, crashing into the ground in the centre of the two armies. Its icy gold eyes swept over the human army as if it were searching for its prey. Despite being eyed by a rank nine armoured razorback wyrm, the soldiers of the Silverlight Army glared back at the wingless dragon fearlessly. "Ignorant humans!" The saint-level black dragon snorted disdainfully when he saw the army''s reaction before turning back to Wukong. "Hurry up and pick your final fighter!" Just as Wukong was about to open his mouth, Venerin and two of his generals all stepped forward simultaneously. Ace could sense from their respective auras that Venerin was the strongest of the three at the eighth rank. The other two were both in the seventh rank, but whilst the woman was a warrior, the middle-aged man was a mage. "Meina, Silum. You two step back. As the leader, the responsibility of this final fight is mine!" Venerin stated with a calm confidence. "You''re right, my lord. You are the leader, but that''s exactly why you can''t fight that beast," Silum, the middle-aged mage with greying brown hair, said respectfully. "Your presence will be necessary for what''s to come later. Allow me to do my part as your humble subordinate." It didn''t take a genius to read between the lines and understand what he was getting at. Venerin was the strongest of those able to participate, but they all knew that he wouldn''t be able to defeat an armoured razorback wyrm ¨C one of the more powerful known types of dragons ¨C which was also of a higher rank. This final opponent was unbeatable to everyone present, bar Wukong. But since he was forbidden from taking part, they had to plan for the worst, which meant sacrificing one of them whilst still retaining as much strength as possible for the inevitable war that was still to come. "Silum''s right, milord. You shouldn''t take part; neither of you should. It should be me." Meina, a stoic woman with a surprisingly stocky frame, donning plain white armour carrying a Lance in her left hand with short blonde hair, stated indifferently. "Meina, you-" "You know I''m right. Lord Venerin''s the strongest combatant the city has, and you are the most powerful mage in the city." Meina stated as she walked towards the wall, preparing to jump off. "If a war breaks out, both of you will be invaluable if our city is to find a way through this." Venerin watched silently as another of his generals marched towards their death with their heads held high. Never in his life had he hated his lack of strength as much as he did at that moment! Meina calmly made her way through her subordinates towards her opponent. Slowly moving faster and faster with each step, she went from a calm walk to a gentle jog to an all-out sprint. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. But the wyrm didn''t seem to care in the slightest. Even as the amazonian woman coated her whole body and weapon in an earthy green battle-qi, the expression on the beast''s face was one of disdain. Armoured razorback wyrms had incredibly sharp claws and boasted impressive attack speed, but the feature that made them so fearful to all other creatures was their nigh-impenetrable defence. Even amongst those at the 9th rank, be it warrior, mage, or magical beast, there were very few who could actually pierce its dense obsidian scales, let alone a warrior two ranks below. As a veteran warrior who lived in a city that regularly faced beast tides, she obviously knew this. It was why she chose to take this round instead of Venerin or Silum. But as she charged towards the horrifying beast, her eyes showed no fear or concern. As her lance shot forth like a rocket, it did so without an ounce of reservations. It was as if she were facing any old beast, like it was just another day in the office. It wasn''t that she was ignorant of the difference; it was just that, as far as she was concerned, if she were definitely going to die today, she would die with pride. As soon as the tip of lance made contact with the obsidian scales, the cracking of her polearm rang in her ear, but before she could even retract it, the spiky tail of the wyrm whistled through the air slicing her arm clean off from the top of the shoulder. Even as her arm fell to the ground, Meina didn''t bat an eyelid. With one arm, she continued attacking the beast with every bit of strength she could muster. After another two strikes, her lance broke, and still, she showed no shock or fear. She simply threw what was left of her weapon at her nigh-invincible opponent. It didn''t matter if it was the Venerin, his four remaining generals, or the ordinairy members of the army, tears welled up in the eyes of every soldier of the Silverlight Army, but they all refused to take their eyes off for even a second. They wished to etch General Meina''s valiant display into the depths of their memories to use as a source of strength to draw on when it was time to avenge their losses. Even Ace and Wukong, who didn''t know the amazonian warrior particularly well, watched with heavy hearts as the wyrm''s spiky tail cleaved straight through the general''s left leg. Still, even with only a single arm and leg remaining, Meina refused to yield. "DIE!" She bellowed as she used her one remaining leg to propel her at the beast, using her only hand to deliver an uppercut to the arrogant beast. Unfortunately, its scales remained impenetrable. Every bone in Meina''s hand broke on impact, but she didn''t care. She roared with laughter as she stared directly into the beast''s golden eyes. "The pride of a dragon? Haha, a dragon''s pride will never compare with the pride of a Silverlight soldier!" In response, the wyrm simply bit off her mangled hand and devoured it right in front of her. Still, Meina showed no fear as she headbutted the snout of the draconian beast, ignoring the protruding spikes on its face. Her face was a distorted mess, she had lost copious amounts of blood, and she only had one complete limb remaining. By all accounts, she shouldn''t be conscious, let alone standing, and yet, despite her current condition, her aura seemed to soar into the sky. The wyrm didn''t know what had changed, but at that moment, it felt something it never expected to feel against an opponent as weak as Meina ¨C Fear! It subconsciously took a step back as if it wanted to escape, but Meina had already moved. "HAHAHA, DIE, YOU STUPID LIZARD!" Meina roared as her right calf bulged in size. As she hopped into the air above the wyrm, the ground she was just standing on splintered. For the first time since the fight began, the armoured razorback wyrm made a move to try and block the incoming attack. Knowing it was too late to dodge, it instinctively coiled into a ball, protecting all its vital points. Ace watched in shock as Meina, who looked to have become one with the earth, stamped down on the impregnable beast with unparalleled might. Even Venerin was left speechless as he watched Meina''s strike. "Did she¡­" "She just gained insights into the profound!" Wukong declared in shock. "Is that even possible?" Silum asked, unable to wrap his mind around Meina''s sudden increase in strength. "She hadn''t even stepped into the ''wielding'' boundary of comprehension." "The threat of death has always been a powerful stimulus. This king guesses that with the threat of her death looming and her raging desire to win this battle and protect those behind her, she was miraculously able to jump two boundaries of comprehension in one go and gain insight into the profound." Wukong theorised. "Unfortunately, it''s still not enough¡­" "ROOAAARRRR!" As the dust cleared, Meina, who was standing on one leg panting heavily, ignoring the pain ravaging her body, watched as the enraged wyrm stood back up. Other than a broken spike on its back, the wyrm appeared unscathed. Its anger didn''t stem from pain but shame. It felt ashamed that it, a proud magical beast of the dragon race, had shown fear over such a trivial attack. Seeing the wrathful beast charging at her, a peaceful smile suffused what was left of her face. She didn''t have the energy to move another muscle, but she was just happy she would die on the battlefield ¨C where she belonged. The wyrm jumped on top of her and sliced through the leg that had managed to injure it with its claw, but seeing her still smiling despite facing death only served to anger it further. It slammed down on her face with its tail, reducing it to a pulp, killing her instantly, but its anger was still bubbling. The residents of Silverlight watched in horror as the beast opened its gruesome maw to take a bite out of the already dead general. They desperately wanted to stop it, but it happened too quickly, and they were all too far away. Fortunately, just as the wyrm''s razorlike fangs were about to take a chunk out of Meina''s corpse, it was sent flying through the air, crashing into the army of magical beasts, killing several of the weaker ones. "The fight''s over; General Meina''s body will be returning with this king for a proper funeral!" Wukong said coldly as he stood in front of the deceased general, staring fearlessly at the black dragon in the sky, bolts of lightning flickering around his body. Book 2: Chapter 13 – Tribulation Steps As he wasn''t a saint, Sartius ¨C the armoured razorback wyrm ¨C couldn''t speak in human tongue, but he was more than capable of understanding it. He was one of the most powerful ninth-rank magical beasts in the whole of the forest of darkness, but when he looked into Wukong''s eyes, all he could see was disdain. The more he looked into those arrogant eyes, the angrier he became. As if he could read his mind, Wukong''s light but ice-cold voice rang through the battlefield. "If you take a single step in this king''s direction¡­ This king will kill you!" The contempt was palpable, and it was pressuring Sartius'' diminishing sense of reason. Luckily, its superior wasn''t suffering from the same condition. "That''s enough," The black saint dragon ordered directly. He had half a mind to let Sartius test Wukong''s strength, but he also understood Sartius would undoubtedly die. Sartius was one of the most powerful dragons under the saint rank. He couldn''t allow him to die for no reason. Sartius glared and snarled at the staff-wielding creature once more before turning away, scared that it''d lose control and attack Wukong right then. Though he wasn''t scared of the ape-like man, he was terrified of the black saint-level dragon in the sky. He knew better than to test his superior''s patience. The black dragon, on the other hand, didn''t give Sartius another glance after issuing his command; his focus was solely on Wukong. When Wukong moved just now, it didn''t even realise until it was too late. Though it should''ve been impossible, he understood that Wukong was somehow even faster than him. ''If he decides to take the boy and escape, I won''t be able to stop him.'' He thought to himself as he glanced at Ace before his cold reptilian returned to Wukong. Both were peerless geniuses on the side of the humans and would grow to be a major threat in the future. The humans already had two peerless existences and several saints no weaker than his boss. He couldn''t afford to allow two more humans to reach that level. The only problem was that he needed to find a way to kill them before they escaped. He was right to think like that. Wukong had already decided, though he''d do what he could to protect Silverlight City, if it really came down to it, he would take Ace and escape. It was his idea to bring Ace here; he definitely wouldn''t allow Ace to die, especially after he had promised his mother to look after him. "As it stands, it''s one win and a tie each," The black dragon stated calmly, his voice gruff voice ringing in the ears of everyone present. "I could just order the war to commence, but now I''m invested in this little competition. So I''ve decided to allow one more round, and I''ll even allow you to compete on behalf of the humans. If you win, we''ll leave your little city alone. But if we win, we will crush every one of you, including the little ants hiding behind your walls." The fists of all the Silverlight soldiers clenched upon hearing the threat. They weren''t scared for themselves but for the loved ones they were here to protect. All they could do was hope that they would be able to win the next round, but the dragon''s following words doused any hope they had. "We''ve had three rounds for each of the mortal stages; the final round will be for saints!" The dragon said indifferently. "This king rejects!" Wukong stated directly as he carefully picked up what was left of Meina''s body. "This king can''t beat a dragon at the middle saint stage. If you really wish to fight, as soon as this king reaches the saint stage, this king will personally take a trip to the dragon''s pit to find you!" As he said that, Wukong, whilst carrying Meina, transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing back on the city walls beside Ace and Venerin. The black dragon was infuriated by the man''s words. He knew that Wukong was letting him know that if he went through with his plans, he''d escape now and get revenge in the future, but the thing that angered him most was the fact that Wukong knew he was a middle-stage saint-level dragon, yet he said he''d be able to defeat him as a newly promoted saint. He had half a mind to go on a rampage right there and then, but when Wukong gave him another glimpse of his shocking speed, he understood that there was no way he''d be able to keep Wukong if he really wanted to escape. "You think I''d lift a claw to fight the likes of you? You overestimate yourself!" The dragon growled arrogantly. "The saint I had in mind wasn''t me." Hearing that, everyone''s mind went blank as they understood at that moment that if it was saying that, it meant he wasn''t the only saint present on the side of the beasts. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Suddenly from the back of the army of magical beasts, a colossal creature slowly floated in their direction. It was a ten-meter-tall bear-like beast with dark red scales. "A saint-level dragon-scaled bear¡­" Venerin''s eyes showed all the unwillingness and helplessness he held in his heart as he watched the bear hovering over the battlefield, looking at them disdainfully. "Little Kong, take Ace and-" "If it''s just him, this king accepts your offer!" Wukong said with a fiendish grin suffusing his lips, paying no attention to the city lord beside him. As his words left his mouth, it rendered everyone speechless. Whether it was Venerin, the remaining generals, or Ace, they all looked at him as though he were a fool. It was a saint he was agreeing to fight. "Kong, you can''t, not even you can jump two ranks to beat a genuine sa-" "Brother-in-law, just sit back and relax. This king won''t lose to a newly promoted saint like that!" Wukong declared proudly before jumping back off the wall, casually walking towards the battlefield. "Oii brat, watch closely as this king shows you the definition of a real genius!" ''Why''s he so confident? There''s no way he can beat a saint-rank magical beast at the eighth rank.'' The dragon thought to himself as he saw the confidence on Wukong''s face. Though he knew a feat like that was all but impossible, a bad feeling was starting to well up inside of him. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now, especially as it was he who proposed this final round. "Zarconix, make sure you kill him!" "Don''t worry, I may have only just broken through today, but there''s no way I''ll lose to some trash in the eighth rank," Zarconix, the dragon-scaled bear, confidently declared with a sadistic sneer suffusing his lips as he watched his prey near. "I won''t let you down, Yasha!" "I''ve never met anyone as arrogant as you in all my life," Zarconix said, glaring at Wukong as he calmly made his way through the Silverlight Army. "The power of even a newly ascended saint-level beast isn''t something a trivial eighth-rank warrior can imagine, let alone compare to." As he said that, his body suddenly erupted in a terrifying crimson fire. The heat of which was too much for the army to bear. The armours of the soldiers suddenly began to melt, and the skin of the weaker warriors began to blister, but they forcibly withstood it as they glared at the terrifying beast without making a sound. As proud as Venerin was of his soldiers for their resolve, he refused to let them suffer for no reason! "RETREAT TO THE WALLS!" He bellowed, using his qi to make sure he was heard by each and every one of his subordinates, knowing that just watching a battle of this magnitude wasn''t something ordinairy mortals could withstand. "ROOAARRRR!" Yasha''s roar left everyone''s ears ringing. Still, it seemed to have the same effect as Venerin''s orders as the army of magical beasts also retreated several hundred meters back to give added room for these two powerhouses to battle. "No witty response? What''s wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Zarconix said with an arrogant sneer when he noticed the slight frown on his opponent''s face, believing he had put the fear of god in him after showing him the difference between them. Though it was true Wukong was frowning, it wasn''t for the reason the dragon-scaled bear believed. As he came to a stop and looked up at the beast flying above him, his frown deepened. "[Tribulation Steps ¨C First Step]," Wukong said indifferently as he took another step towards his crimson-scaled opponent. Suddenly the sky above Zarconix darkened, and before he could understand what was happening, a bolt of lightning descended, striking him on the crown of his head. "Haha, is that it? I didn''t even feel-" "[Second Step!]" Wukong continued, indifferent as ever. "Are you trying to tickle me to de-" "[Third Step¡­]" With each step Wukong took, another lightning bolt descended from the sky. Each one doubling in size and power. At first, Zarconix could easily withstand each strike, most of them getting burnt by the blazing flames coating his colossal body. By the fourth strike, though, the flames could do nothing to stop them. Fortunately for him, his dragon scales weren''t just for show. The lightning did next to no actual damage, but that all changed after the sixth step. The sixth bolt of lightning descended like that of a roaring flood dragon. "FUCK OFF!" Zarconix roared as he swung one of his flame-coated paws towards the sky, unable to control his wrath. As the two attacks met, the bolt of lightning was instantly destroyed, and even the sky opened up under his might. It was a shocking display for Ace and the others who didn''t get to see a battle on this level very often. "[Seventh Step]!" Even as his attack was completely eviscerated, Wukong''s voice couldn''t have sounded any less impressed. Zarconix, who''d had enough of this game, was about to deal with this attack and then focus on the caster of the spells when the lightning bolt descended far faster than he could''ve expected, once again doubling in size and power. He didn''t have enough time to attack, or even dodge it. Ultimately, all he could do was bend his neck, so the strike didn''t land on his head again. BANG! "ARGH!" As the strike landed on the top of his back, Zarconix roared in pain as several of the scales at the point of impact were completely shattered, and the surrounding ones were seared. Looking down, Zarconix saw Wukong''s face was still indifferent. After actually hurting a saint rank magical beast, Wukong was wholly unmoved. It was as though it wasn''t much of an achievement, as though it was to be expected. "I''LL KILL YOU!" The bear roared as he flew like a rocket towards Wukong, who acted as though he hadn''t heard him. "[Eighth Step!]" As Wukong took his next step, another bolt of lightning fell, but this one couldn''t be compared to the others; this one appeared as if it descended from heaven itself. Be it Ace, Venerin, his generals, or even Yasha; It was a sight no one present would ever forget. It was almost as though Wukong was the proud son of heaven, and heaven smited Zarconix for daring to oppose him. As the dust cleared, everyone was instantly rendered speechless by the scene before them. Zarconix''s whole body was burnt to a crisp. If that wasn''t shocking enough, he was also on his knees, panting heavily, not even a meter away from Wukong, who casually held his staff over his shoulder, looking down at the beast before him. "That''s much better," Wukong stated, the frown from before having disappeared, only to be replaced by a teasing grin. "I don''t like looking up at my opponents!" Book 2: Chapter 14 – Impose His voice was far from loud, but he made sure to infuse it with his qi so everyone on both sides would hear him. An action that made Zarconix cough a mouthful of blood out of anger and shame. Yasha stared coldly at the arrogant young ape-man. What was going through his mind, only he knew. Ace didn''t know what to think at that point. Using his [Observation], he could sense that purely in terms of energy, Wukong couldn''t compare to his opponent. Still, somehow, that last strike had actually stepped into the realms of saints in terms of power, faintly suppressing the energy reserves of the bear. Even though he hadn''t been in this world for long, even he understood that such a feat should''ve been impossible, and yet, somehow, he had accomplished it. He didn''t know if there was a ninth step, but he knew that even if there were, there was no way Wukong would be able to perform it. He could sense that Wukong''s dantian was almost empty of its mageforce, and unfortunately, despite his gruesome-looking injuries, Ace could sense that Zarconix''s life force was far from his limits. If Wukong were going to win, he''d have to rely on his ability as a warrior. Still, looking at the confident and excited grin on his face, Ace understood that was exactly what the man wanted. "DIIEEEEE!" Zarconix roared. His paw, which was no smaller than Ace''s torso, tore through the air with unbridled ferocity as it aimed to turn Wukong''s grinning face into pulp, but Wukong was anything but a slouch. Zarconix''s paw only hit his opponent''s afterimage, but it was a good thing Venerin had ordered his men to move back as the area where they had been was instantly reduced into a blast site. Ace could only gulp in shock as he realised that if this beast were released into his old world, it''d likely take the joint efforts of at least two, probably three, of the four emperors to defeat it. As he got lost in his thoughts, he was dragged back to reality by Wukong''s sudden hollering. "Oii brat, pay close attention. I''m now going to show you the different levels of comprehension for warriors!" Hearing Wukong''s audacious words, Zarconix''s eyes glazed over. Never in his life had he felt so humiliated. He had just become a saint, a feat which should''ve been his greatest achievement to date, but now, he was being used as a dummy for someone at the eighth rank to teach a child. He let out a deafening roar that burst the eardrums of several of the weaker members of both armies. Even Ace, who was the furthest back and had also reacted quickly by covering his ears, could hear nothing but ringing as he stumbled around, trying to steady himself from his dizzy spell. A helpless sigh escaped Wukong''s lips when he saw the effects of his opponent''s furious roar. "Was that really nece-" Zarconix had had enough of Wukong''s arrogance. He unleashed a wild barrage of attacks aiming to reduce the ape into a burnt heap of monkey meat. Unfortunately, Wukong was simply too fast! No matter what he tried, he was unable to so much as graze the lower hem of Wukong''s robe. "STOP RUNNING AWAY!" The bear roared furiously. "This king wouldn''t be dodging you now if you hadn''t disorientated everyone with that annoying roar of yours," Wukong replied with a frustrated accusatory tone which only added to the beast''s wrath. Each of the bear''s attacks laid waste to their battlefield, but Wukong showed no difficulty avoiding each blow. "Finally!" Wukong exclaimed upon noticing the return of Ace''s focus. "This king can show you the different stages of comprehension." As he said that, Wukong''s body disappeared in a flash, avoiding the incoming paw from above. Zarconix''s terrifying claw crashed into the ground, creating but another devastating crater. Ace, who''d only just cleared his head and steadied himself watched in shock as Wukong''s appeared on the shoulders of the beast, casually stood looking him dead in the eye. "This king was gonna wait for you to become one with your glaive to explain this to you, but having a live target for my demonstration works even better," Wukong explained as he dodged another attack. "As you already know, the first stage of comprehension for warriors allows them to become one with their weapon." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Zarconix opened his mouth just about to release another furious roar when Wukong''s staff came crashing down on the top of his snout. It did virtually no damage, but it was enough to catch the bear by surprise, interrupting him before he could release his roar. Zarconix entered a wild frenzy as he tried his best to land a hit on Wukong, but the monkey-looking man elegantly danced around him as he struck each of the beast''s weak points. To Ace, who had suppressed his shock so he could pay close attention to Wukong''s display, the substitute teacher of his future school looked like an artist, and the battlefield was his canvas. Whether it was his timing or technique, each strike was literal perfection. "Becoming one with your weapon not only grants you more control but also allows you to attack with greater speed and power," Wukong said as he allowed each attack to flow beautifully from one to the next. Still, even with the injuries it had sustained from the last lightning bolt, its defenses were too resilient to be pierced by attacks of that level. Fortunately, Wukong was far from done! "The next stage of comprehension is called wielding. Like this king told you earlier, comprehending it allows you to wield heavy weapons as though they were light weapons allowing you to attack at high speeds whilst retaining your usual power." Wukong said as his attacks suddenly picked up speed. Despite focusing as much as possible, Ace was unable to catch so much as a glimpse of Wukong''s attacks. Even his opponent, a saint-level magical beast, struggled to keep up, but the additional speed didn''t add enough power to cause any further damage. But Wukong didn''t seem bothered by that in the slightest as he calmly carried on with his explanation. "The flip side of that coin allows warriors to wield light weapons as though they were heavy." A confident smirk suffused his lips as his staff followed a downward arc, crashing on the tip of the bear''s snout. "Or, in the case of this king, wield a heavy weapon as though it were an even heavier weapon!" The sound of bones breaking rang through the air as blood and snot gushed from the bear''s nose, informing all the viewers that Wukong really was capable of hurting the saint in front of him. Ace, who was using his [Observation] to gleam as much he could from the substitute teacher''s display, could sense the added power in that last strike. It was like the staff had transformed from a staff to a mountain. Even the ground beneath Zarconix splintered beneath the strike. Ace could only sigh at the beast''s ridiculous defence, as even after a strike like that, other than a fractured and bloodied nose, Zarconix didn''t seem too affected by it. "Most who reach this stage can only comprehend one of the two concepts at this stage. Only the most talented and/or patient of warriors can comprehend both, but that''s not the end of the wielding boundary," Wukong explained, as a confident smile suffused his lips. Ace, who hung on Wukong''s every word, watched in shock as he was once again unable to follow the man''s lightning-fast attacks, but that wasn''t what shocked him. What shocked him was the damage that he was inflicting. Though it wasn''t much, he could see the bear''s body constantly wincing in pain. "You''d need to be a genius amongst geniuses to do this, but after comprehending both concepts, it becomes possible to fuse them into one, thereby granting your attacks additional power and speed." Wukong''s demonstration was shocking for everyone, not just Ace. Even Venerin, one of the most powerful of those present, watched with wide eyes, feeling as though his horizons had just been expanded. Yasha''s cold reptilian eyes became colder with each passing second. He knew Wukong was a top-level talent, but he never expected this. ''No matter what happens, he can''t leave here alive!'' "The third and final stage of comprehension for us mortals is ''Impose.'' This stage allows us as warriors to borrow from the ''imposing force'' of nature. In doing so, we can either use the forces of nature to compress space itself around our target to keep them from moving, or¡­" Ace watched as Wukong''s aura seemed to merge with nature. If it weren''t for the fact that he was looking directly at him, Ace wouldn''t be able to sense the staff-wielding warrior at all. Being a saint himself, Zarconix was much more sensitive to the laws of heaven and earth than Ace, so he could clearly sense Wukong''s aura, but it was also because of this that he felt a faint threat, but it was that same feeling that brought him no small amount of joy. "Trying to compete with a saint in comprehension of the natural laws? Hahaha, your arrogance truly knows no bounds." Ace watched as Zarconix''s aura also seemed to become one with nature, all but disappearing from his [Observation], but the fire around his right paw multiplied in size and intensity to the point that even the space around his paw seemed to burn. Ace, whose comprehension was nowhere near that level, didn''t understand exactly what he was watching, but he still refused to blink. He watched as the bear''s burning claw of what may as well have been a fiery ball of death approached Wukong''s seemingly simple staff thrust, but just before they made contact, he watched as Zarconix''s eyes threatened to bulge from their sockets in complete shock. BOOOM! Despite the first line of the army being over 500 meters away, as the two attacks made contact, the shockwave from the explosion sent most of them stumbling back. Even Ace, who was on the wall, had to raise his hands to cover his face to shield him from the winds. Ace still couldn''t sense either of their energies, but as the dust was starting to clear, he heard Zarconix''s astonished voice. "Impossible! How could you¡­" "Just because you need to comprehend the forces of nature to become a saint doesn''t mean only saints are able to do it," Wukong said disdainfully from inside the dust cloud. "And this king has a better understanding of the natural laws than you!" Book 2: Chapter 15 – War Begins As the dust cleared, Ace and the others were shocked to find that both Zarconix and Wukong had retreated 20 meters from their original positions, meaning that, shockingly, despite the difference in realms, both were equal in terms of power. "As this king said earlier, upon reaching the impose boundary of comprehension, you''ll be able to borrow the imposing force of nature to enhance your strikes," Wukong explained leisurely. Although he was facing the dragon-scaled bear, everyone was clear he was talking to Ace, and despite Zarconix''s boiling fury, Wukong calmly continued. "The impose boundary is essentially a warrior''s way of becoming one with nature, which in turn allows them to start comprehending the infinite profundities of the natural laws, which is what will allow you to break through to become a saint, provided you''ve reached the peak of the 9th rank that is," Wukong explained as he continuously evaded his opponent''s attacks and replying in kind. His strikes from earlier did next to no actual damage, but now, with him borrowing the imposing force of nature to enhance the power of his strikes, he was able to actually threaten his opponent, albeit only barely. Even in his current condition, Zarconix''s defence was too sturdy. He was able to all but ignore the damage done by each strike and attack with just as much force as ever, but Wukong remained indifferent. "The odd thing about the impose boundary is that the higher your insights into any of the natural laws, the more force you''ll be able to borrow, but that''s such a primitive way of fighting for those who''ve gained insights into any of the laws, which is why you''ll never see any actual saint level warriors still using impose," Wukong explained as he jumped back to put some distance between him and his opponent. Zarconix watched in shock and horror as sparks of electricity began to flicker around his opponent''s staff. "You¡­ That¡­ Impossible!" Wukong ignored the bear''s fearful ramblings as he continued his explanation. "Saints fight by directly infusing their insights of the profound mysteries of nature into their attacks." As he said that, Wukong and his staff turned into a bolt of lightning as he chased after the saint-level magical beast whose paws had just left the ground as he attempted to fly away. Unfortunately for Zarconix, their speeds were in two different leagues. As soon as Wukong disappeared from his original position, the impulsive noise of a thunder clapping sounded from him shattering the sound barrier. Zarconix had only risen a few meters off the ground when Wukong appeared above his head. "[Piercing Thunder!]" Wukong roared as his staff sped through the air with unparalleled momentum. The beast knew there was no dodging this one. All he could do now was raise his hands to cover his face from the strike of his monstrous opponent, but Wukong''s attack was too powerful. All the bones in both his paws shattered on impact, and he released a loud wail as he was sent flying through the air, crashing into the front line of the army of beasts and, more specifically, Sartius, the ninth-rank armoured razorback wyrm. "This level of comprehension is called ''the profound realm,''" Wukong said proudly as he fell from the sky. Though his comprehension had long since reached the level of saints, his realm hadn''t. As such, he was still incapable of flight. The moment his foot touched the ground, his body once again transformed into a bolt of lightning as he aimed to quickly put an end to the fight with his next move. Regrettably, the saint-level black dragon had seen enough. "[Black Dragon''s Breath!]" Yasha roared as a scorching black flame jetted out of its mouth. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Fortunately, Wukong wasn''t oblivious to his surroundings and was able to come to a stop just in time to avoid the dragon''s attack, which had actually melted his battle-qi despite the lack of direct contact, but Yasha wasn''t done yet. Even though he was going against his word, an act that went against his pride as a dragon, the ability Wukong showed today was too enchanting. He had never seen or even heard of anyone able to defeat a saint whilst still at the eighth rank. He got the feeling that if Wukong were given the time to grow, he''d grow to reach a level even his boss could only look up to, and there were already three humans at that level; they couldn''t afford for there to be a fourth! "Ugh!" Wukong grunted as he was sent flying by Yasha''s tail. Yasha knew his actual movement speed couldn''t compare to the warrior ape''s, but his attack speed was nothing to scoff at. "Zarconix, can you still fight?" Yasha asked as he watched the badly injured scaled bear roll off the beasts beneath him to get to his feet. "I''m fine!" The bear growled, angered by the public humiliation it had suffered. "Good. Follow me to deal with that mortal ape. I''ll kill him; I just need you to keep him from running away," Yasha ordered as he prepared to fly in Wukong''s direction. "Sartius, lead the others to destroy the humans. I don''t want ANY survivors!" Sartius, the armoured razorback wyrm, roared in understanding before setting its sights on the human settlement, more specifically at Ace. It knew that when Yasha said "any survivors," he meant the boy. Ace couldn''t help but gulp when he felt the threatening eyes of the wyrm fall on him, but thankfully, he wasn''t on his own. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure they don''t get near you," Venerin said as he placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him before turning to face the strongest mage amongst his subordinates. "Silum, you stay with Ace and support us from here." "Yes, milord!" The older man said as he stepped forward. "Today, two of our own gave their lives to protect our home. And now, despite us winning the competition, the beasts want to go back on their word. Why? Because they fear us. They fear our potential!" Venerin said frostily as he leapt from the walls, calmly leading two of his remaining generals through their soldiers towards the army of beasts. "We will undoubtedly lose many more, but they''ll lose twice as many! So follow me and show these stupid beasts the consequences of messing with SILVERLIGHT CITY!" Venerin roared as he charged towards the wyrm who killed one of his generals. "FOR SILVERLIGHT!" Luciarde, the hammer-wielding peak sixth-rank warrior who wanted to take Hysode''s place in the earlier battle, roared as he followed his leader into battle. "FOR SILVERLIGHT!" The army echoed as they too, began their fearless charge! Just as the beasts and the Silverlight Army were about to make contact, Silum, who had been standing calmly besides Ace, made his move. "Earth Tremor!" As he said that, Ace watched as the ground that the beasts were running on began to tremble intensely. Other than Silum, there were a total of 10 mages, and as if they had practiced this move, they all launched their most powerful spells as the first lines of beasts began to trip over each other. Balls of fire, wind blades, arrows of water, and various other elemental attacks lit up the sky before crashing into the middle of the beast waves. At the same time, Venerin and his two other generals were the first to make contact with the first line of beasts. Whilst Venerin clashed against Sartius, Luciarde, and Kulen ¨C a straight-sword wielding warrior of the sixth rank ¨C began a slaughter. Though there were several higher-ranked beasts, the majority were between the first and third ranks, with the beasts at the fourth rank and above positioned further back. With the first few lines stumbling and falling over themselves, thanks to Silum''s spell, it made Luciarde and Kulen''s job even easier. With absolutely no hesitation, the two sixth-rank warriors slaughtered a path straight through the army of magical beasts. At least two beasts would lose their lives with every wave of their weapons. As the magical beasts at the front got back to their feet, the rest of the Silverlight Army was already on top of them, and they had absolutely no intentions of giving these cursed beasts who were threatening their homes the chance to reorganize themselves. Though the initial clash saw the Silverlight army dominate, things didn''t continue like that for very long. When the soldiers were forced to go up against the beasts that weren''t hurrying back to their feet, the tide seemed to switch. They weren''t like Ace, who could jump ranks to defeat magical beasts. It took two or even three soldiers to take down a beast of the same level, but there were too many beasts to do that. Luciarde and Kulen desperately wanted to help their subordinates, but they soon found themselves surrounded by stronger beasts that took longer to defeat. The only positive was that although the dragons could command low and intermediate-rank beasts, they had virtually no command over high-ranked beasts. So, other than Yasha and Zarconix, who were busy with Wukong, and Sartius, who was facing off against Venerin, there were no other beasts above the sixth rank to worry about. Ace also had to admit that Silum, Leilani ¨C the sixth rank fire mage and final general ¨C and the other mages were each like weapons of mass destruction. Every single spell they cast saw dozens of beasts perish, but unfortunately, the army of beasts was never-ending, and with the battle between Venerin and the Armoured Razorback Wyrm ramping up, Silum was focusing his energy on supporting him. Book 2: Chapter 16 – One With The Glaive Ace watched as the valiant soldiers of Silverlight unhesitantly gave their lives to protect their home. The bones in his knuckles clicked as his grip around his glaive tightened. The crimson veins around his eyes became more pronounced with every second as he watched the warriors on the battlefield being slaughtered whilst he stood on the walls safe and sound. He knew if things carried on like this, they would soon be overrun, and the innocent civilians in the city behind them would end up as food for these insatiable beasts. "NO! STOP! ACE, COME BACK!" Silum roared when he noticed Ace jumping off the wall and running onto the battlefield. He was tempted to jump down and bring Ace back himself, but he couldn''t afford to stop supporting Venerin. Though Sartius was pretty badly injured after Wukong sent Zarconix crashing into him, he was still a dragon of the ninth rank. Still, he couldn''t allow Ace, who wasn''t even a citizen of their city, to give his life, especially as he had such a promising future still waiting for him. "Dammit!" Silum cursed as he hurriedly focused his attention back on Venerin. "[Earth Wall!]" Luckily, his wall of what looked like Jade had been erected just in time to protect Venerin from the slash of the Wyrm''s razor-like claw. With his support, Venerin was just about able to fight on par with it, but if he were to stop, Venerin would quickly lose his life, and without anyone to hold him back, Sartius would be able to rampage through their army freely. Taking another look at Ace, he was shocked to find that his presence on the battlefield had an immediate impact. He hadn''t foolishly charged headfirst into the middle of the war like one would expect from a warrior of that age. Instead, he was picking off different second and third-ranked beasts, allowing the opponents of said beasts to support their fellow soldiers. Silum seemed to hesitate on how to proceed. After everything Ace and Wukong had already done for them, he had no right to expect any more from them, but he couldn''t very well allow his underlings to die in front of him. "Ahh, fuck it! Leilani," Silum hollered at the red-haired mage standing beside him, who was launching one powerful fire spell after the next into the magical beasts in the distance. "Keep an eye on Ace; support him whenever necessary. Try your best to make sure nothing happens to him!" Leilani, who''d been hesitating over the same decision, glanced at Silum briefly before looking back at Ace. "I understand; leave it to me!" Ace didn''t seem to care that the beasts could end up targeting him; all he knew was that he had to do something. With his [Observation] overseeing the whole battlefield, he went from one skirmish to the next, assassinating one beast after another. This was far from his preferred style of fighting, but with the help of [Soru], it was by far the most effective tactic available to him. He was able to move around the battlefield with almost complete freedom. No beast could get anywhere near him, and his tactic was slowly allowing the Silverlight forces to regain some stability. That was when he noticed something he simply couldn''t ignore. Two young men, who, judging by their resemblance, appeared to be brothers being toyed with by a giant dog of the fourth rank with a body that seemed to be made of rocks and lava filling its cracks. The older of the two stood with an axe in his hand in front of his younger brother, who lay behind him with a broken leg. Ace knew that, as it stood, he was no match for a fourth-rank beast, but seeing their plight, he couldn''t help but think of the moments before he died¡­ ''Luffy!'' "Kash, you need to leave!" Jason, the older of the two brothers, commanded as he fearlessly faced the fourth-rank lava hound, despite only being at the peak of the third round. He knew that even if he were at the fourth rank, he still wouldn''t be much of a match for the beast, but it didn''t matter. All that mattered to him was making sure his little brother lived, even if he had to die to make that happen. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "I won''t lea-" "NOW!" Jason barked, unwilling to waste time with useless chit-chat. "I can''t focus if I have to worry ab-" Before he could finish his sentence, Jason threw himself to the ground, barely evading the giant magma-filled paw aiming for his face. "JASON!" Kash roared when he saw the giant canine launch itself on top of his older brother. He desperately wanted to support Jason, but not only was his broken leg keeping him from moving how he would like, but the speed of a rank four beast wasn''t something he could keep up with on the best of days. Luckily, he wasn''t the only one rushing to Jason''s aid. "Dammit. I just missed," Ace cursed as he watched the beast leap out of the way at the last second, barely avoiding his descending haki-imbued glaive. He was hoping that by using [Soru] to close in whilst the beast was focused on the older brother, he would be able to catch it off guard and kill it in one go. Unfortunately, a rank four beast is superior to a rank three one in every way. He''d need more than a surprise attack to kill it. "You two should leave now," Ace said as he cautiously eyed the growling beast in front of him. Jason and Kash looked at the back of the boy, who was almost half their size, in shock and a hint of awe. They already knew from his earlier performance that he was a genius amongst geniuses, the type they''d heard stories about but never seen with their own eyes. It was already impressive enough that they got to witness a talent like that in action, but they never would''ve expected he''d be the one to come to their rescue in their time of need. But as far as they were concerned, not even a genius on Ace''s level would be able to jump two ranks to defeat a rank four Magma-Hound. "HURRY UP!" Ace bellowed, snapping the two brothers out of their daze. "If you stay here, you''ll only get in the way." "But what abo-" "That''s enough, Kash!" Jason barked, knowing that Ace was right. "Thank you, young master. Your assistan-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Ace had already disappeared from his position to intercept the approaching canine directly. "Jas, we can''t let him fight alone," Kash said as he hobbled over to his brother''s side. "He may be a genius, but he can''t win on his own." "Stop being an idiot! That young master''s right. If we stay and try to help, we''d only end up a hindrance." Jason said as he took one final look at the battle between Ace and the Magma-Hound, before turning back to look at the top of the city walls. "Plus, it looks like he already has someone ready to support him should he need it." Tracing his brother''s line of sight, Kash noticed General Leilani paying close attention to Ace''s battle with her mage''s staff at the ready. "We''ll repay this debt of gratitude in the future if the opportunity ever arises. For now, let''s just do as he said and give him some space." Jason said as he wrapped his little brother''s arm around his shoulder so he could be used as a crutch. They were right. As a sixth-rank fire mage, the general was the best support Ace could have at a time like this. The only reason she didn''t act immediately was that she wanted to reserve her energy as much as possible in case of an emergency. Still, the moment Ace looked like he was struggling, she would immediately take action. Ace, though, had no idea he had the support of the general. He was too focused on the beast in front of him. After their first clash, Ace felt his arms creak under the pressure. It became immediately clear that whether it was speed or power, Ace was definitively inferior. Still, he was oddly calm. Leilani had almost intervened several times already, but there was something about the look in his eyes that stopped her every time. Between that and the fact that he seemed to be relaxing more and more as the fight went on, Leilani decided against acting just yet, but she was still shocked beyond measure. He was, after all, fighting against a magical beast two ranks superior to him. It was unclear when, but at some point during their fight, Ace stopped seeing the beast and instead began picturing it was Akainu in front of him. The admiral who insulted the man he respected most in his life and the man who tried to kill his little brother, forcing him to sacrifice himself. He lost to him once, and it cost him his life¡­ ''I WON''T LOSE TO YOU AGAIN!'' Ace roared in his mind as he saw the magma paw slashing at his chest. And as if to answer his calls, his glaive seemed to come to life. It whistled through the air and pierced straight through the beast''s rock-like paw. "HOOWWWLLLL!" "One¡­ Did he¡­ Did he just become one with his glaive?" Leilani muttered in shock as she watched Ace and his glaive move in perfect unison. "What kind of talent is this?!" Whilst Leilani was watching in shock, Ace looked down at his glaive with a proud smile. Even without looking at it, he could feel every part of it as if it were an extension of his arm. In his last life, he never could''ve imagined that holding a weapon could bring him so much¡­ Joy! That proud smile gradually transformed into a fiendish grin as he looked back at the howling beast, which trembled under his gaze. "Now, where were we?" The Magma-Hound never would''ve imagined that it could feel such fear in front of a human boy at the second rank, but when their eyes met, it understood that their roles had reversed; it was no longer the predator, but the prey. It didn''t hesitate for even a second as it turned to escape, but with one of its paws injured, its speed took a hit. Ace moved like a blur, appearing directly beside the terrified beast. A smile appeared on his face as his raised glaive descended like a bolt of lightning. He performed a chop that not even Wukong would''ve been able to find fault in. The blackened blade of his glaive sliced straight through the neck of the beast completely unimpeded. ''I kept my side of the deal; now you need to stay alive so you can keep yours!'' Ace said mentally as the head of the canine fell by his feet, a smile of pure satisfaction suffusing his lips as he looked towards the other battlefield where Wukong was likely fighting for his life. Book 2: Chapter 17 – Senior Brother A little over a mile away from the main battlefield, Wukong ¨C battered and bruised ¨C was in the middle of the most challenging fight of his life. "So much for the so-called pride of a dragon," the ape-like warrior snorted as he was forced to block Yasha''s tail with his staff. "You''re nothing but a shameful little lizard!" Sparks of electricity were flickering around his body which was now covered in burns and dried blood as he was sent flying further away from the battlefield. Yet despite the wounds, his eyes burned with electrifying battle intent. All he could do was dodge and block each attack that came his way, but he remained composed. All three understood that they were at somewhat of an impasse. Whilst Wukong was the fastest of the three, that was only when it came to movement. Yasha''s tail tore through the air at a speed that was too fast for even Wukong to evade at such close range. They also knew that if Wukong was hell-bent on escaping, there was little they could do to stop him, but Wukong knew that they would return to the battlefield the moment he did. If even one of them returned, it''d be over for the forces of Silverlight, let alone both. The soldiers of Silverlight being slaughtered was bad enough, but he had promised Ace''s mother that he would keep her son safe, and that was one promise he fully intended to keep. As frustrating as it was, he knew that all he could do was bide his time and hope reinforcements came sooner rather than later. Yasha was no less frustrated than his opponent. He was fighting someone at the eighth rank, yet no matter how hard he tried, he remained unable to kill him and to add insult to injury, Wukong''s taunts were lethal. The only thing that kept him from losing control was knowing he couldn''t afford to fail here today. Wukong''s potential was like nothing he''d ever seen before. If he were allowed to mature fully, the humans would gain another powerhouse he could only look up to. Thankfully, although they seemed to be deadlocked, the truth was that Wukong was the one on the losing side. Every time Yasha''s tail connected, though Wukong successfully blocked each one and jumped back to reduce the impact further, the damage was slowly starting to build up. It was only a matter of time before one of his attacks connected cleanly, and at that point¡­ A bloodthirsty grin suffused the dragon''s maw as he pictured the moment he could finally tear this annoying man-beast limb from limb. Almost as if the heavens were directly answering his prayers, Wukong was slow in evading Yasha''s whip-like tail from crashing into his sides. "ARGH!" Wukong grunted in pain as he was sent flying head-first through several trees. As if that wasn''t painful enough, he looked up just in time to see a blast of jet-black flames near enough on top of him. "PIERCING THUNDER!" Wukong roared as he channelled as much of his battle qi as possible to coat his staff and body. As the two attacks met, the whole world seemed to go deathly silent before an earth-shattering explosion rang with Wukong at the centre. The explosion was so devastating that even Zarconix ¨C the newly promoted saint-level dragon-scaled bear ¨C was swept off his feet. Even those on the main battlefield, whether it was man or beast, stopped what they were doing as the earth shook violently beneath their feet. As he got to his feet, Ace couldn''t help but worry as he turned to face the direction of his recruiter''s battle. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Though he hadn''t known him for long in the grand scheme of things, the man had left a profound impact on him. Not only had he been willing to offend the representative sent by the War God''s college when recruiting him, but he had also been monumental in his rapid growth in power over the last half a year or so. Unfortunately, his [Observation] couldn''t reach that far to see if he was alright. He wanted to go over to help, but he knew that even if he did, he''d only end up getting in the way in a fight at that level, and even if he did have a way to help, he would still have to battle his way through an army of beasts, many of which were still too strong for the current him. As the dust cleared, Yasha roared with laughter as he saw his opponent''s state. "Hahaha! What''s wrong? Nothing to say now?!" Though Wukong was still alive, he was in no condition to fight any longer. His robes had been incinerated, and his body was a charred mess. If it weren''t for the crystal white bo-staff in his right hand resting against the floor, he would''ve been completely unrecognisable. Despite his earlier reaction, Yasha was beyond shocked by what he was seeing. That last dragon''s breath was his most powerful technique. Forget a mere mortal combatant; that attack would''ve been more than enough to incinerate most early-stage saints. Though Wukong was incapacitated now, the fact that he was even alive was mind-blowing! It was at that moment that the black dragon realised that not only had Wukong begun to comprehend the profound mysteries of the laws of nature, his comprehension was actually deeper than his. Though they were enemies, he couldn''t help but respect the "man" before him. Talent on this level was superior to anything he''d ever seen or even heard of. Still, it was also for this very reason that he couldn''t let him live, especially not after so thoroughly offending him. He was just about to put an end to this when he noticed the corners of Wukong''s burnt lips crept upwards as if he were actually smiling. "What, are you in so much pain that you''re actually looking forward to death?" Yasha asked. Wukong completely ignored the dragon as he looked straight passed him. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw the couple floating in the sky behind the magical beast. "This king will leave the rest to you," Wukong said softly as he allowed his consciousness to finally fade. "Senior brother." Upon hearing Wukong''s words, Yasha''s head snapped back, only to find two humans floating in the sky. On the left was an enchanting violet-haired woman with a pair of fiery violet wings slowly flapping, allowing her to hover in the skies. She would''ve appeared angelic had it not been for the burning wrath in her violet eyes that seemed able to raise the temperature to the point where it looked as though space itself was being burnt, but as she was merely a warrior at the ninth rank, Yasha wasn''t too threatened by her presence. The same couldn''t be said for the man to her right. He was a burly man that stood at a height of almost seven feet, donning a sleeveless, unbuttoned white haori that swayed with the wind, showing off his herculean chest and a pair of baggy black trousers, the bottom of which was wrapped in bandages that went from his shins to his ankles, just above his plain black sandals. He had curly unkempt hair that covered half of his face. From the half he could see, the man showed no visible emotion, but his presence put a horrifying pressure on both magical beasts. It was as though they were a couple of mice looking up at a lion. As a saint-level dragon, there were very few creatures that could pose any sort of threat to Yasha, let alone make him feel like mere prey. Even amongst the dragons ¨C arguably the most powerful race of magical beasts ¨C the number of his fellow dragons from the pit capable of making him feel like this could be counted on one claw. He couldn''t help but wonder how and why all these terrifying humans kept popping up all of a sudden. "Who¡­ Who is your excellency?" Yasha asked, his prior arrogance and overbearing demeanour vanishing without a trace. Seconds went by without a response, and whether it was Zarconix or Yasha, neither dared make a noise. The man seemed to have no interest in responding to them. In fact, since his arrival, he hadn''t even looked at them once. He simply floated in the skies, indifferently resting his Great-Axe-Cleaver on his shoulder as he looked at his unconscious junior brother. "You deal with the beast tide. I''ll handle them," The dark-haired man said indifferently. As soon as his gruff voice entered Yasha''s ears, the dragon, not wanting to be put on the back foot, struck out with his whip-like tail, hoping to crush both newcomers. Just like when using it against Wukong, his obsidian tail was unbelievably fast. Unfortunately, whether it was the emotionless man or the fiery-winged woman, both appeared to be no slower than Wukong. Turning his head, he saw the violet-haired woman streaking through the sky like a meteor, heading straight towards the main battlefield. As for her partner¡­ "There you go. That should keep you stable until we get back," The man said as he slipped a green marble-sized pill into his junior brother''s mouth, where it dissolved as soon as it touched his tongue. Wukong, who had just been breathing laboriously whilst unconscious, suddenly relaxed, and although his body was still severely burnt, he appeared to at least be stable. Book 2: Chapter 18 – The Violetflame Warrior "Look, how about both sides take a step back before things go too far," Yasha suggested as he tried to suppress the fear he felt when his eyes made contact with the eyes of the mystery man before him. "We''re here on official business for the dragon''s pit. One of our unhatched young was stolen by a human, and we''re simply looking to bring them back. We don''t wish to offe-" Wukong''s mysterious senior brother didn''t seem all that interested in listening to Yasha''s explanation. Before the dragon could finish his sentence, he appeared directly in front of the dragon-scaled bear. His axe descended with unparalleled momentum as it cleaved the magical beast in two, leaving a giant scar in the ground below that was over 20 meters deep. "You¡­ Who are you?!" Yasha asked fearfully as he looked fearfully at the man who calmly turned to face him. As soon as he saw the look in the man''s eyes, Yasha released another dragon''s breath. It was unclear whether he held back slightly when using it previously or if the fear of death looming over his head allowed him to tap into his unlocked potential, but the power behind this one was almost double his last one. He didn''t even stay to see if his attack did any damage. As soon as the black flames left his mouth, Yasha turned, and with a flap of his giant wings, turned into a bullet as it fled the scene. As the black flames approached, the dark-haired man calmly raised his axe and casually chopped downwards in the direction of the fleeing dragon. "Sundering Decimation." His voice was soft enough to be classed as a whisper, and yet, despite having traversed several hundred meters already, that whisper entered Yasha''s ears as if he were right beside him, and to him, it sounded no different than a death sentence. A grey crescent-shaped beam shot out of his axe and tore straight through the flames chasing the escaping dragon. As the flames were split apart, they began to magically dissipate, unable to do any damage to the intended target. On the other hand, the crescent-shaped axe-light, though weakened slightly, continued on its path, chasing after Yasha as though it were alive. Whenever he turned, so too did it. "NOOOO!" Yasha roared when he realised there was no evading this one. At that moment, he couldn''t help but feel an intense regret well up inside him as he wished more than anything that he could go back in time and agree to Wukong''s initial suggestion to go around Silverlight City. At the time, he saw them all as a bunch of ants whom he could destroy with little effort, but time and time again, those same ants showed that humans weren''t to be looked down upon. Still, as a mid-ranked saint, he believed that he still had everything under complete control, but now¡­ As the man''s attack made contact with the dragon''s back, there was no explosion or shockwave like one would expect. Instead, the former obsidian scales began to grey, seemingly weakening until they became a brittle excuse of their former form. And just like that, the seemingly unbreakable scales turned to dust, allowing what was left of the attack to tear straight through the dragon''s back, which proceeded to devastate Yasha from the inside. "AAARRRGGGHHHH!" Yasha released a deafening painfilled roar, but Wukong''s senior brother didn''t care in the slightest as he calmly flew through the sky, aiming to finish the dragon once and for all. He raised his axe and was just about to behead the beast that almost killed his Junior Brother when he suddenly froze and diverted his strike, swinging his gigantic axe to his left. As he did, a giant crimson dragon claw twice his size came out of nowhere, clashing violently against his axe. A pained grunt escaped his lips as he was sent flying through the air, only managing to come to a stop mere meters from Wukong''s injured body. "I was beginning to wonder if the almighty king of the dragons was just going to sit back and watch as I killed one of his subordinates," The axe-wielder said indifferently as he looked up at the monstrous crimson dragon blocking half the sky. . This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. . . After becoming one with his glaive during his fight with the fourth-rank magma hound, Ace became the biggest contributing factor in gradually turning the war around. He had become even faster than before when assassinating each beast, and he could even assassinate some of the weaker fourth-rank beasts without getting tied down. Despite their lack of intelligence, even the beasts understood that Ace was a problem that needed to be stopped. Unfortunately, no matter what they tried, it proved impossible for the stronger beasts to get near enough to stop him. Upon realising the impact of Ace''s presence, Kulen, one of the few remaining Silverlight generals, ordered his troops to keep the beasts away from Ace, no matter what. There were only a few humans in the fifth rank, but each of them made sure to hold up the stronger beasts whenever they got too close to Ace. As did the mages and archers on the walls, and on the off chance any beasts did get past the humans protecting him, Ace, who seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, would quickly use [Soru] to escape their assaults. After monitoring Ace for long enough, Leilani realised that Ace no longer needed so much of her attention and began to actively re-engage the beasts, mainly focusing on the more powerful beasts that attempted to close in on Ace. With the tides turning in their favour, the morale of the humans reached an all-time high, but unfortunately, the beasts refused to go down without a fight. It was at that moment, though, that the soldiers of Silverlight witnessed a sight they would never be able to forget. Whilst her partner was taking on the two saint-level magical beasts that put their junior brother through the wringer, the burning-winged beauty just arrived at the main battlefield only to see the decimated corpses of hundreds and beasts and humans alike. Whether it was Wukong, her, or her partner, they were all very close to Venerin and his people. Her heart ached to see so many of the soldiers of Silverlight City dead. That pain quickly turned into a burning fury, and as if the world was subject to her emotions, the battlefield quickly began to heat up. Ace, who constantly had his [Observation] active, was the first to notice the violet-haired woman in the sky, only for her presence to suddenly vanish, or rather merge with nature. He didn''t know who she was, but judging by the smouldering fury as her eyes looked at the beasts, he understood she had to be a friend ¨C something that was more than welcomed, considering his current condition. Even though he had no actual injuries to speak of, Ace had long since passed his limits. Whether it was his prolonged use of his haki, constant use of [Soru], or one with the glaive, Ace was thoroughly drained. It was his incredible willpower that allowed him to keep going as he had, but even he knew that he couldn''t keep it up for much longer. As the temperature rose, the beasts and humans stopped as they subconsciously looked around for the source. They all understood that it was undoubtedly the cause of a hidden powerhouse, but they wanted to know whose side this mystery powerhouse was on. Venerin, who was also on his last legs from battling the armoured razorback wyrm, used the beast''s sudden distraction to put some distance between him and the terrifying beast. As he did, he looked up only to see the enchanting violet-haired mage in the sky. "Haha, Lauriella, you''re finally here?" The city lord said, a relaxed smile suffusing his dried lips as he looked into the eyes of their saviour. "What about Kong? He''s figh-" "Don''t worry about anything else," Lauriella said as she looked at the beasts, who were now terrified, as they found the winged goddess floating above them. "Tell your people to retreat; leave the rest to Mathias and I!" "Haha, Mathias is here too? Good, very good! I can rest easy." Venerin said as he glanced mockingly at Sartius, who was staring up at Laurielle fearfully. "SILVERLIGHT RETREAT!" The Silverlight Soldiers didn''t need to be told twice. As soon as their orders were delivered, they all began to return to the walls. The beasts made absolutely no effort to stop them. In fact, as soon as they heard Laurielle''s instructions for the humans, the beasts all turned to escape back into the forest. Even Sartius, a dragon in the 9th rank, was no exception. It should''ve been impossible, but the threat this woman gave off was no less than Yasha. And after witnessing Wukong in action first-hand, he understood that there were some humans who couldn''t be explained using common logic. Ace used his glaive as a crutch as he retreated back to the city walls while intermittently turning back to watch what Laurielle planned to do next. The beasts hurried away, with Sartius being the fastest of the lot. Unfortunately for them, they could run, but there was no hiding. As soon as the two forces had completely separated, Laurielle slowly raised her hand, indifferently pointing toward the escaping beasts. "On behalf of all the humans who died today, I sentence you all to a fiery death. [Heavenly Fire ¨C Burning Fields!]" As the sound of her voice waned, a wave of violet fire suddenly shot forth. As the former fire logia from his last world, Ace was very much used to the power of fire, but never in his life had he seen flames like that. "That''s Laurielle Hyde, little Kong''s senior martial sister. She may not be quite as talented as Kong, but she''s still a genius amongst geniuses in her own right," Venerin explained as he approached the gobsmacked Ace. "She''s a pure-blooded descendant of the Hyde family, also known as the Violetflame warriors ¨C one of the four supreme warrior bloodlines. Those violet flames allow her to jump ranks, but her incredible comprehension of the laws of fire is what makes her virtually invincible in the ninth rank. It''s how she''s able to use a forbidden spell, which should only be useable by saints despite only being in the ninth rank." Ace watched, unable to pick up his jaw, as every single magical beast was instantly incinerated by the violet flame wave. Even Sartius, a dragon that boasted incredible defences, was left without a corpse ¨C his body unwillingly reduced to ashes. Venerin looked up at the fiery goddess in the skies in undisguised awe as he continued. "Whether it''s Wukong, Laurielle, Mathias or the rest of their martial siblings, every single one of that woman''s disciples is a monster amongst monsters!" Book 2: Chapter 19 – Ace’s Shocking Talent "Mathias," The dragon king growled coldly. "How is Arianna these days?" Despite being the same size as the dragon''s eyes, Mathias was completely calm as he looked at the colossal crimson dragon hovering above him. "Master''s good. She''s been busy with her training recently, so she hasn''t had the time to visit you," Mathias replied indifferently as he looked back at Wukong. "But I''m sure she''d be more than happy to take some time away from her training to show her appreciation for the kindness your subjects have shown her youngest disciple." "How long has it been since anyone has dared threaten me, Ignus, the king of the dragons?!" Ignus snarled as his red reptilian eyes focused on the man in front of him. "Don''t think you can talk to me like an equal because of your master. If I wish to kill you and all those other ants you wish to protect, no one should even think about stopping me." "You might be right," Mathias shrugged, completely unphased by the dragon''s threat. "But you and I both know that Dragons would become extinct by the end of the month if you did that." Yasha, who was barely conscious at that point, believed the dark-haired man was speaking out of his arse. Ignus was the king of the dragons for a reason; he was a prime saint. Meaning he was one step away from becoming a deity. Even amongst the other prime saints, he stood at the top due to his being a mighty dragon. There were only four beings capable of exterminating the dragons as Mathias claimed, and this Arianna woman wasn''t one of them. Yasha fully expected his leader to kill this foolish human for his blasphemy, but for some reason, he could feel his king''s growing hesitation. If he didn''t know any better, he would''ve thought Ignus was scared, but that should be impossible. "Your subordinate hurt one of my juniors, and I punished him for it. As far as I''m concerned, we''re even. As long as you promise that no saint-level beasts from your Dragon''s pit step foot in Silverlight in the future, I give you my word; we won''t make any attempts to retaliate for your actions here today." Mathias said, seemingly willing to take a step back. Ignus hated the feeling of having his back against a wall, but he really didn''t have much of a choice in this regard. As a prime saint-level dragon, the only individuals he should be weary of were the four known deities of the Yulan continent. One was completely neutral and rarely ever even interacted with others. Then there were the two human deities, each leading the two largest empires in the human domains, and the last was the true ruler of the forest of darkness and the only known deity-level magical beast. Thanks to the presence of the ruler of the forest of darkness, no deity-level human was allowed to act directly against a non-deity-level beast unless they were provoked first, which meant that as long as he didn''t do anything to provoke those two monsters, Ignus shouldn''t theoretically have anyone to fear. But that couldn''t have been any further from the truth. Though he was widely regarded amongst the other saints as the most powerful being under the deities, he knew that as long as that woman was alive, he could only be second. A few decades ago, he had secluded himself in another failed attempt at breaking through to the deity level when Mathias, who had yet to break through to the saint level, somehow stumbled into his private lair. He decided to vent some of his frustration with a game of cat and mouse, chasing him halfway across the forest. He''d been surprised by the strength and speed the man had shown, but as a powerful prime saint, he''d seen more than his fair share of talented humans. When he''d had enough playing around, he went in for the kill, but when his jaw slammed shut, instead of the crunch of human bones being crushed by his razor-sharp teeth, he tasted nothing but air. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. When he looked up, he saw a blonde-haired woman with two katanas strapped to her back looking down at him indifferently. He could sense she was a saint, but as he''d never heard of her before, he assumed she couldn''t have been anyone worth paying attention to. Just as he had prepared to snack on both humans, she indifferently pointed her index finger at him, and before he could even react, a beam of light pierced straight through the top of his mouth and exited the bottom, moving at a speed that he couldn''t even begin to follow. She had no intention of finishing the job as she indifferently led Mathias away, but her parting words were ones that stuck with him to this day. "Think of this as a warning, if you ever harm any of my disciples, I, Arianna Qingya, will personally hunt and kill every dragon on the Continent." That name has haunted him ever since. And even though he never saw her again, he understood that although she might be a saint like him, they were on two different levels. Ignus stared deeply at Mathias and Wukong before looking in the direction of Silverlight City. Though there were a couple of miles separating them, with his vision, he could see the violet-haired fire mage incinerating the army of beasts that desperately wanted to escape, not sparing a single one. "That woman who came with you. Is she another of Arianna''s disciples?" Ignus asked, his tone void of any emotion. "She is," Mathias admitted calmly. "I see," Ignus replied as he casually lifted the large black dragon on the ground, not paying any attention to his injuries. "As long as none of you enters the dragon pit in the future or impedes our investigation, neither this city nor your people will be harmed. Not by the dragons, anyway." "It''s a deal." Mathias declared as he watched the dragon king take his leave. With the dragons gone, Mathias gently picked Wukong up, trying not to worsen his injuries, before flying in the direction of the city. As he neared, a regretful sigh escaped his lips upon seeing the corpses of all the city''s soldiers spread across the ground. He knew there was nothing he could''ve done differently, but he still wished he had gotten there sooner. "Wukong?!" Ace blurted out in worry when he saw his condition whilst being carried by who he guessed was the senior brother Venerin mentioned. "Is he gonna be alright?" Mathias turned his head towards the young boy in surprise. This was the last place he expected to find a child so young. His surprise only seemed to grow as he realised the boy was actually a warrior of the second rank. He couldn''t help but look to the bloodied City lord questioningly. He understood that Silverlight was facing a calamity of epic proportions. Still, he never thought Venerin, of all people, would resort to enlisting children, no matter how talented they may be. "It wasn''t Venerin''s idea to have young Ace here participate in the war," Lauriella explained, seeing the doubt on Mathias'' face. "Apparently, little Kong recruited him from Fenlai and decided that the beast tide would be the perfect place for Ace to try and take that final step in becoming one with the glaive." Mathias'' eyes widened when he heard that. It wasn''t that Wukong decided to bring him to an environment like this to train that shocked him. He knew Wukong could be more than a little reckless when it came to training. Bringing a talented child to train in a beast tide sounded precisely like something his junior brother would do. What shocked him was that a child who didn''t even look to be ten years old was even close to comprehending one with a weapon. Not even Wukong, who was easily the most talented of Arianna''s disciples, became one with his staff till he was ten¡­ "Did you do it?" Mathias asked, unable to hide his excitement. "Did you manage to become one with the glaive?!" That was when he noticed that Ace seemed more interested in Wukong''s condition than in answering any unrelated questions. The fact that Mathias was floating in mid-air without any assistance was a clear indicator that he was a saint. Almost any other child, when spoken to by a lofty saint, would be stumbling over themselves in an attempt to leave the best possible impression. So for Ace to not only retain his composure but also focus his attention on worrying for someone else spoke volumes about his character. An amused smile suffused Mathias'' lips as he looked at the boy in front of him. "Don''t worry. Little Kong''ll be just fine in a week or two." "That''s good," Ace replied in relief. It''d been a long time since he''d seen anyone suffer burns that bad ¨C normally as a result of his ability. Though in his old world, it''d take more than a few weeks to heal from wounds that bad, he knew better than to underestimate the abilities of his new one. "In answer to your earlier question," Lauriella said as she floated towards Mathias, lovingly taking his hand in hers. "I can personally confirm that he has comprehended one with the glaive. It was one of the first things I noticed when I arrived on the scene." Hearing that, even Venerin, who had been too preoccupied dealing with the Wyrm to keep an eye on Ace, was in shock. He knew Ace was talented, but this¡­ Book 2: Chapter 20 – Right Beside You "Hahaha, excellent!" Mathias declared cheerfully. "I wasn''t expecting little Kong to take his job as a recruiter seriously, but he really did a great job this time!" "Speaking of recruitment," Venerin suddenly interjected. "There''s a child from my city that I''d like to recommend for your Yin-Yang Pavilion." "You better than most should understand the recruitment standards I''ve set for the Pavilion," Mathias replied. "I do ¨C Kimika told me a few months ago," Venerin replied. "She said that the standards require potential students to be both a warrior and mage. As a warrior, they must be ten or under, haven''t begun cultivating their battle qi, and be on track to reach the second rank by their eleventh birthday. As a mage, they must have an exceptional-grade affinity to at least one of the laws and have a minimum of 20x as much spiritual essence as the average person of the same age. The only exception to this rule is if a student shows overwhelming talent as either a mage or warrior, like an eight-year-old mid-rank two warrior who has comprehended one with a weapon, for example." As Venerin said that, all three adults glanced towards Ace, who could only smile sheepishly in response. Though he wasn''t usually the shy type, he also wasn''t used to this kind of flattery by people so much stronger than him. That being said, he couldn''t help but be shocked by the entry requirements for this new institute. Of all the children at the Fenlai City recruitment process, only he, Kil and Alissa actually made the cut. Even Wharton, who shocked all the recruiters with his talent, would''ve failed to make the cut due to his "low spiritual essence". Though his status as a Dragonblood warrior might be enough for him to be accepted into the pavilion as an exception. Either way, for any academic institute to set their entry requirements so high would be shocking in and of itself, but for these to be the standards of a newly established institute was outright insane. Or so he thought until Ace remembered the monsters that would be instructing them. Wukong was just an eighth-rank combatant and could already jump ranks to fight saints. He''d just seen Lauriella wipe out an army of magical beasts with one attack. He doubted Mathias was any less impressive, and apparently, there were others whose talents were just as monstrous. If anyone had the right to demand so much from their students, it was them. "Since you know that, I''m interested in the child you wish to recommend to us," Mathias said with an intrigued smile. Though he wasn''t willing to budge on the entry requirements, as the principal of the pavilion, Mathias still wanted as many students as possible. "His name''s Kannal. Although he''s not quite as talented as young Ace here, I assure you, you won''t be disappointed," Venerin explained. "But let me speak to him first. As his older sister was my disciple, I should be the one to let him know about her passing." . . . Over the next few hours, grey clouds seemed to hang over Silverlight City as news of their tragic win spread. Ace, though, was fast asleep in the Venerin''s manor. As soon as he was shown his temporary accommodation, he immediately lost consciousness. The events of the day had taken him far over his limits. Unfortunately, even after getting some well-deserved rest, his head was still pounding, but the roars of his stomach prevented him from going back to sleep. ''Food¡­ I need food!'' This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Upon exiting his room, Ace found himself in an extremely lavish and well-decorated stone corridor, but he was far too hungry to pay the castle''s interior design any attention. Just as he was preparing to go hunting for the kitchen, the sound of whimpering entered his ears. Following the sound, he found himself in what appeared to be a small study, judging by the library of books that were oddly scattered along the floor and the broken desk and chairs on the floor. It almost looked as though a small tornado had been let loose inside, but the thing that caught his eye was the young brown-haired boy who appeared even younger than him. He was sat curled in a ball with his head buried in his knees, sobbing his eyes out. "You must be Kannal ¨C Hysode''s little brother," Ace said softly upon noticing the resemblance between him and the deceased young general. The boy''s head snapped in Ace''s direction, clearly not expecting anyone else to be around. "Leave me alone!" He barked before turning away so Ace didn''t see him crying. A helpless sigh escaped Ace''s lips as he walked towards the window to look out at the night sky. "Your sister was an incredible warrior and an even better leader," Ace said sincerely. "It may not help ease your pain right now, but you should be proud. She died a hero." "You''re right. It doesn''t help," Kannal snapped back between sniffles. "I don''t care about that. I just want my sister back! I wish she had never joined the army. It''s a job for suicidal and selfish idiots!" "It''s hard to believe you two are actually related," Ace said as he turned back to face the snivelling boy. "She was a valiant warrior who died to protect those she loved, and you''re a pathetic crybaby who''d rather shit on her memory than honour it." "What did you just say?!" Kannal screamed as he charged at Ace as if to tackle him. But how could Ace be caught by such a trivial attack? As soon as the boy got close enough, Ace''s hand moved like the wind. CLAP! "She and many other brave men and women gave their lives so that the citizens like you could live in peace, and here you are, shitting on their sacrifices. If you want to mourn, fine! If you want to cry, fine! But don''t you dare spit on the faces of those brave soldiers. If it weren''t for them, you and every other civilian in the city would''ve lost their lives today!" Ace coldly stated as he glared at the boy holding his cheek. "I¡­ I di¡­ didn''t mean it." The brown-haired boy said softly as his body trembled, still looking down at the floor as if he were too ashamed to look up. "I just miss her. I miss her so much it hurts." The truth was, for as long as he could remember, he too had wanted to follow in his sister''s footsteps, join the army, and eventually become a general, but the pain of her death had hit him like a tonne of bricks. "You want to know how you can honour your sister''s memory?" Ace asked as he placed his hand on the boy''s shoulder. Hearing that, the boy looked up with his big brown eyes hanging on to Ace''s every word. "How?" "Live well!" Ace stated. "It doesn''t matter if you want to be a soldier, scholar, or even a painter. If you really wish to honour your sister, you simply need to live life to the fullest. That way, no one will be able to say that her sacrifice will ever go to waste." Hearing that, Kannal''s eyes momentarily brightened before they darkened once more. His fists clenched, and his body trembled once more. "What''s wrong?" Ace asked, not understanding what just happened. "I¡­ I want to get revenge for Hysode." Kannal explained. "The beast that killed your sister was killed by her," Ace explained, thinking that the boy didn''t know the truth behind what had happened. "I know," Kannal admitted as he looked up at Ace, his eyes burning with anger and resolve. "But the beast that caused the tide is still out there." "So you wish to kill a saint?" Ace asked directly. Kannal didn''t answer directly. Instead, he looked down at the ground expecting to be mocked for his desires. "Then you better hurry up and become a saint!" Ace declared. "You¡­ You''re not going to laugh at me?" Kannal asked in shock. "You don''t think it''s impossible?" "Why would I laugh?" Ace asked back. "Because the chances of becoming a saint are less than a million to one," Kannal replied dejectedly. "Why are you suddenly doubting yourself?" Ace asked with his right eyebrow raised. "I don''t know about the ratios and percentages, but I know Venerin thinks highly of your talent." "You don''t understand. Even for those who''re born with talent higher than mine, the chances of becoming a saint are still slim." "No, it''s you who doesn''t understand. If others can become saints, then so can you. The only thing that can stop you is you." Ace explained encouragingly. As he heard that, the resolve in his eyes returned, burning brighter than ever before. "I understand. Thank you," Kannal said slowly. "In the future, I''m going to complete my sister''s dream of becoming a saint and leading Silverlight City!" "And when you finally become a saint and are ready to avenge your sister, I''ll be right beside you," Ace added. NEWS/SPOILER – NOT PART OF THE STORY Hi everyone, first off, I just want to thank everyone who''s chosen to follow the book so far. Your support is greatly appreciated! The next thing I''d like to say is that Book 2 is now complete on Patreon, so if you wish to read ahead, go to: www.patreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon. Unfortunately, that also means that the release rate will be going back to two chapters a week, but the Patreon will be releasing at least 4 per week. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Next is a little spoiler for Book 3 that I know many of you have been anticipating since the end of book one: 1. Ace and Linley''s relationship will finally start to really take shape - I''m really excited about this one! XD 2. Fire Fist Ace will be making a return!!! XP Thanks again, and I hope you continue to follow and support me! P.S. The Patreon is now on Book 3 - Chapter 1! XD Book 2: Chapter 21 – Arrival At Yin-Yang Mountain The next morning, a giant silver falcon could be seen flying through the sky. On its back sat Lauriella, Ace and Kannal. After their chat the night before, Kannal agreed to join the Yin-Yang Pavilion with the aim of getting strong enough to achieve his dreams, but he never would''ve imagined that his first tribulation would be simply sitting on the back of an eighth-rank four-winged falcon. Seeing the colour fade from the boy''s face, a gentle chuckle escaped Laurielle''s supple cherry lips. "Okay, Elise. You need to slow down before our young friend throws up all over your beautiful feathers." Hearing Laurielle''s words, Elise ¨C the four-winged falcon ¨C cried out disapprovingly whilst turning its head to give Kannal a warning glare. Unfortunately, Kannal was too busy holding on for dear life to even notice. Still, the giant bird still slowed down enough for all her passengers to stay stable. Ace, on the other hand, was sat cross-legged without a care in the world, completely unphased by the bird''s speed, a feat that didn''t go unnoticed by the violet-haired supreme warrior descendant. After Kannal agreed to join the pavilion, it was decided that Mathias would fly Wukong back to the pavilion in advance so he could receive treatment for his injuries, whilst Lauriella would take the boys to Shurgard city where Milianna, Killian and the others were still waiting. Thankfully, as a rank eight magical beast, Elise had more than enough room on her back for everyone. Although it had only been a couple of days, so much had happened. Ace was looking forward to being able to relax with the people he cared about most in this life. Even though Elise had to slow down for Kannal''s sake, she still managed to make it to Shurgard city in a few hours. The sight of such a big magical beast flying over the castle in the middle of the city wasn''t something you saw every day. Many of the city''s residents cautiously came out of their houses to see what was going on, only to see Ace casually jumping off the beast''s back and onto the castle''s walls. The guards all saw Ace''s descent, but after seeing him hop off the back of such a terrifying beast, many of them were hesitant about how to proceed. "It''s okay, men. You can stand down; they''re not enemies." Announced a stocky middle-aged man whom Ace recognised as the city lord, Alan Shurgard. Ace merely glanced at the man before dashing straight past him and into his mother''s arms. "I''ve missed you." Even though mentally he was in his late twenties, this was the first time in the last eight years that he''d gone over a day without seeing his mother. "I''ve missed you too, son," Milianna replied lovingly as she caressed her son''s dark hair. It was only when he sensed Lauriella and Kannal approaching from behind that Ace broke away from his mother''s embrace. "Ooh, right, mom, everyone, this is Lauriella. She''s Wukong''s senior sister and also a member of staff at the Pavilion, and that''s Kannal; he''s also one of the new students of the pavilion." Ace quickly explained. "Lauriella, Kannal, this is my mother, Milianna and her¡­ friend Lance." As his voice waned, a blush could be seen on the faces of both Milianna and Lance. Though they''d become very close as of recently, they still hadn''t put a label on it. Thankfully, Lauriella cut through the awkwardness as she shook their hands. "It''s a pleasure to meet you both. Ace has told us a lot about you." "I hope he hasn''t been too much of a handful," Milianna replied. "No, quite the opposite, actually. You''ve raised quite the incredible son." Lauriella said sincerely before looking towards the two children just behind them. "And you two must be Killian and Alissa." Ace''s body trembled as he fought to hold back his laugh. He knew Lauriella was beautiful, but he''d seen all kinds of beautiful women in his last life. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Killian, on the other hand, was an eight-year-old boy who was raised in an orphanage in a small village. This was his first time seeing a woman as beautiful as Lauriella. He couldn''t even find the words to introduce himself. It was only when a cold snort came out of the young silver-haired girl to his left that he realised he''d been standing staring like an idiot. He was just lucky that his dark, ebony skin did such a good job of hiding the blood that was definitely rushing to his face. "How was the training anyway? Did you manage to comprehend one with the glaive?" Lance asked, attempting to save Killian from further embarrassment. "Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, I was lucky enough to make the breakthrough yesterday." Ace answered. Alissa, who was the most well-informed member of their group, stared at Ace incredulously. She knew just how impressive such a feat would be for a teenage genius, let alone a child as young as them. "Freak!" Was all she could say in the end. "Thanks¡­ I think." Ace shrugged. "Where''s Mr Wukong anyway?" Milianna asked, not understanding the importance of such an achievement. "He had to return to the pavilion to see our master, so I agreed to pick you guys up in his place," Lauriella answered, calmly omitting the truth, having already been told by Ace that no one knew where they were going or what they were planning to do. "It should take us a little over two weeks to arrive at the pavilion; by that time, little Kong should be there waiting for you. So, unless you have anything left to do here, we can get going." "No, we''re all ready to go," Lance replied before Lauriella led them back to Elise. "Erm, excuse me," Alan, who had been completely quiet, despite being completely ignored in his own city, called out. "Aren''t you forgetting your carriage and your cloud wolves?" "It''s fine. You can keep it as a thank you for taking care of our friends." Lauriella replied without a second thought as she signalled for Elise to set off. Despite Elise flying slower than ever, Lance still had to wrap his arms around Milianna to keep her steady, but other than that, given that the others were all warriors of at least the second rank, no one struggled with the turbulence. Their journey from that point on was pretty uneventful. Whenever they came to a stop, the four children would all complete their warrior training as a group, each of whom looked to Ace as their target. Ace would then go hunting for magical beasts of the fourth rank to further hone his glaivesmanship, something that he enjoyed more and more with each battle. When back in the air, whilst the others focused on their mage training, instead of practicing his [observation] like usual, Ace continued practicing with the glaive. Ace had always loved a good battle in his previous life, but he had never put that much effort into actually training, but he had to admit he had been missing out. The feeling of becoming stronger was genuinely addictive. When he first began to train on Elise''s back, the others had been worried he''d fall off, but after observing, they noticed the ease with which he retained his balance, and then they noticed the elegance of his techniques. Even the likes of Milianna and Killian, who didn''t really understand the meaning of becoming one with a weapon, noticed the visible improvement in Ace''s technique from before he went on his training trip with Wukong. Whilst Milianna was happy for her little genius, Ace''s breakthrough lit a fire in Kil. It wasn''t that he wanted to compete with Ace, but he was scared that if Ace became too much stronger than him, then he would leave him behind. Killian''s desire to train and grow stronger was no weaker than Ace''s. Every day he would take his body way past its limits. It wasn''t just him. Both Alissa and Kannal felt similar. They were supposed to be about the same age, and yet the difference between them was so striking. That was especially true for Alissa, who was trained as an assassin and hailed as a prodigy by everyone around her. Even Lance began to train with renewed vigour, having been influenced by the kids. Despite knowing Milianna didn''t need or want him to be the most powerful man in the world, he still wanted to be a man who was worthy of her love. Lauriella watched all of this with a smile. She couldn''t have asked for a better group for her husband''s first batch of students. There was no doubt in her mind that each of them would go on to achieve great things in the future. In spite of the fact that each of them made the most of their time travelling to train, all of them were looking forward to finally arriving at the pavilion so they could start the next chapter of their lives, and after almost two weeks, they had finally arrived. In front of them was a giant mountain that reached all the way into the clouds. "Welcome to the Yin-Yang Mountain," Lauriella announced before she commanded Elise to take them to the bottom. "This is the end of the lift for you kids; you are to make it to the top on your own from here." "What about Aunt Milli?" Alissa asked whilst jumping off with Killian and the others, knowing that this wasn''t a climb that an ordinairy mortal would be able to complete. "This climb is only for you students to complete. Milianna and Lance will come up with me." Lauriella explained. "Don''t worry, there are no magical beasts for you to worry about. All you have to do is climb to the top, where we''ll be waiting for you." "Is it possible for me to do the climb as well?" Lance asked, wanting to take advantage of every opportunity he could to progress as a warrior. "If you want to," Lauriella shrugged before commanding Elise to take off, not waiting for Ace and the others to ask any further questions. Book 2: Chapter 22 – Reaching The Peak "Well, I guess we better get going as well," Ace said as he and the others watched helplessly as Lauriella and Milianna rode on Elise to fly to the peak. Using some of the vines by the trees at the foot of the mountain, Ace strapped his glaive to his body so he could use both hands during his climb. "You guys ready?" Ace asked as he prepared to lead the way. "Kil? What''s wrong? Why aren''t you moving?" Killian was the only person who hadn''t moved since Lauriella left. He simply stood still with his eyes closed and his fists clenched. "I¡­ I don''t want to climb with you!" Killian said softly as if he feared how Ace would respond. "Huh? Did I do something wrong?" Ace asked whilst wondering how he offended the only person he considered a friend in this world. "It''s not that," Killian answered as he looked at the ground. "Then what''s wrong?" "Ever since we met, I feel like you''ve always been the one to carry me. Don''t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you''ve done for me, but if I keep following you like this, the distance between us will only get bigger." Killian explained as he looked his friend in the eyes. "I need to do this on my own to prove to myself that I''m not just dead weight." Ace didn''t know what to say at first. Since he decided to take Killian as his friend, he would never see Killian as dead weight, no matter what, but at the same time, he could also understand where Killian was coming from. Seeing the unyielding light in Killian''s eyes, he knew that all he could do was respect his friend''s decision. "I''ll see you at the top then, friend," Ace said encouragingly before turning to begin his ascent. Lance didn''t say a word during their exchange, but he couldn''t have been any more proud of the young orphan. Killian was one of the most talented children he''d ever seen. Not including Ace, Killian may well be the most talented youth from Wushan town, or at least equal to the two Baruch brothers. As much as he wanted Ace to excel, he didn''t want Killian to be relegated to Ace''s shadow, where he''d be forgotten. He wanted Killian to shine just as brightly in the future, but for that to happen, Killian needed to learn how to stand on his own two feet. He knew this was something Killian needed to figure out for himself, but he expected it to take years. "Good luck Kil," Lance said, patting the child on the shoulders before following behind Ace. With Lance and Ace''s encouragement, Killian, who had just been worrying about how his only friend would take his announcement, felt more determined than ever. Just as he was about to start his climb, he heard Alissa''s sweet voice enter his ears. "Do I have to go as well, or can I climb with you?" Turning his head to face the silver-haired girl, Killian merely shrugged as he also used the vines to strap his axe to his back. "Up to you." Alissa had tried everything to get closer to Killian, but he remained as indifferent as ever. He was never antagonistic towards her, but he never warmed to her either. Not the way he warmed to Ace, Milianna, and Lance anyway. ''Stinky, blind, simpleminded oaf.'' Milianna thought to herself as she frustratedly followed behind Killian. Kannal, who had watched everything silently like a fly on the wall, couldn''t help but smile wryly upon realising he appeared to be a mere side character in the group. . . . Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ace, who was the first to begin his climb, could only watch helplessly as the distance between him and Lance grew wider and wider. When Ace first saw Lance closing on him, he tried to climb faster so as not to be overtaken. He may have matured a lot over the last eight years, but his competitive side temporarily got the best of him. Unfortunately, the two-rank difference between them wasn''t just for show. Lance merely smirked as he quickly overtook his crush''s son. He knew he shouldn''t feel so proud for being faster than a child, but Ace was too much of an anomaly. He better than anyone understood that, it''d only be a few years before Ace surpassed him, so he wanted to enjoy these small wins as much as possible until then. After four hours of climbing, Ace had climbed over a kilometer and still couldn''t see the peak. After climbing for another couple of hours, he noticed another youth who appeared to be nine or ten climbing at a slow but steady pace. The boy had long black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of big black eyes that radiated pure darkness. Using his [Observation], Ace could tell that the boy wasn''t just an early rank two warrior but also a peak rank one Mage. ''This Yin-Yang Pavilion really does only recruit the best of the best, don''t they?'' Ace thought to himself as he passed the youth, who merely gave him an indifferent glance before focusing back on his own climb. After passing the dark-haired youth, Ace only climbed for another half an hour before reaching a path leading to the peak that seemed to coil around the mountain. Though he''d been climbing for almost seven hours, Ace was nowhere near his limits. As soon as he reached the path, he immediately started running at a fast but steady pace. But after only 10 minutes, Ace''s brows furrowed slightly. It was only slight at first, but the further he ran, the heavier his body became. ''Is the gravity increasing?'' He wondered. ''They really aren''t trying to make this easy for us, are they?'' Though it sounded like a complaint, a grin suffused his lips as he relished the challenge. After another 90 minutes, Ace was forced to slow to a brisk walk under the ever-increasing gravity. Three hours later, Ace''s body was drenched in sweat, and he was walking extremely slowly, but he sighed in relief when he noticed that the peak was only a few hundred meters away where a burly brown-haired man with a thick ¨C almost Nordic ¨C beard was sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Ace guessed that he was another of the instructors at the Pavilion and the increase in gravity was his doing, but with his current fatigue, all he cared about was completing the climb. His whole body felt like lead, yet he continued to drag himself forward one step at a time. It took 15 whole minutes to walk a mere 200 meters, which only went to show just how intense the gravity was, but as soon as he passed the bearded instructor, the gravity disappeared. There were over a dozen people watching as Ace collapsed on the ground, but all of them were taken aback as Ace suddenly roared with laughter. It was only when a familiar voice entered his ears that he stopped. "What are you laughing at, brat?" Turning his head slightly, Ace saw Wukong, who thankfully looked to be completely recovered from the terrible burns he had suffered a few weeks ago. "I just became a late rank two warrior," Ace proudly declared. "Ooh, and you owe me a gift seeing as I won our bet." "After almost two weeks apart, the first thing you try to do after all this time is fleece this king?" Wukong asked disdainfully. "Where are your manners, you snot-nosed brat?!" "I would''ve asked you two weeks ago, but you decided you''d rather take a nap than pay up." Ace quickly retorted. "Who was taking a nap, you little shit? Come here!" Wukong said as he picked Ace up from the floor and put him in a headlock. "Ow! Do you mind?" Ace shouted, his body too fatigued to fight back ¨C not that he would be able to even if he was at his best. "No, this king doesn''t mind!" Wukong snorted as he delivered Ace a noogie. "I''m sorry about little Kong; he still hasn''t finished maturing mentally," Lauriella said helplessly to Milianna. But Milianna didn''t seem to mind her son being manhandled in the slightest. In fact, it brought her no small joy knowing how close Ace and Wukong had gotten. Whilst Lauriella was accompanying Milianna and Lance, Mathias was floating in the skies above the mountain, and beside him was a giant phoenix that was coated in black flames carrying two people on its back. On the left was a noticeably tall and fair-skinned woman with long silky blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and broad yet feminine shoulders. She wore a tight-fitted armoured silver corset that showed off her bust and curves, a white leather skirt and a pair of katanas strapped to her back. Beside her was a tall, dark-skinned man with light brown eyes that looked almost golden under the light of the sun. He had long dreadlocks elegantly tied in a ponytail, wore a plain white robe that swayed gently in the wind and had what appeared to be a glaive split into two parts strapped to his back. "So that''s the boy you mentioned?" The blonde woman asked. "That''s him, master," Mathias answered politely. "According to Kong, he has no affinity to any of the seven laws." "You should know better than anyone; that doesn''t mean he has no affinities at all," Arianna said calmly. "I know, but even if it turns out he doesn''t hold any affinity to the four edicts either, his talent as a warrior still makes him a worthy student for the pavilion," Mathias added. "An eight-year-old at the late stage of the second rank is impressive but not unheard of. But if you add his bloodline ability and the fact that he''s comprehended one with the glaive¡­ Little Kong was right; he may well be the most talented child I''ve ever come across." Arianna said. "What about you, Aiden? What do you think of him?" "Me? I''m just looking forward to seeing him in action." The dark-skinned man said with a hint of a smile as he looked down at Ace bickering with Wukong. Book 2: Chapter 23 – Welcome To The Yin-Yang Pavilion It was only when Wukong finally let him go that Ace finally got the chance to look around. Other than his mother, Lance, Wukong, and Lauriella, he didn''t recognise anyone else. "That man over there is this king''s 3rd brother ¨C Lazerim Penay. He''s also the pavilion''s mage instructor." Wukong explained, pointing towards the bearded man sitting cross-legged by the finish line Ace passed not long ago. "And that woman standing beside your mother and Lauriella is our 4th sister ¨C Kimika Lilt. She''s the pavilion''s warrior instructor." Wukong explained as he pointed to a strawberry-blonde-haired woman. "Ooh right, she''s also Venerin''s wife." "And I''m guessing the other kids are my future classmates," Ace said as he scanned each of them with his [Observation]. He had to admit that each of them was the absolute cream of the crop in terms of talent, but there were two that really caught his attention. The first was an obese brown-haired boy wearing a brown robe. He already knew from Venerin''s explanation that each student admitted had to be both a warrior and a mage, so when he realised that the boy had no warrior cultivation at all, his surprise wasn''t hard to understand. Still, when he realised his mage cultivation, things became clear. ''Early-stage of the third rank?!'' Ace mentally shouted in shock. It had to be remembered that cultivation as a mage tended to be slower than for warriors, so for this overweight youth to be a third-rank mage was nothing short of monstrous. The only thing that Ace still didn''t understand was how such a child could''ve made it up the mountain, as his magic wouldn''t have assisted him in any way. Forget hiking under the increased gravity; just the climb should''ve been impossible for him, and yet not only was he here, but he was the only one of the children who didn''t seem to be even the slightest bit tired. ''He must''ve been exempt from it.'' Ace thought to himself as he studied the spherical body of the boy in question. The other person who caught Ace''s attention was a young light-skinned girl with captivating golden eyes and long curly black hair that reached the small of her back. She wore a set of white leather armour, and sheathed on both hips were a pair of katanas. Like all the other children present, she too was an incredible talent being both an early-stage second-rank warrior and mage, but that wasn''t what caught Ace''s eyes. The truth was, the moment he and her locked eyes, Ace felt his heart race as if it was trying to escape his chest, and at that moment, no one else existed but her. Judging by the furious blush on her face, it appeared she felt the same way. Unfortunately, they weren''t alone. All the adults noticed the notice the change in the two children. Most just smirked knowingly. Even Milianna smiled sweetly at Ace''s reaction. Even though Ace was a bit young for such things, she never treated Ace like a normal child. "What''s wrong, brat? You see something you like?" Wukong asked teasingly. "What? No!" Ace snapped back when he broke out of his trance. "You sure?" Wukong chuckled. "If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you had a little crush¡­" "No! Shut up!" Ace barked as his face grew redder by the second. "How could I have a crush on a little kid?!" As soon as his words escaped his mouth, the girl''s eyes seemed to frost over as she icily glared at Ace, causing him to gulp nervously. Although it sounded offensive when speaking about a girl who appeared to be no younger than he was, it had to be remembered that despite him having a physical age of 8, he had a mental age of almost 30. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. When he said what he said, he may have mainly been responding to Wukong, but there was a small part of him that was talking to himself. The same girl who made his heart stir was young enough to be his daughter, mentally at least. He didn''t know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to go over and apologise, but before he could, Wukong''s cheerful voice entered his ears. "Haha, I think you angered her. I guess your talents start and stop with fighting." Wukong said, taking no small amount of pleasure from Ace''s misfortune. "Ooh right, I should probably tell you, that girl is Amira Rohault. She was the only person from this batch personally recruited by my master." Thinking about the five monsters Arianna took as disciples, Ace could imagine the ridiculous standards she had, and for some reason, he didn''t feel like they had suddenly lowered. "Tch, whatever," Ace replied, pretending he didn''t care after sneaking one final glance at the frosty-eyed girl who made his heart move. Seeing that, Wukong smirked but ultimately said nothing further. Ace proceeded to lie back down in an attempt to clear his mind and recover his energy as much as possible. Even though he had no idea what was still to come, he understood that the pavilion still had activities in store for them. Almost two hours later, Ace watched as the dark-haired boy he passed whilst climbing the mountain stumbled across the finish line in a sorry state. He took a few minutes to catch his breath before dragging his fatigued body over to a secluded part of the mountaintop giving each person no more than a casual glance. It''d been a total of 16 hours since Lauriella dropped Ace and his group at the base of the mountain when Killian finally made it to the finish line. He had barely passed instructor Lazerim when his body gave in, but before he could collapse, he found himself being propped up by a small but familiar frame. "I did it," Killian said with pure pride. "I really did it!" "I knew you would," Ace said with a smile that radiated pride no less than Killian''s. Killian stayed conscious just long enough to flash a happy smile before falling asleep in Ace''s arms. Thankfully, Ace had been resting for almost five hours by that point, so he had recovered more than enough energy to carry his friend''s body over to Lance and his mother''s side. The next to come in was Alissa, who seemed intent on ignoring her fatigue as she stormed straight over to Ace and the others under the watchful eyes of her future classmates and instructors. "Stinky, foolish, oaf!" Alissa snorted as she gave the foot of Killian''s unconscious body a boot before she, too, collapsed on the ground. Everyone present watched in confusion, not knowing what Alissa''s problem was. It was only Ace and his group who had seen Alissa''s feelings develop over the last five months, who were able to vaguely guess what annoyed her. She had wanted to spend their time climbing together to grow closer, but Killian was a bit of a blockhead when it came to social interactions, so whilst she tried to stay close to him, Killian focused solely on his climb. Though in a fight, Alissa was undoubtedly superior. When it came to an event like this which relied more on raw power and determination, Killian was in his element. As soon as they made it to the gravity-induced hike, Killua gradually left her further and further behind. "You really are both as bad as each other when it comes to women," Wukong teased, eliciting a laugh from Lance and the others. Even Milianna couldn''t help but chuckle in amusement at her boy''s problems with the fairer sex. "Shut up!" Ace barked back at his recruiter. "It''s not my fault girls are such complicated creatures." As soon as his voice waned, he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Turning to face the direction of the threat, he saw Amira glaring at him threateningly, almost as if she was daring him to repeat his words. "Hahaha, yup, terrible with women indeed!" Wukong declared when he saw the sweat dripping down the side of Ace''s face. "Would you get lost already?!" Ace said, turning his frustration to his recruiter, causing Wukong to keel over in laughter at the boy''s plight. "Tch! Do what you want!" Ace snorted, no longer paying the man any more attention. After nearly 22 hours, Kannal was the last to arrive. Though it was to be expected, seeing as other than the fat child with no warrior cultivation to speak of, Kannal was the only child still in the first rank. He was barely conscious as his body crossed the finish line, but he kept mumbling the same thing under his breath with each step. Every time each of his feet hit the ground, he would mutter his sister''s name as though it was a mantra for him to draw strength from. Even after crossing the line, Kannal kept walking in his dazed state, clearly not realising he had finished. It was only after Kimika appeared in front of him that he stopped. "Did¡­ Did I complete it?" Kannal asked with the last of his strength. "You did it," Kimika replied softly, taking the boy in her arms as he lost consciousness. Another few hours were given to allow the students to rest a bit more, but Ace was starting to get restless and more than that¡­ "I''m starving! What are we doing next?" Ace asked impatiently. As if to answer his question, it was right then that Mathias slowly floated down from the skies. Despite not doing anything in particular, as soon as he became visible, everyone turned to face him. Even those who were asleep simultaneously awoke. It was a "Congratulations on completing the little welcome hike," Mathias said with an amiable smile on his face. "But most importantly, as the headmaster, I''d like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Yin-Yang Pavilion." Book 2: Chapter 24 – Talent Test As he spoke, each of the kids hung on his every word. For many of them, he was the first saint they''d ever seen, and even if they had seen others, it wasn''t very often. Saints were exceedingly rare. "The next thing we''re going to do is the talent test. Now I know each of you has already done this, but our test is a little more in-depth," Mathias said as he landed in the centre of the mountaintop, calmly projecting his voice into the ears of each of them. "Martial Uncle Aiden, if you please." As he said that, the children watched in awe as a tall, dark-skinned man walked through the air as if the air beneath his feet was solid. Ace immediately activated his [Observation], only to be left dumbfounded by his discovery. ''He has no mageforce either?'' Ace discovered rather shockingly. ''He''s just an ordinairy peak ninth rank warrior?!'' Seeing him walk through the air, Ace assumed that, like Mathias, he too was a saint, and like the other powerhouses present, he too was a powerful mage and warrior, but he couldn''t have been more wrong. The more Ace studied the man in the sky, the more shocked he became. ''Is he¡­ I didn''t know impose could be used like that.'' Ace thought to himself as he noticed Aiden using impose to compress the space under his feet until it was essentially a solid he could walk on. ''Just who is this man?'' Sensing Ace''s [Observation], Aiden glanced lightly at the boy, flashing a telling smile, making him realise he''d just been caught. Ace already knew that his [Observation] could be sensed by those with a stronger spirit than his own after a discussion with Wukong. It was why he hadn''t used it to take a closer look at the two instructors earlier, but Aiden''s ability to walk on the sky was simply too mesmerising. Still, Ace simply dispersed his haki and pretended nothing had happened. "This is my martial uncle, Aiden Rohault ¨C you can think of him as a guest elder of the Pavilion," Mathias explained as Aiden took his position by Mathias'' side. "Momentarily, I''ll call you up one by one, and when Martial Uncle puts his hand on your head, he''ll channel some of his spiritual essence into you, allowing him to accurately determine your age, cultivation, spiritual essence, and affinities. First up, Kannal Meiron." Kannal, who still seemed pretty exhausted from his earlier climb, slowly walked to the centre. His nerves were obvious for all to see. After all, he was in front of what he thought to be two all-powerful saints. "It''s alright, we don''t bite," Mathias said smilingly, hoping to put his nerves at ease. As soon as Kannal was in front of them, Aiden calmly put his palm on the boy''s forehead before almost immediately announcing the results. "Kannal Meiron: Age ¨C Seven Warrior Cultivation ¨C Late Rank one Mage Cultivation ¨C Not Applicable Spiritual Essence: 24x above average ¨C Rare Elemental Affinity: Wind ¨C Exceptional" All Ace knew about Kannal''s talent was what Venerin had said, but he had to admit, Venerin wasn''t lying. He truly was very talented. Next up was the cold dark-haired boy Ace had passed on the climb. Like before, Aiden wasted no time in announcing the results. "Osiris Leyran: Age ¨C Nine Warrior Cultivation ¨C Early Rank Two Mage Cultivation ¨C Late Rank One Spiritual Essence: 29x above average ¨C Rare Elemental Affinity: Darkness ¨C Exceptional" ''This really is the gathering place of the elites.'' Ace sighed to himself as he watched the boy return to his position as indifferent as ever. One by one, each child was called up, and each result was more impressive than the last. What really caught Ace by surprise, though, was Killian''s results. "Killian: Age ¨C Nine Warrior Cultivation ¨C Early Rank Two The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mage Cultivation ¨C Mid-Rank One Spiritual Essence: 45x above average ¨C Rare Elemental Affinities: Earth ¨C Exceptional Lightning ¨C High Edict of Destruction ¨C Exceptional." Over the last half a year or so, Killian had trained his socks off, and it clearly showed. Not only had he made breakthroughs as both a warrior and a mage, but his spiritual essence had also increased substantially, going from 41 to 45x above average, but what surprised him wasn''t the improvements but the results for his elemental affinities. Whether it was the children or the adults, everyone looked at Killian in shock. "Edict of Destruction? What''s that?" Ace asked, turning to Wukong, who also raised an eyebrow at the boy. "As you know, there are seven profound laws, but aside from them, there are still the four higher laws referred to as the four edicts," Wukong explained slowly. "Life, Death, Fate and, of course, Destruction." "How do they compare to the ordinairy elements?" Ace asked curiously. "There''s no definitive difference in raw power between them and the seven laws, but individuals with an affinity to any of the four edicts are far rarer, making their abilities a lot more mysterious," Wukong answered when the corners of his mouth crept up slightly. "Looks like first brother won''t be able to sit still this time." "Huh, what do you mean?" Ace asked, not following Wukong''s meaning. "Killian, how would you like to be my disciple?" Mathias asked in anticipation. His question catching most of those present by surprise, Killian included. "Ahh, excuse my excitement. I was getting ahead of myself," Mathias said apologetically. "You need to understand, though rare, having an affinity to any of the four edicts is a double-edged sword. Its rarity makes it hard to counter, but it also makes it harder to progress as there aren''t many with the affinity to learn from. But seeing as I''m also a mage of the edict of destruction, I''m in a unique position to train you in the ways of destruction." Mathias eagerly explained. Bar Ace, Alissa, and Amira, all the other youths watching, had to forcibly reign in their envy. The idea of becoming the disciple of a lofty saint was a dream come true for virtually every child in the Yulan Plane, so seeing their dream being lived out by another child undoubtedly stung, but Killian turned to Ace for help, not knowing what he should do. "What are you waiting for?" Ace shouted. "You want to grow stronger faster, don''t you? Well, who better to train you than a powerful saint?" ''That''s right!'' Killian acknowledged as he regained his composure. ''If I want to keep up with Ace, then my best shot is taking this man as my master.'' "Killian greets master," Killian said as he knelt down respectfully. "Hahaha, excellent!" Mathias exclaimed. "You may stand. There''s no need to stand on ceremony around me. After all, a master for a day, a father for life." "Father?" Killian subconsciously said aloud. Kil was born an orphan, so for the first six years of his life, the concept of family was lost on him. It was only after meeting Ace, Milianna, and Lance that he began to understand what the love of a family felt like. So when he heard Mathias'' words, it instantly struck a chord within. "That''s right, haha. But don''t worry about it for now. We can talk properly later. Right now, we need to carry on with the tests." As the people who''d known him for the longest time, it wasn''t hard for Ace, Lance, and Milianna to understand the thoughts going through his mind as he walked blankly back towards them. "Congratulations, Kil!" Ace said sincerely. "You deserve it!" Lance added "We''re so happy for you!" Milianna said as she lovingly rubbed his curly hair. "Thank you," Killian softly replied, as a warm smile suffused his thick bow-shaped lips. At that moment, Killian''s heart had never felt so full. It was a feeling he hoped never went away. Whilst Killian was embracing the warmth enveloping his heart, Mathias and Aiden carried on with the testing. It was then he learnt precisely why it was that the fat youth was accepted. "Julius Holorma: Age ¨C 9 Warrior Cultivation ¨C Not Applicable Mage Cultivation ¨C Early Rank Three Spiritual Essence: 77x above average ¨C Exceptional Elemental Affinities: Fire ¨C Exceptional Fate ¨C Exceptional" Though he had no warrior cultivation, whether it was his exceptional spiritual essence or his affinity to the edict of fate, his results were no less impressive than Killian''s. "Don''t any of you want to choose me to be your disciple?" Julius asked shamelessly as his beady eyes scanned each of the instructors. "You can be my disciple." Lauriella declared. "If you promise to start training as a warrior as well." Hesitation flashed across the boy''s perfectly spherical face before a helpless sigh escaped his lips. "Forget it. It''s not worth ruining my god-like physique with your silly exercise." An amused smile appeared on Ace''s face as he watched Julius waddle back to his spot, whistling as though nothing had happened. The next couple didn''t really capture Ace''s attention. It wasn''t until the second to last name youth''s results were announced that Ace suddenly perked up. "Amira Rohault: Age ¨C 8 Warrior Cultivation ¨C Early Rank Two Mage Cultivation ¨C Early Rank Two Spiritual Essence: 91x above average ¨C Exceptional Elemental Affinities: Wind ¨C Exceptional Light ¨C Exceptional" Her elemental affinities were impressive, but the most shocking thing about her was her cultivation and spiritual essence. Aside from his own, Amira had the highest spiritual essence of anyone else he''d seen at their age. If that wasn''t impressive enough, despite being the same age as him, she was a rank two mage and warrior. ''It''s no wonder she managed to catch Wukong''s master''s eye.'' Ace thought to himself as he stared at her as if he were unable to take his eyes off her. Amira also glanced his way, but only for a second before snorting and turning away, making Ace smile wryly, not realising she looked away to hide her blush. "Oii brat. Would you stop focusing on your crush and pay attention?!" Wukong teased loud enough for the others to hear. "Huh? Ooh, right, my bad!" Ace said hurriedly as his face heated up, realising he hadn''t even heard his name called. Mathias and Aiden both smirked, seeing the rosiness of Ace''s cheeks, understanding it had nothing to do with him running over to them. Still, neither said anything. Aiden simply put his hands atop Ace''s head exactly as he had with the other children before him, but unlike with the others, he didn''t move it immediately. In fact, as time passed, Aiden''s brows furrowed more and more. "Is everything alright?" Ace asked, looking up at the man before him. Aiden didn''t respond immediately, but when he did, he replied with a question directed towards Ace''s mother. "Milianna, was it? Do you mind if I perform a quick scan of you as well?" Book 2: Chapter 25 – Come! "What? Why do you need to check my mother?" Ace asked defensively as he backed away slightly. Even Mathias looked at Aiden in confusion, not understanding what this Martial Uncle of his was thinking. As he was backing away, Ace''s eyes suddenly bulged in shock as he heard Aiden''s voice directly enter his mind. "Calm down, kid. I promise I have no evil intentions. It''s just that your soul is very¡­ Unique! I want to compare it to your mother''s to see if this odd mutation is a result of your unique bloodline or if it''s something completely unique to you." Ace wasn''t surprised that Aiden knew about his and his mother''s bloodline abilities; Wukong had obviously been the one to tell him. What shocked him was the fact that this rank-nine warrior had the ability to speak to him telepathically. ''Is that a bloodline ability as well?'' Ace wondered as he looked incredulously at the man. "Ace, is everything alright?" Milianna called out worriedly as she prepared to step forward, only to promptly be put behind Lance. Lance knew he wasn''t a match for any of the adults here today, but he''d die before he let anything happen to Milianna. Even Killian reached for his axe upon feeling the rising tension. He may have been happy to take Mathias as his master, but in his heart, there was no one as important to him as Ace and Milianna. They were and always will be the closest thing to family he has. Like Lance, he wouldn''t hesitate for a second to give his life for theirs. Mathias watched his new disciple glare at him threateningly with a helpless smile before turning to face the man who caused the misunderstanding with an almost pleading expression. However, Aiden didn''t even look at his wife''s disciple. Instead, his eyes remained trained on the boy in front of him with a carefree smile, patiently waiting for him to make his decision. Ace didn''t reply immediately, his mind was still spinning. After getting over Aiden''s telepathic abilities, his mind focused on the actual content of his words. ''He said my soul was unique? Could he be right? Could it be because of my bloodline, or is it because of my reincarnation? Could that be the reason behind my lack of affinities?'' He knew that if it was truly because of his reincarnation, then seeing as that was his most closely guarded secret, he never should''ve allowed a stranger to get so close to his soul in the first place. Alas, he didn''t know much about the soul at all. It simply never crossed his mind that his secret could be found out like this. But there was no use crying over spilt milk. All he can do now is move forward, and this could be a way for him to finally get some answers. Even though he hadn''t let it show, his lack of affinities had definitely bothered him. When he first heard about the path of mages, he both hoped and assumed he would have a strong fire affinity due to him being the user of the fire devil fruit in his last life. Then when he heard that he couldn''t even become a saint without an affinity¡­ He''d be lying if he said he wasn''t affected, but he refused to believe there wasn''t a fix. This world was so big, and he still knew so little about it. As far as he was concerned, there was definitely a solution; he just had to find it. "It''s okay, mom. He just wants to see if my talent was inherited from you." Ace explained calmly. As he turned around, he was slightly surprised to see Lance and Killian''s tense expressions, but after everything they had already been through together, it was understandable. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As Milianna came forward, Lance and Killian accompanied her on either side like loyal guards. Something that made the mother and son pair smile helplessly. A warm feeling rose within, but he still turned back to Mathias and Aiden with an apologetic smile. Wukong and the others watched this scene with an amused smile, but no one said anything. Ultimately, they were more interested in what Aiden had to say reference Ace and Milianna. "Ooh, how interesting," Aiden said in surprise. "What is it? Is something wrong with my mom?" Ace asked hurriedly. "No, nothing. It''s just that your mom is quite the talent herself." Aiden said, catching everyone by surprise. "Milianna, was it? Age ¨C 24 Warrior Cultivation ¨C Rankless Mage Cultivation ¨C Rankless Spiritual Essence: 80x above average ¨C Exceptional Elemental Affinities: Light ¨C Poor Life ¨C Exceptional. You also have one of the purest souls I''ve ever seen. If it weren''t because you were about ten years too old, your talents would be enough to earn you a spot here in the Pavilion." Every single person was shocked by that announcement. Her talent as a mage wasn''t too inferior to Julius''. Especially as she also had an exceptional affinity to one of the four edicts. Wukong had just said how rare they were, and yet there were four people, including Mathias, with an affinity to an edict. Whilst everyone else was shocked by her talent, Milianna was still concerned about her son''s results. "Is there something wrong with Ace?" She asked when she realised the man still hadn''t announced Ace''s. "Huh? Ooh, no, there''s nothing wrong with your son." Aiden answered honestly. "Ace: Age ¨C 8 Warrior Cultivation ¨C Mid-Rank Two Mage Cultivation ¨C Rankless Spiritual Essence: Over 100x above average ¨C Perfect Elemental Affinity ¨C None." As his words came out, the other kids looked at Ace like he was a freak of nature. With a spiritual essence 100x above average, he really was a freak of nature. But when they registered his spiritual affinity, their looks turned into ones of either pity or gloating. Ace didn''t seem to notice their looks as he continued to stare at the dark-skinned warrior as if he was waiting for him to continue. It was then, though, that Aiden''s voice re-entered his mind. "If you finish first in the next round, I''ll tell you what you want to know." Ace was just about to ask what he meant when Mathias stepped forward. "So that concludes the testing. As you can all now see, in terms of talent, each and every one of you are among the best of the very best. We here at the Yin-Yang Pavilion believe in quality over quantity, but that talent is meaningless if it doesn''t translate into actual combat ability. So we''re going to play a little game of King of the ring to see who the strongest student amongst the first years is." Mathias announced immediately, getting the attention of each student. "The rules are simple. Whoever fancies themselves the strongest can enter the ring. They will then be challenged one at a time by their fellow classmates, and from there it becomes winner stays on. Each student only has one opportunity to challenge, so make it count. The winner will receive 100 contribution points up front and 10 points a month for every month they remain undefeated. You should know, contribution points can be used to redeem anything from magic spells of every element for every rank to warrior techniques to one-to-one training from myself or any of the other instructors of the pavilion." As his voice waned, Lazerim, who''d just been chanting silently to himself, raised his palms, and a 20x20 meter ring suddenly rose from under his feet. "Now I know each of you is tired from your climb earlier, so to allow you to perform at your best, we''ve prepared a portion of essence milk for each of you," Mathias explained as he summoned one metal flask after another and began throwing them to each of the students to catch. "For those of you who don''t know, essence milk is a liquid drained from Stalactites that are rich in natural essence. The older the stalactite, the more profound the effects. Unfortunately, yours were drained from 10-year-old stalactites, which are still pretty much as young as you can get. Though it won''t have any drastic effects, it''ll still heal you of any fatigue and minor wounds you may have." Opening the flask, Ace saw an almost glistening white liquid with an incredible aroma. He didn''t hesitate for even a second before draining the flask of every drop. His eyes widened as he felt his hunger and aches vanish just like that, but when he remembered Aiden''s last words to him, he glanced at the man one more time. Feeling Ace''s stare, Aiden smiled lightly and shrugged indifferently before proceeding to ignore him. ''Fine, if I need to become king of the ring to get the answers I want, then I''ll end this quickly.'' Before anyone could react, Ace used [Soru] to appear in the centre of the ring as he removed his weapon from his back. Holding the cold hard shaft of his glaive in his hands, his dark eyes scanned each of his classmates as a confident grin suffused his lips. "Come!" Book 2: Chapter 26 – Brazen Disciple When the other kids saw Ace on stage acting so cockily, they couldn''t help but feel as though their pride was being provoked. They may''ve been young, but each of them was intelligent to realise that the sooner you went up, the more difficult it would be for you to win in the long run. For Ace, who, despite not being a mage, was still one of the favourites, to go up first¡­ It was clear he was looking down on them. Ace didn''t know what his classmates were thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn''t care. Part of the reason he went up first was definitely because of Aiden''s instigation, but more than that, after watching their respective tests, Ace had begun to feel itchy. These were the very best of the best of his generation. He wanted to know exactly how strong they were and how they compared to him. "I know he''s strong, but to go up first¡­ What exactly is this boy thinking?" Kimika asked as she and the other members of staff gathered around Mathias and Aiden. "It''s smart if you think about it," Lazerim replied as he looked towards Ace. "Since Ace went on stage first, it''s the others who have to challenge him. So even if he loses, he can still challenge again later on." "Kong, you know him best. How do you think he''ll do?" Lauriella asked. "That depends on Ace," Kong replied. "As long as he goes all out, there''s no way he can lose." "I know he''s someone you recruited, but you could at least pretend not to be so biased," Kimika replied with an eye roll at her junior brother''s words. "This king''s not being biased," Wukong shrugged. "That brat really is a little monster in human form." Kimika and Lazerim, who didn''t know much about Ace, eyes widened when they heard Wukong''s response. This youngest brother of theirs was the biggest talent any of them had ever seen, so for him to say what he did about Ace, they couldn''t help but look at Ace in a new light. "Looks like we won''t have to wait much longer to see who comes out on top," Mathias said slowly. "It''s about to begin," Surprisingly, the first challenger to go up was Kannal. Seeing as he was not only the youngest but also the weakest, most expected him to stay out of this altogether, but he didn''t care. As he mounted the stage, Kannal''s eyes were filled with resolve as he stared at Ace. "I know I can''t win," Kannal readily admitted. "But I want to see just how big the difference between us is." Ace watched his opponent unsheathe his sword with a smile. Kannal may not be able to see it, but Ace could. Ace could see a hint of Hysode''s shadow when he looked at her little brother, and it had nothing to do with their physical resemblance. Instead, it was that same resolve. Though Kannal''s was still immature, Ace had no doubts in his mind, he would grow to be a fine warrior in the future. Unfortunately, that day was extremely far away. Kannal wielded his small Liuyedao in a similar style to both Hysode and Venerin, but unlike theirs, which was virtually flawless in Ace''s eyes, Kannal''s was full of holes. Ace could go easy on the young swordsman in an attempt to spare his feelings, but he respected Kannal too much for that. As soon as he entered his range, Ace seemed to transform into a blur in Kannal''s eyes. Then, before he knew what happened, he felt a stinging pain in his right hand only to find that his sword had been slapped out of his palm and the tip of his opponent''s glaive was pointed at his neck. Kannal looked at his palm, then at his sword. Many expected him to react poorly after suffering such a devastating loss, but Kannal seemed intent on impressing everyone at every turn. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I still have a lot to learn," He sighed to himself softly before looking back up at Ace with clear eyes. "Thank you." Ace merely smiled, but before he could respond, both boys were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Kimika. The elegant blonde merely nodded politely at Ace before turning to Kannal. "Do you know who I am?" "Of course!" Kannal hurriedly replied whilst bowing politely. "Kannal greets Madam Silverlight." "No need for all that," Kimika said dismissively as she gently raised the boy''s shoulders. "My husband told me that you were extremely talented, but he never mentioned anything about your willpower or character. I have to say, I, along with all the instructors, have been thoroughly impressed. That brings me to my next question. Kannal Meiron, how would you like to become my discip-" "Kannal greets master!" Kannal said as he excitedly dropped to his knees before his now master could even finish her sentence. "Haha, I already told you there''s no need to act so politely with me," Kimika said with a gentle smile. "After the tournament ends, we can talk properly." "Yes, master," Kannal said as he excitedly got up. Ace could only smile helplessly as he watched his former opponent hurry to pick his fallen sword off and scurry off stage. Even though he won, it still ended up being the Kannal show. Still, Ace felt genuinely happy for him. The other kids all watched enviously. Two of them had been picked to be personal disciples now. All they could do was pray it would be them next. As their eyes fell back on Ace, many of them looked at him with a burning fire. If they performed well enough against him, they''d stand a better chance at being taken as a disciple. Though they all had the same idea, the fastest to react was a young girl who looked to be slightly older than Ace. She had short dark-brown hair styled in a bob cut and was surprisingly wide-framed for a female. Ace remembered from her test that her name was Faye Linwol. A nine-year-old mid-rank two warrior and a mid-rank one earth mage with a spiritual essence 23x times above average. She held a black spiked club over her shoulder as she walked on stage whilst softly chanting something that Ace didn''t quite understand, not that he needed to understand it to know she was preparing a spell. Suddenly, Faye jumped several meters in the air as she shouted, "[Earth Tremor]!" Despite knowing what she was doing, he still ended up being caught off guard by the spell as the ground started trembling under his feet. "No pleasantries before you try to slap my head off with that thing?" Ace asked as he saw her jump over the quaking floor, her club arcing through the air and aiming straight for the side of his head. "There are no pleasantries on the battlefield!" Faye roared with a fiendish grin. Though he''d barely stabilized his body after the ground stopped shaking, his grin was no less fiendish as his glaive shot through the air like a bullet to meet her club head-on. Because Ace didn''t know how many more battles he would fight after this, he didn''t become one with the glaive as it was draining mentally; he wasn''t even using his haki. As a result, both he and Faye took three steps back before regaining their footing, but as he finally stopped, his eyes suddenly widened. "[Earth Spike!]" Faye said with a smirk as a rocky spike suddenly shot out from the ground beneath her target''s feet. Ace wasn''t the only one shocked by her display. Everyone knew that chanting was usually a prerequisite before casting a spell. Furthermore, the average mage would only be able to insta-cast a spell two ranks below them, so for Faye, a rank one mage, to be able to insta-cast a rank one spell was nothing short of phenomenal. Lazerim, the only earth mage of the instructors, looked like a kid on Christmas when he saw that. Faye had no idea what anyone else was thinking about, the only thing on her mind was taking advantage of Ace''s shock. She knew that no matter how good a warrior Ace was, there was no way her sudden spell wouldn''t catch him off guard. Unfortunately, though she had succeeded in catching him off guard, she could only watch as his body suddenly disappeared from her field of view. It was only when she felt the cold, sharp steel of his glaive pressed against her neck did she realise she had actually lost. "Phew, that was close." Ace sighed in relief. "You almost had me with that one." "You¡­ You used a movement technique?" Faye asked in shock. Her surprise was understandable. Virtually all movement techniques were only useable in conjunction with battle qi; at least all of the ones she had heard of were. "I did," Ace said casually, as he calmly removed his glaive from her neck. Faye turned to get a good look at the boy who defeated her. "I admit I lost this time," She snorted unwillingly. "But I''ll crush you next time!" An amused smile appeared on his face as he replied, "I look forward to it." Faye had just jumped off stage when Lazerim approached her. He didn''t even get the chance to speak before Faye knelt down on one knee and respectfully/excitedly exclaimed, "Faye greets master Lazerim." Mathias and his juniors watched with amused smiles as their third brother was caught completely off guard as his would-be disciple beat him to the punch. Lazerim could only shake his head helplessly as he told his brazen disciple to wait till after the competition to speak properly. Book 2: Chapter 27 – Ace Reveals His Haki The remaining students who were yet to fight looked at Faye, then turned their attention back to Ace, their gazes burning with envy and desire, yet none stepped forward. It was obvious that they were all waiting for the others to make the next move. After all, the later you challenged, the better your chances were. However, Ace was completely unfazed as he confidently scanned each of them from the top of the stage, his eyes eventually stopping on Julius ¨C the highest-ranked combatant of all of them. "Don''t look at me," The overweight boy said as he raised his arms as though he were surrendering. "I don''t like fighting; I just like cooking and eating." His words left Ace speechless, but when Ace saw Lauriella''s frustrated expression, he understood, shocking as it may be, it was the truth. Next, Ace turned his attention to Osiris ¨C the indifferent dark-haired boy he passed on the climb up. "Not interested?" Osiris stated directly. "What? Why not?" Ace asked back. "Don''t tell me you''re a food-loving pacifist as well." Osiris glared at Ace as if he''d taken his words as an insult before snorting coldly. "I''m an archer." Though his words were few, Ace instantly understood what he was trying to say. Not only could Ace not see a bow or arrow on him, even if he did have them stored in the ring on his left middle finger, but a ring like this was also the worst arena possible for an archer, especially when going up against someone like Ace who could use a movement technique. Before Ace could respond, the indifferent immature voice of one of the other students sounded. "Yulana, you go." "Yes, young master," Yulana responded before elegantly jumping on stage. Ace calmly glanced at the boy who gave the order to fight him. He was a tall, blonde-haired boy with electric blue eyes named Joel Dawson. According to Aiden, he was a nine-year-old late-rank two warrior and early-rank two lightning mage with a spiritual essence 49x higher than average. Not only was he one of the oldest among the group, but he was also the highest in terms of realm when taking both his warrior and mage cultivation into account, minus Julius, the overweight pacifist. Turning his attention back to Yulana, he saw the brown-haired girl standing there, her crystal blue eyes looking at him with clear disdain. It wasn''t hard to understand her contempt. Judging by her lavish attire, she obviously came from a powerful force, but she also had impressive talent being a ten-year-old late rank two warrior and peak rank one mage with a spiritual essence 22x above average. "Everyone here is among the most talented children of this generation. Each and every one of us stands a good chance of becoming a saint in the future ¨C and then there''s you." Yulana vehemently mocked. "Honestly, I don''t know what the instructors were thinking making an exception for you when you have no elemental affinity." Her words were harsh, but in Ace''s mind, they were ravings of a little girl. Instead of replying, he simply strolled towards her. "What? Nothing to say?" Yulana said as she flipped her hand, summoning an azure whip made of what looked like barbed wire. "Fine, then take this!" The whip whistled through the air at a speed that most present couldn''t follow with their eyes, but Ace, who had immediately begun using his compressed [Observation] as soon she had summoned her whip, calmly evaded the strike with little effort, continuing his leisurely stroll towards her. Even when he heard her begin chanting, he didn''t speed up his approach. "¡­[Water Bullet]!" Yulana roared. A fist-sized tore through the air like a bullet aiming straight for his face, but Ace merely leant his head to the side, easily evading the ball of water. Ace had to admit, she was definitely the strongest of the opponents he''d faced so far today, but it didn''t matter. With his [Observation], he could easily follow each attack as if they were moving in slow motion, preventing them from even coming close to touching him. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The closer he got, the more frantic Yulana''s attacks became. She kept on edging away, but it didn''t seem to help. At some point, without her realising, her disdain had turned into fear. The way he walked towards her whilst casually dodging her attacks, Yulana felt like she was facing a monster. She went to take another step back when her foot touched nothing but air. She took a quick glance back only to realise that she was right at the edge of the arena. By the time she had turned back to face her opponent, Ace was right in front of her. "Do¡­ Don''t hurt me¡­" Yulana cried as Ace gave her a gentle tap making her fall on her rear just outside of the ring. "Hahaha, well pushed!" Faye roared with laughter. Yulana glared at the club-wielding girl only to be met with a louder laugh. Then, scanning the rest of the audience, she noticed that her fellow students were either indifferent or trying to hold back their laughter, and the instructors¡­ Forget taking her as a disciple; they didn''t so much as look her way. When she looked back towards the stage, she saw Ace calmly walking back to the centre of the stage, not paying her even the slightest bit of attention. Never in her life had she felt so embarrassed. She desperately wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole, unfortunately, she was destined to be disappointed. "Yulana, come back," Joel called as he began walking towards the ring. "I''ll take it from here." "Yes, young master," Yulana replied dejectedly. "I understand." "Let me guess. You''re here to avenge your girlfriend''s loss?" Ace asked lazily as he watched Joel step on stage. "I don''t actually have anything against you. In fact, even though it''s impossible for you to become a saint in the future, I admire your ability. As far as warriors go, you are among the most talented I''ve seen." The young master of the Dawson family said as he calmly unsheathed the sabre by his side. "Still, as my personal guard, Yulana is a reflection of me. By embarrassing her, you''ve embarrassed me. I advise you to step down now because I won''t be holdi-" "Stop with the pointless chitchat. Either jump off or fight!" Ace interrupted his next opponent, too lazy to listen to his arrogant rambling. After being interrupted, Joel''s eyes frosted over, but ultimately, he didn''t say anything further. Instead, he darted towards his opponent. Ace may have seemed leisurely from his attention, but as they could still sense his [Observation], they knew he wasn''t underestimating his opponent. Still, as their weapons met, Ace was the one on the losing side for the first time today. "It looks like he might struggle with this one," Lazerim said as he continued to watch the two boys clash. Though he knew Wukong''s bar in terms of talent was extremely high, and he would never make a claim like the one he made about Ace for no reason, they also knew that Joel Dawson wasn''t your average talent. The Dawson Conglomerate was one of the, if not the biggest and most powerful trading companies in the Yulan Plane. Although they weren''t a family who were particularly well known for their abilities with regards to the mage or warrior paths, their nigh-infinite wealth ensured their young never lacked for anything. So when a talent like Joel is born into a family like that, one could imagine the training he would''ve received from early. In fact, it was evident from his skill with the sabre. Each strike was fast, powerful, deadly, and accurate. Still, Wukong''s expression hadn''t faltered in the slightest as he watched Ace seemingly get dominated. "This Ace, he''s incredible!" Kimika said, her eyes glowing as she stared at the fight, refusing to even blink. "It may look like Joel is in control, but the truth is, Ace is the one controlling the flow of the battle." "Huh, what are you¡­" Lazerim said, stopping mid-sentence as he began to pay closer attention. He may be a better mage than warrior, but he was still a very talented warrior. As he focused more, he noticed that although Ace was the one dodging, blocking, and parrying most, it was Joel who was using the most energy. It was as though Ace could see each strike coming from a mile away, giving him enough time to use the least amount of energy to deal with Joel''s attacks. Not only that, but as time went on, Ace was finding it easier and easier. "Is he using his opponent as a whetstone to refine his glaivesmanship?" Lazerim asked in shock, to which all he got was a telling smirk from his junior brother. By now, Joel had just started to realise something was off. Whilst his breathing was getting heavier, Ace seemed just as calm as ever. He originally wanted to win the fight without using magic to prove himself superior in every way, but unfortunately, that didn''t seem possible anymore. As his blade clashed against the shaft of Ace''s glaive, Joel pointed his left index finger towards Ace''s shoulder. "[Piercing Bolt]!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, a bolt of lightning shot out of his finger. But Ace already had his [Observation] spread. It was impressive that Joel could insta-cast a rank one spell with the power of a rank two spell, but Ace could literally see the mageforce building around his finger. By the time he had fired it, Ace had already used [Soru] to dodge. "I have to admit, as far as warriors go, you really are the most talented I''ve ever seen," Joel said as electricity gathered around the palm of his hand. "To show my respects, I''ll stop holding back." As his voice waned, the lightning travelled across his sabre, creating a blade of flickering electricity. He didn''t know how Joel was able to do it, but just looking at the lightning-coated sabre, Ace knew that his glaive wouldn''t be able to go against it. Turning over his shoulder, he looked helplessly towards Wukong. Understanding the meaning behind Ace''s expression Wukong replied, "You don''t need to hide your abilities here; this is your home." Hearing that left Joel and most of the other students confused, but as they turned back towards Ace, they shockingly saw the blade of his glaive turn jet black. "What is that? Some sort of battle-qi?" Kimika asked in shock, having never seen or heard of anything like it in the past. "That?" Wukong asked with a smirk. "That''s his bloodline ability!" Book 2: Chapter 28 – Interesting "Bloodline Ability?!" Lazerim asked, no less shocked than any of the other children who overheard their conversation. The only people who weren''t shocked by Wukong''s declaration were Ace''s group, Aiden, Mathias, and Wukong. Hell, even Alissa, who''d been travelling alongside Ace for the better part of a year, was beyond shock by this new revelation. You have to understand, Bloodline abilities amongst humans were simply too rare. As far as most people knew, only the descendants of the four supreme warriors were blessed with bloodline abilities and even then, it was clear from the current state of the Baruch clan that their bloodlines were waning with each generation. "Mmh," Wukong nodded. "He calls it haki!" "It really is just one surprise after another with you, isn''t it?" Joel asked as he stared at the obsidian blade of his opponent''s polearm in disbelief. However, Ace had no intention of talking any longer. "[Soru]!" For the first time since their fight began, Ace finally took the initiative. Joel gritted his teeth as Ace suddenly appeared in front of him and unleashed an onslaught of attacks. He had assumed that when he began using his lightning to coat his blade, he would easily be able to dominate, but as Ace began to attack, no matter what he tried, Joel couldn''t find a way to break his flow. Even when insta-casting [Piercing Bolt], Ace managed to easily dodge without breaking his flow. If that wasn''t bad enough, Joel noticed small chips starting to form on his blade after each block. He knew if this continued, it wouldn''t be long before his weapon broke and he lost, and yet, despite knowing this, there didn''t seem to be anything he could do to stop the inevitable. Despite being the stronger of the two, Joel was being thoroughly suppressed. It was like Ace could read him like a book and perfectly counter his next move before he even finished making it. The longer it went on, the more mistakes Joel began to make, and Ace made sure to punish him for each one. Several cuts and gashes started to appear on Joel''s body, and even though it was just a practice match, Joel never showed any sign of giving up. Yulana watched her young master get dominated with clenched fists and red eyes. She knew that it was her fault he was forced to fight that monster so early. If she hadn''t insulted him, he likely wouldn''t have embarrassed her in the way he had, and yet, instead of holding herself accountable, she held Ace completely responsible. Unfortunately for her, Ace had no idea what she was thinking, nor would he care even if he did. All he wanted to do was finish this as soon as possible. Using his [Armament] for extended periods put quite the strain on his body, and he knew he still had more fights after this one. Then, as though Ace had a guardian angel looking out for him, his glaive finally cut his opponent''s sabre in two. Joel looked at the glaive resting mere millimetres away from his neck and then at his broken blade. He couldn''t believe he had lost. Not only was he older and at a higher realm, he had also resorted to breaking his vow and used magic, yet¡­ Ultimately, he didn''t say anything. Instead, he simply carried both halves of his broken sabre in his hands as he left the arena. Many were surprised by the fact that Joel wasn''t chosen to be a disciple, but Joel didn''t seem to care as he retook his place by Yulana, who appeared too scared to say anything. "The Dawson boy didn''t manage to pique your interest, Kong?" Kimika asked, turning to her Junior brother. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Whether it''s his talent as a warrior or mage, it''s first class," Lazerim added. "He even managed to insta-cast a rank one spell with the power of a rank two spell. Though it''s not quite the same as insta-casting a spell of your rank, it''s not much easier." "Not interested," Wukong outright rejected. "Until this king becomes a saint, this king refuses to take on a single disciple." Whilst the instructors were talking amongst themselves, Ace was eyeing his classmates, trying to figure out who was next. As his eyes fell on Killian, all he got was a simple thumbs-up and an encouraging smile. Though he didn''t say it, Ace understood that Kil had no intentions of fighting. "What about you?" Ace asked as he focused on Alissa, who was, as usual, right beside Killian. "Who wants to fight a freak like you?" The silver-haired girl snorted. Ace could only smile helplessly at that. Ever since she found out about his comprehending ''one with the glaive'', Alissa had taken to calling him a freak instead of his actual name. But before he could voice a reply, he noticed someone walking towards the stage from the corner of his eye. Upon realising who it was, a helpless smile appeared on his face, especially when he saw the cold glint in her eyes. She may not have been the strongest in terms of realm. Still, Amira Rohault was, without a doubt, the most talented person present, especially when considering her age, and warrior and mage cultivation. And for the simple fact that she was cherry-picked by Wukong''s mysterious master, Ace knew that she more than likely had the combat ability to back it up. Ace could hear the chuckling of Wukong and the other instructors, but he didn''t dare take his eyes off his approaching opponent. It was partly because he was scared of what she would do if he did, but it was also because he quite literally couldn''t. Despite being so much older than her mentally, there was something mesmerising about her. Just like the first time he laid eyes on her, his cheeks began to flush red, and his heart began to race. It was only when she was a mere meter away that he noticed a golden light coating her now outstretched palm as she spoke. "[Purifying Light]." That was the first time he''d heard her speak. He was so distracted by the sound of her angelic voice that he didn''t notice the fatigue that had started to build from his last fight disappear until he saw her elegantly drink the contents of her metal flask before it disappeared into the storage ring on her right index finger. "You healed me?" Ace asked in surprise. "I want you at your best when I defeat you," Amira replied calmly. Ace didn''t reply immediately. Instead, he just stared at his soon-to-be opponent in a daze. As he stared at her, she stared back, but the longer she looked into his jet-black eyes, the faster the ice melted. "Interesting," Aiden voiced as he watched the two children staring at each other. "What''s so interesting about puppy love?" Wukong asked back as he impatiently waited for the two love birds to start what should be the final round. "Don''t you find it interesting that they''re so fascinated by each other even though this is obviously the first time they''re meeting each other?" Aiden asked with an intrigued smile. "What''s interesting about two brats finding someone of the opposite sex attractive?" Wukong replied, answering the man''s question with another question. "Think about it. Objectively speaking, Alissa''s no less attractive than my adorable little niece over there, and yet Ace has always been utterly indifferent to her looks. Then there''s Lauriella and Kimika. They''re both nation-toppling beauties in their own right, and as fully-grown women, their beauty isn''t what a prepubescent child''s could compare to. And yet Ace didn''t so much as bat an eyelid in the face of either of them." Aiden explained as his smile grew wider. "My adorable little niece is no different. As the princess of the Rohault Empire, she''s been introduced to all sorts of attractive males of her own age and older, many of whom have tried all kinds of extravagant acts in their attempts to court her knowing she''ll be a beauty no less than our Lauriella and Kimika, yet she''s always been completely indifferent to each and every one of them, wanting to spend more time focusing on her training than anything else. Don''t get me wrong, Ace is a handsome boy, but he''s not the most attractive boy around either. Still, as soon as she locked eyes with him, she was no less entranced than he was." Aiden said, unable to hide his fascination. "Okay, when you put it like that, I admit it''s a little odd," Wukong said as he turned his attention from the two youngsters back to his master''s husband. "But what does any of it mean?" At that point, it wasn''t just Wukong who was interested. Each of his senior brothers and sisters hung on Aiden''s every word with rapt attention. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. "I have no idea," Aiden replied simply. "I just think it''s interesting." Wukong and the others rolled their eyes before turning their attention back to the pair in the arena. Though they were disappointed by the lack of answers, they weren''t surprised. They knew how eccentric this martial uncle of theirs could be when he found something that caught his attention. Aiden, though, simply smiled as a curious light flashed across his eyes. Book 2: Chapter 29 – King Of The Ring "Are you two going to fight or what?" Wukong hollered, unable to watch the staring contest any longer. Wukong''s shout successfully snapped both children out of their daze. It also reminded Amira of Ace having previously called her a little kid. Her angry glare returning as she slowly unsheathed her swords. "[Supersonic]." ''Ooh shit.'' Ace thought to himself as he suddenly ducked out of the way, just in time to avoid the katana slashing towards his neck. ''Is she trying to kill me?'' Though he didn''t know before, Ace could immediately tell by her current speed that ''Supersonic'' was a spell that increased movement speed. It was the only possible explanation for an early second-rank warrior moving at the speed of a third-rank warrior. If it wasn''t for his haki, there was no way Ace would be able to keep up, and even then, it was only just. Forget counter-attacking, it took everything he had to barely respond to each of her strikes. Her twin swordsmanship reached a level where Ace felt like he was fighting against two swordsmen who were able to work flawlessly together. Though she hadn''t reached the level of becoming one with her swords, it wasn''t too far off at all. And yet, despite being thoroughly suppressed, Ace was smiling. He couldn''t help but think back to a good friend who was also a dual-wielding swordsman ¨C 5th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Vista of the Flower Swords. All the other students were shocked by what they were witnessing. Ace had long since proved himself as an extraordinary warrior. In each of their hearts, Ace was undoubtedly the strongest student of their cohort, yet that very student was being thoroughly dominated, even after being healed. The only students who still seemed to have confidence in Ace were Killian, Alissa, and Kannal, all of whom understood Ace''s true strength. Amira, who was the one in complete control of the fight, frowned harder as the fight went on. Eventually, with her overwhelming speed, she managed to draw first blood as her sword slashed Ace''s cheek. She watched as he jumped back to put some distance between them but didn''t chase him. "You''re holding back." She declared whilst glaring intently at her opponent. "Why are you still holding back?" "I don''t want to hurt you," Ace instinctively replied. By the time he realised what he''d said, it was too late to take it back, and unfortunately, his answer only served to truly anger her. If before she was frustrated due to being called a little kid, now she was genuinely enraged. It was true she was talented, but the thing she prided herself on most was her hard work, and she couldn''t easily forgive someone making light of the blood, sweat, and effort she''d put in to reach her current level at her age. "Is it because I''m a girl?" Amira asked, her voice frosty. Ace didn''t know how to react to that. He knew how he felt. He just couldn''t find the words to explain. How do you tell someone that you just met that there was something about them that made you innately want to spend the rest of your life protecting them? That the thought of you being the one to bring them any pain made you sick. Seeing her opponent''s hesitation, Amira took it as a yes. Her grip tightened around her swords as she felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment that quickly turned into anger. "[Wind Blade]!" Time seemed to slow as Ace watched his opponent slowly raise her dainty right hand, pointing directly at him. With his [Observation] still active, he clearly saw the wind essence take the shape of a crescent blade of wind, but the only thing he could think about was how he was the cause of her disappointment. As she pointed at him, he felt a pain in his chest that didn''t make sense. Even after the wind blade landed and made a deep cut along his torso, the only pain he could feel came from his heart. "ACE!" Milianna cried as she prepared to run to aid her only son, only to be forcibly stopped by Wukong. "Let me go! Can''t you see my son''s hurt?!" It wasn''t just her. Even Killian had to be restrained by his master to keep him from intervening. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "Ace is fine," Lance announced, being the only one of the three who was able to keep a clear head after Ace was injured. "It''s just a flesh wound." "You¡­ You didn''t dodge!" Amira said as she looked at the wound on Ace''s chest. "Why didn''t you dodge?!" There was a big part of her that wanted to stay angry, believing he was still underestimating her, but when she saw the damage she''d done to him, she found herself wracked with guilt, something that made no sense to her. "I''m sorry," Ace said, catching the caramel-skinned dual sword-wielding girl by surprise. "You were right, I was holding back, and it was disrespectful to you and your hard work, so I''m sorry." As Ace said that, he allowed his mind, body, and soul to become one with the glaive in his hand. There was no physical change in appearance, nor was there a distinctive surge in power, but everyone could sense a clear difference in his presence. "This¡­ Did he¡­?" Lazerim understood what he was witnessing, but the shock prevented him from getting his words out clearly. "One with the glaive!" Kimika confirmed, her face showing no less shock than her senior brother''s. "Haha, about time." Wukong grinned. "I hope you''re ready," Ace said with a gentle smile. "I won''t be holding back anymore." As his voice waned, his body disappeared. He shot forward at a speed faster than he ever had before. [Soru] was a technique that required the user to kick off the ground at least ten times almost instantaneously to move at high-speeds. Till now, ten had been the most he could do, but just then, he actually managed 11. Even though it was only a difference of a single kick, it made a big difference. Though he was the weakest of the class, Kannal had always been able to follow Ace''s movements when looking from afar ¨C albeit barely ¨C but now, it almost looked as if Ace had teleported. Joel and the rest of Ace''s previous opponents looked at the glaive-wielding boy with their jaws dropped. Not just because of the sudden burst of speed but also because they had overheard the instructor''s words. It was then that they understood that Ace had actually been holding back against each of them. The difference in strength between Ace and them was like heaven and earth. Surprised as she was, an enchanting smile suddenly found its way onto Amira''s face as she clashed against Ace. With [Supersonic] still active, Amira held the advantage when it came to movement speed, but whether it was the speed of their weapons, raw power, or technique, Ace had a clear advantage. It wasn''t long before Amira found herself being thoroughly suppressed in a similar fashion to how she had suppressed Ace not long ago. Still, her smile never waned. The same was true for Ace. As they clashed, both he and Amira found themselves having the time of their lives. It wasn''t about winning or losing for either of them. They just wanted to continue having fun, and that they did. The others watched in shock as Amira and Ace went back and forth in what looked more like a dance than a battle. Even Milianna and Killian, who had stopped struggling, stared in admiration at the pair''s display. "How interesting," Aiden said as he stared with fascination. "What is?" Mathias asked absentmindedly, unable to peel his eyes away from the ring. "Haven''t you noticed yet?" Aiden asked. "Both Ace and Amira are improving at a noticeable speed." As he said that, the eyes of Mathias and the others widened upon realising he was right. "Is it sudden enlightenment?!" Lauriella asked in amazement. "No, it can''t be," Wukong shook his head. "They''re both still completely conscious." "Then what?" Kimika asked, unable to understand what they were witnessing. "I have no idea," Aiden shrugged. "But it''s fascinating, no?" Since his reincarnation, Ace found that he loved fighting and everything it entailed more than ever, but never had he felt as happy as he did right now. Fighting against Amira like this was almost euphoric, so much so that he didn''t even notice that he was actually improving at such a rapid speed. And Amira felt no different. It was as though they were dancing on cloud nine. It was at that moment that the eyes of both children glazed over. The smiles on their faces widened, but they entered a state of total emptiness. "Now that''s sudden enlightenment!" Lauriella exclaimed dumbfoundedly as she watched both Ace and Amira erupt in speed. "How is this possible?!" Kimika asked as if everything she''d ever learnt had just been turned upside down by two children, not even ten. "Sudden enlightenment is just the act of you, or rather your soul, comprehending something new whilst in a state of extreme stimulation," Aiden explained. "The only reasonable explanation is that somehow, their souls are able to stimulate the others to the point where Amira''s able to become one with her swords and Ace is able to wield heavy as though it were light¡­ It''s just a shame Amira''s only a rank two mage." "What does that have to¡­" Lazerim didn''t need to finish his question to understand what Aiden meant. He and the others saw Amira''s [Supersonic] spell dissipate as Amira''s mageforce ran dry. That spell was the only reason Amira could compete with Ace''s ridiculous speed. Without it, Ace managed to easily speed past her defence. Amira could do nothing as the tip of Ace''s glaive stopped just short of her glabella. Yet instead of looking at the polearm mere inches away from claiming her life, she gently stared into Ace''s dark but gentle eyes. Neither of them said a word as Ace lowered his weapon, and Amira re-sheathed hers; they simply got lost in the eyes of the other. Only when they heard the gentle sound of someone clearing their throat beside them did they remember they weren''t alone. Though it was only visible on Ace, the faces of both of them flushed with embarrassment as they finally broke eye contact. An amused smile suffused lips as he saw the embarrassment on their faces, but Mathias chose not to make it any harder for the two love birds. "Since there are no more challengers, that makes Ace the Pavilion''s first King of the Ring," Mathias announced. "Congratulations." Book 2: Chapter 30 – Bring It On As he said that, with a flip of his hand, Mathias retrieved a white and black crystalline card with runic characters on it and handed it to Ace. "This is your Pavilion ID. It was forged by Lauriella, our resident blacksmith and Lazerim, an expert in the art of formations. It uses runes similar to those made to create the magicrystal card. However, this store''s contribution points for the pavilion instead of money. To bind it to you, you simply need to drip your blood on it." Doing as instructed, Ace made a small cut on his thumb and watched as a picture of him magically formed in the top left corner above the number "110", which Ace correctly guessed were his current contribution points. Beside it was the words "outer disciple". "The Yin-Yang Pavilion is slightly different to other academic institutes in the Yulan Plane," Mathias explained when he noticed the confusion on Ace''s face. "Unlike other institutions like the Ernst Institute and the War God''s academy, there is no graduation upon reaching a set realm. Instead, as you grow stronger, you can rise through the pavilion''s ranks. As a first to the third rank warrior and/or mage, you can be considered an outer disciple. Whilst still an outer disciple, you''re still required to attend warrior and/or mage classes daily. You''ll be promoted to inner disciple upon breaking through to the fourth rank, where not only do you not need to attend classes anymore, but you will also get a monthly stipend of ten contribution points a month. And the top ten strongest inner disciples will be called core disciples, each of whom receives a stipend of 30 contribution points, with the strongest getting 100 a month. Lucky for you lot, there only happen to be ten of you. When you break through to the seventh rank, you''re promoted from disciple to instructor, or as I like to call them, elders." "Who''re you calling old?!" Wukong snorted disdainfully as Lauriella and Kimika glared at their first brother, clearly not a fan of that title. "Ahem¡­ As you can see, the titles are still a work in progress, but you get the idea," Mathias said, pretending he couldn''t see the threatening glares he was receiving. "You said there is no graduation?" Ace asked. "So we''re members of the Pavilion for the rest of our lives?" Being a pirate in his previous life, he valued his freedom above most things in life. So the thought of being tied down to something so permanent didn''t sit right with him. "In theory, yes." Mathias nodded. "Don''t worry, though. We won''t restrict your freedom in the slightest. Other than the Radiant Church and Cult of Shadows who''re too extreme in nature, you''re even free to join or create your own factions, provided it''s not evil in nature. And if you ever decide you wish to leave, you''re free to do so as and when you choose." "That makes no sense," Ace said, believing there had to be a catch. "What do you get out of creating an establishment like this?" "That''s simple," Mathias replied. "Knowledge." "What does that mean?" Ace asked. "Okay, take me, Killian, your mother, and Julius over there as an example. Each of us has an affinity to one of the four edicts. It''s not so bad for Julius and Killian, who have high affinities to one or more of the seven natural laws. Still, progression is arduous for those like your mother and I as there''re virtually no paths to follow in the ordinairy magical institutes. But here at the Pavilion, I can help Killian with his comprehension of the laws of destruction and although there are currently no eld¡­ Ahem. I mean instructors with affinities to the other three laws; we have books and scrolls related to each of them, and in the future, when Julius reaches the seventh rank, the pavilion will have an instructor who specialises in the edict of fate." Hearing that, Ace had to admit he had a point. "And it''s the same for all paths. If, for example, someone were to create a new technique or spell, they''d be able to exchange it for contribution points." Mathias said, giving Ace a not-so-subtle nudge. "How many contribution points are you willing to offer for [Soru]?" Ace asked directly. "Soru? What an odd name," Mathias replied. "It depends on the mechanics of the technique, but at least 1000 credits up front and 1% for every purchase," "Deal!" Ace said directly. "Does that mean you''re agreeing to join?" Mathias asked back. "It does," Ace answered straightforwardly. He may not know Mathias very well, but he knew and trusted Wukong. So if he was willing to join, Ace believed it was an organisation worth trusting. "Haha, excellent!" Mathias exclaimed before taking out nine other ID cards and passing them to the other students, who all unhesitantly bound it to them with blood. "Now, allow me to introduce you to the other instructors," Mathias said as his Junior brothers and sisters made their way over. "This is my wife, Lauriella. Like I said earlier, she''s the pavilion''s resident and arguably Yulan''s best blacksmith. Any weapons you little fellows need forged can be done by her, provided you have the contribution points for it. Next is my third brother, Lazerim Penay. As the mage instructor, he''ll be in charge of taking the mages amongst you for your two-hour magic lessons each day. Although in other mage institutes, it''s normal for there to be at least one teacher per element, Lazerim''s a rank nine mage with insights into the laws of earth surpassing a lot of saints. He''s more than capable of teaching those at your level, regardless of your respective elements. Next up is my fourth sister, Kimika Lilt. She''s the Pavilion''s warrior instructor and will take the warriors amongst you for your morning warrior training. She''s a rank-nine warrior proficient with most weapons. Fourth up is my fifth brother, Wukong. Though he''s only a substitute instructor, you can go to him if you need any help." As Mathias introduced the various instructors, the eyes of each of the kids lit up with awe and reverence. They knew that even in institutions like the War God''s Academy and the Ernst Institute, you''d be lucky to have a teacher in the 6th rank, with the heads of the various departments being in the seventh rank or eighth at best. So to be instructed by instructors like Kimika and Lazerim on a daily basis in classes of nine was nothing short of a godsend. "Next, I''d like to introduce you to one of the Pavilion''s two guardian elders and my martial uncle, Aiden Rohault. You likely won''t see him much, but you can feel safe knowing he''s watching over you." Mathias said respectfully. When he heard that, Ace couldn''t help but take another look at the dark-skinned man. He wasn''t like the others, who more than likely still believed him to be a saint due to him walking on the air. Ace knew full well the man was still a peak ninth-rank warrior with no mage cultivation at all. Still, Mathias made it sound as though he was stronger than even him. The more Ace learnt about him, the more mysterious he seemed. "Finally, allow me to introduce the Pavilion''s other guardian ¨C my master, Arianna." As he said that, Ace and the others watched a giant terrifying black phoenix float down from the clouds. The beast''s aura easily dwarfed that of the black dragon from the beast tide at Silverlight City, so seeing what looked like a warrior goddess standing calmly on its back brought no small shock to Ace and the others. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Arianna simply gave a gentle smile as she calmly floated off the back of her mount. Then, strangely enough, she floated straight past her husband and disciple until she was in front of none other than Ace''s mother. "Milianna, was it?" She asked, her voice like a gentle breeze. "How would you like to be my sixth disciple?" Bar Aiden, her question came as a shock to every person present, including her current five disciples. "Me?" Milianna asked back, in no less shock than the others. "Yes, child. You." Arianna answered gently. "And don''t worry, I have no intention of training you to be a fighter. I can see it''s not in your nature. Instead, I wish to help you train in the laws of life to become a mage doctor." When she heard that, Milianna''s heart stirred. Ever since they left Wushan Town, Milianna had felt like she wasn''t able to pull her weight within the group. Whenever anything happened, it was always her who needed to be protected, and all she could do was cook an occasional meal or knit an item of clothing. Though she hid it well, it definitely weighed on her heart, but if she became a mage doctor, she''d finally be able to help Ace and the others. How could she say no to an offer like that? "Disciple Milianna greets master," Milianna said as she took a knee before the goddess before her. "No need for such formalities," Arianna said before turning towards the arena. "Amira, I wish to take you as my seventh and final disciple. Are you willing?" A giant grin hung on the girl''s face as she shot off the stage and into the woman''s arms. "I''m willing." "Haha, that''s good," Arianna replied as she dotingly stroked the head of her youngest disciple. Most of the other students looked at Amira in jealousy. It was evident from the strength of her disciples that Arianna was an incredible master. With a master like that, your future was all but set, but they''d be lying if they said they didn''t understand. Whether it was talent or actual ability, Amira was the definition of a monster, the only person who surpassed her was¡­ Looking at Ace, they couldn''t help but feel slightly sorry for him. He''d won the king of the ring in domineering fashion, defeating almost all of them one after the other, yet he wasn''t chosen as a disciple by any of them. Luckily, Ace wasn''t bitter about it. In fact, whether it was Killian, Amira, or his mother, he felt sincerely happy for them. As for himself, he felt confident in his ability to reach the apex of this new world, master or not. "Now that everyone has been acquainted with one another, allow me to show you around the Pavilion," Mathias said as he took his own ID card out of his interspatial ring. "These cards aren''t just a way to store your contribution points; they''re also your key." Several runes started flashing on the ground under his feet as he said that, and a rocky stairway inside the mountain opened up. "Inside the mountain itself is a network of caves created by Lazerim," Mathias said as he led everyone inside the surprisingly well-lit mountain. "Mathias, you and the others can go ahead." Aiden hollered. "I''m going to have a little chat with Ace here." Mathias didn''t seem surprised by that. Instead, he simply nodded before proceeding to lead the others inside. Milianna, Lance, and Killian all looked hesitantly, but Ace calmly told them he was fine. "I''m guessing this is about my soul," Ace said calmly when he and Aiden were left alone. "Be my disciple," Aiden said directly, catching Ace by surprise. "You what?" "Be my disciple," Aiden repeated straightforwardly, ignoring the boy''s shock. "Have you got a screw loose?" Ace asked back. "A few," Aiden admitted matter-of-factly. Ace was at a complete loss of how to deal with the man in front of him. "If you become my disciple, I''ll tell you why you have no affinities. I''ll even tell you how to fix your little problem." Aiden said, hoping that the carrot he was dangling in front of the youngster would be temptation enough. But Ace wasn''t the same impulsive fool he was from his previous life. "Not interested," Ace said as he turned to follow the others into the cave. "Hahahaha, you really are an interesting kid!" Aiden said as he took a seat on the ground and took out a gourd of pungent wine. "Want some?" "You do realise that I''m a kid, don''t you?" Ace said helplessly. "You don''t act like one," Aiden shrugged as he took a swig. His words were a little close to the truth for Ace, but thankfully, he seemed more focused on the jar of wine than he was Ace''s reaction. "An ordinary soul takes the shape of a transparent floating ball of light, and only those with an affinity to the four edicts take on a different shape. Like your little friend Killian, his is the shape of a battle axe due to his affinity to the Edict of Destruction. Given that your mother has an affinity to the edict of Life, she should have a tree-shaped soul, but in reality, it''s a perfect copy of her actual body with what looks like a tiara sat on her head. The only difference is that her soul is extremely transparent due to how fragile it is given that she hasn''t started cultivating yet." Aiden explained between sips. "Though more corporeal, your soul is also a carbon copy of you with a crown. A bit showy if you ask me, but I don''t judge. Anyway, it wasn''t hard to guess that this odd mutation was due to your bloodline ability ¨C I believe little Kong said you called it haki." "So if my soul''s the same as my mother''s, why does she have an affinity and I don''t?" Ace asked. "You do have an affinity," Aiden stated, taking another large gulp. Judging by the smell, the wine was without a doubt the strongest alcoholic drink Ace had ever come into contact with, and yet, despite how much he was drinking, Aiden didn''t seem to be feeling the slightest buzz, something that clearly annoyed him as after downing the remainder, he threw the gourd flying like a meteor through the skies in what almost looked like a huff. Ace would typically have been amused by such a scene, but Aiden''s last statement was too shocking. "You said I don''t have an affinity earlier!" Ace exclaimed. "Yeah, because you don''t." Aiden shrugged as he retrieved a second gourd from his ring. "You just said I did have an affinity, and now you''re saying I don''t!" Ace was borderline shouting because of the wannabe drunkard''s confusing words. "Which one is it? Make up your mind already!" "Both," Aiden shrugged as he popped open the lid revealing a scent which was somehow even stronger than the last. "Technically, you have an extremely high affinity to the laws of fire. So high, in fact, that even I have only seen an affinity on the same level once before with my niece Amira¡­ What''s the deal between you and her anyway? Do you want me to speak to her parents about you two getting married in the future?" Ace''s face flushed bright red when he heard that, but he shook his head to focus on what was really important at that moment. "Would you concentrate!" "HAHAHA! Okay, spoilsport," Aiden voiced. "Anyway, as I was saying, you have a high affinity to the laws of fire, but there''s some sort of barrier surrounding your soul preventing any of the elemental essences from coming in contact with your soul." "A barrier?" Ace asked in confusion. "Yeah," Aiden nodded, taking yet another swig. "I''m not sure if it''s a blessing or a curse." "How could a barrier keeping me from sensing the natural laws be a blessing?" Ace snorted. "Though it''s keeping you from sensing the natural laws, it''s also protecting your soul from any harm that may come of it." Aiden shrugged. "I may only be a ninth-rank warrior, but in terms of spiritual essence, my soul is second only to deities. There isn''t a saint alive that even comes close." It was a big claim, but Ace felt inclined to believe him for some reason, which was why when he heard Aiden''s following sentence, he almost fell over. "Yet when I hit the barrier with my strongest soul attack, the barrier barely even rippled." "You tried to attack my soul?!" Ace asked in disbelief. "No. Like I just told you, I attacked the barrier." "Yeah, but if the barrier broke, it would''ve been my soul being attacked," Ace said as a vein in the corner of his head started pulsating. "Good thing the barrier''s so strong then, right?" Aiden said as he finished his second bottle. "Is there a SAFE way to break the barrier?" Ace asked after forcibly calming himself down before he strangled the anger-inducing maniac in front of him. "After my initial assessment, It looks like the barrier''s purpose is to keep the spiritual essence of others out instead of keeping yours in, but more importantly, if I''m right, the barrier will get weaker as your soul gets stronger, meaning that when you reach the ninth rank, you should have the spiritual essence to break the barrier yourself." "Wait, you said it doesn''t keep my spiritual essence in? So why can''t I just release my spirit outside of the barrier to sense the laws?" Ace asked, a tinge of hope seeping into his excited voice. "The barrier''s designed in such a way that even though it doesn''t actually restrict your spirit, it still protects it from the spirit of others," Aiden explained, but when he saw the confused face on Ace''s face, he knew he was going to have to explain further. "Wukong said, when you use your [Observation Haki], you can see tiny motes of light floating around us. Well, you can think of those motes of light as spiritual essence for each of the laws, meaning that even if you could spread your spirit outside of your body, you still wouldn''t be able to interact with them. As it stands, you''ll be able to merge your soul with nature to reach the impose level, but you still won''t be able to interact with the motes of light to comprehend any of the laws." ''Things could never just be simple for me, could they?'' Ace thought to himself as a helpless sigh escaped his lips. "What about the second option you mentioned?" "The second option is simply to have a deity break it for you. Although there''s a good chance, they''d take you hostage to research whatever the barrier is. Either way, the choice is yours." Aiden shrugged casually. Ace looked up at the sky, deep in thought. Though he didn''t know how the barrier was placed over his soul, it wasn''t hard to guess that it was the reason his soul was kept in one piece when he reincarnated into this world. Looking at the man still desperately chasing a buzz, Ace couldn''t help but grin. "I''m not kneeling!" "You what?" Aiden asked absentmindedly. "I''ll be your disciple, but I''m not kneeling," Ace answered back. "You say that like it''s my soul wearing a crown," Aiden snorted as he downed the third bottle before throwing it away and standing back up, a fiendish grin playing on his handsome face. "I don''t need you to kneel to be my disciple; I just need you to put up with torture without crying to your Mommy." "Bring it on!" Ace exclaimed confidently. - End of Book 2 - Book 3: Chapter 1 – 5 Years Later (Part 1) At the base of a secluded mountain near the centre of the Anarchic lands, a young topless dark-haired teen could be seen dressed in a pair of black cargo pants tucked into his black combat boots, calmly practicing his glaivesmanship. At times he moved as fast as the wind, and then he''d slow it right down until it looked like he was barely moving at all. But each move held an undeniable charm, and yet¡­ "Pathetic!" A dark-skinned man voiced as he took his eyes away from his empty bottle of wine to glance up at the youngster. "You comprehended wielding light as though it were heavy over three years ago, yet you''re still no closer to fusing both states of wielding? Pathetic!" The man''s words were like water off a duck''s back as the youth focused solely on his glaivesmanship. Beads of sweat trickled down his face and onto his finely sculpted body which looked more like it was forged by a god. It had been five years since Ace had joined the Yin-Yang Pavilion and became Aiden''s disciple. And in that time, he had made incredible progress that most kids his age could only dream about. At 13 years old, he was already at the mid stages of the fourth rank as a warrior, making him an inner disciple, or, more specifically, a core inner disciple of the Pavilion. Either way, it was a feat that would make him a genius-level talent at the War God''s Academy and yet, had he been allowed, he could''ve been well into the fifth rank, potentially even knocking on the doors of the sixth. The reason he wasn''t was because of the man behind him. The instructors at the pavilion put more of an emphasis on comprehension than realm, claiming that realm meant nothing in the face of comprehension. Mathias told them that as mages, they weren''t allowed to make a breakthrough to the next level until they could insta-cast all of their spells at their own realm. It had to be understood that even at academies like the Ernst Institute, only the best mages could insta-cast a spell of the same realm and even then, it would only be the one or two spells they were best at. To do it for each of their spells was a monstrous feat that would have others gaping. For warriors, they weren''t allowed to break through to the fourth rank until they''d become one with their respective weapons ¨C a feat that an ordinairy elite would achieve in their twenties. And if that wasn''t bad enough, disciples of the pavilion were prevented from breaking through to the 7th realm until they comprehended the fusion of wielding. Those ridiculous expectations prevented each of Ace''s cohort from making the progress in realm they otherwise would''ve done, but it also made each and every single one of them an absolute monster in the same realm. Unfortunately for Ace, Aiden had much higher expectations for him. First, ace was forbidden from entering the fourth rank until he comprehended wielding light as though it was heavy. And now, he was forbidden from entering the fifth rank as a warrior until he had comprehended the fusion. He was already at the middle stages of the fourth realm, and that was without actually focusing any real attention on his body cultivation. Thankfully, he could feel that he was close to making a breakthrough in his comprehension. But unfortunately, he had no idea how long it would take to get passed this particular bottleneck. Not that it mattered much, as the condition for his following breakthrough was even more annoying. Aiden actually insisted that if Ace wanted to break through to the sixth rank, he must first reach the impose boundary. The vast majority of warriors never end up comprehending ''impose'', and of those that do, forget doing it at the fifth rank; most don''t even start until they''re at the eighth or ninth rank. Still, Ace never complained. In fact, he took it all in his stride, seeing it as nothing more than another challenge he''d eventually overcome. Whilst he was diligently practicing his glaivesmanship, Ace suddenly heard an oddly deep yet somewhat immature voice calling him from behind. A little smile appeared on his face as he stopped his training to face his best friend. "Kil, what are you doing here? I thought the old man locked you away and forbade you from taking one step outside until you mastered the insta-cast of your destruction spells of the fourth rank." Killian was only 14, and the immaturity of his face proved it, but his body was like that of a young adult''s. Not only was he approaching a height of six feet, but he had an almost herculean frame. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He wore a plain white top with the sleeves torn off that showed off his log-like arms and a pair of baggy black trousers, the bottoms of which were also torn, so he didn''t trip over them when walking barefoot, and strapped to his back was a 5-foot twin-sided battle axe. Killian couldn''t help but feel helpless about the way Ace referred to his master as ''old man'' instead of headmaster, but whenever he remembered how Ace would refer to his own master as ''old fart'', he couldn''t help but count his blessings. He better than most understood that Ace wasn''t really one for rules. He was too much of a free spirit, and in his own way, the nicknames he gave others were more of a term of endearment than anything else. He walked towards Ace with a calm smile as his long shoulder-length black locks were tied behind his head. "I just finished this morning." "That means we just have to wait for little Kan-Kan to make a breakthrough before we''re finally allowed out," Ace said as an expression of longing appeared on his face. "He broke through to the fourth rank this morning as well," Killian replied with a telling smile. "Master told me to come and get you so he can¡­" Before he could even finish his sentence, Killian realised he was talking to an afterimage. "What are you waiting for, Kil?" Ace shouted as he ran through an opening in the mountain. "Today''s the day we get our freedom." A hint of surprise appeared on the herculean teen''s face as he almost failed to follow Ace''s steps, but that surprise quickly turned into a helpless smile as he better than most understood how monstrous this happy-go-lucky friend of his really was. Aiden simply watched the two boys disappear into the network of caves inside the mountain before falling on his back and closing his eyes with a smile on his face when the soothing sound of a woman''s voice entered his ears. "Look at that smile," Arianna said as she suddenly appeared beside him. "If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you were going to miss him." "This is a smile of relief," Aiden retorted. "When he leaves tomorrow, I''ll finally be able to get some well-deserved rest." "Whatever you say," Arianna replied as she smiled sweetly and lay her head down on his chest. . . . At the same time, Killian and Ace had just made it to the peak of the mountain, where they were greeted by the rest of their classmates and the instructors. "Finally, you made it," Mathias said as Ace and Killian appeared before addressing the excited group of disciples he had before him. "Now that everyone''s here, I can explain your assignments. Now that all of you have broken to the fourth rank and can be considered the Pavilion''s first batch of inner, core disciples, we have decided to split you into three teams where you will each go and travel through the mountain range of magical beasts: Team 1 will consist of Ace, Amira, and Julius. Ace is the team leader." When he heard that, Ace glanced over at Amira, who glanced back at him before promptly ignoring him. Over the last five years, other than his master, the person he spent the most time with was actually Amira ¨C even more than Killian and his mother. Every day their masters would make them spar against each other and/or train in the same vicinity. Though he didn''t tell them, Aiden told his wife that their training together or at least around each other would help speed up their progress, and he was right. Though their progress wasn''t as blinding as their first battle together, where they both entered sudden enlightenment, they had both improved at an incredible speed. It may seem like Ace had only made one major breakthrough as far as his comprehension was concerned, but he''d made several other smaller breakthroughs. For one, his use of [Observation haki] had become a lot better, to the point where he could even use it to sense the emotions of those around him. Another large improvement was with regard to his movement technique. In five years, he''d gone from 11 kicks to 20, and if it weren''t for the limited strength of his body, he would''ve long since gone passed that too. Amira was no different. Like Ace, she too was only 13. Yet, she was already an early-stage fourth-rank warrior and mage who had not only firmly comprehended one with her swords but also wielding light as though it were heavy and was slowly making steps towards heavy as though it were light, or in her case, wielding light as though it were lighter. But her most impressive improvements came in the ways of a mage. Like her husband, Arianna had also imposed strict requirements that prevented her youngest disciple from progressing through the ranks as fast as she wanted to. Not only did she have to be able to insta-cast every light and wind spell of her level, but she was also expected to be able to cast one spell of a higher rank before breaking through. And the strange thing was that every breakthrough either of them made ¨C big or small ¨C was made in the presence of the other. Ace and Amira didn''t think much of it, but Aiden found it deeply fascinating. But throughout all their time together, despite clearly enjoying spending time with him, Amira refused to say so much as a single word directly to Ace. Whenever Ace attempted to start a conversation with her, she simply snorted and looked away. It left Ace both frustrated and helpless. A sigh escaped his mouth before he turned towards his other teammate ¨C Julius. Over the last five years, like Killian, Julius had also grown much bigger, but whilst Kil grew more and more muscular, Julius grew more and more¡­ round! That being said, he could be considered the only person anywhere near as freakish as Ace and Amira. Despite the restrictions set for him by the Pavilion as a mage, he had just broken through to the sixth rank as a mage. And although there weren''t many spells for the edict of faith, he had mastered the few that were available to him. As for spells of the fire element, he, like Amira, could insta-cast all those at his rank and could even use a couple of the seventh-rank fire spells. The only major difference between him and the other two little monsters in his team was that he still refused to fight. Book 3: Chapter 2 – 5 Years Later (Part 2) "Killian will lead team two, and following him will be Alissa, Faye, and Kannal," Mathias announced. If it were five years ago, Killian being chosen to lead this team would''ve been nothing short of foolish. But now¡­ Even though he wasn''t as powerful as Ace, Amira, or Julius, his transformation was no less incredible. He had gone from one of the weakest to one of the most powerful. Other than the monsters chosen to form team one, he was second only to Joel. If he and Alissa had to fight again now, Alissa would be lucky to escape with her life, not that she would ever think about attempting to assassinate him again. With her borderline infatuation with the axe-wielding teen, she would never dream about doing anything that could harm him. Regrettably for her, the herculean teen appeared utterly oblivious to her feelings, and she could never bring herself to say exactly how she felt. Either way, having a powerful saint for a master clearly made a huge difference! "And last but not least, team three will consist of Joel, Yulana, and Osiris," Mathias stated. "Shouldn''t the teams be a little more fair," Faye complained as she glanced at the members of team one. "Ace''s team has all three of the strongest core disciples. Wouldn''t it make more sense to have each of them lead a team?" "I agree," Julius hurriedly added. "If anything, you can just add me to team two to take care of little Kan-Kan." "Can you lot stop calling me that now?" Kannal pleaded. Kan-Kan was the name his family called him, and as his master, Kimika had also taken to calling him it, something he didn''t particularly mind as she agreed only to call him that in private. Unfortunately, Ace had one day overheard his pet name. Thinking it was too good to keep to himself, Ace quickly spread it amongst his peers and before he knew it, the name stuck. "If you want to blame someone, blame Ace." Julius shrugged casually before turning his attention back to Mathias and the other instructors. "Honestly, I don''t mind." "I bet you don''t," Lauriella replied with a mocking grin. Lauriella had been the one to recruit the round overweight teen five years ago. She had instantly taken a liking to him due to his incredible fire affinity and talent as a mage, especially after finding out that everything he''d accomplished as a mage was self-taught using nothing but his mother''s notes. The only thing she didn''t like was his opposition to fighting. It wasn''t that she wanted him to be like Ace and Amira, who were essentially battle-mad, but she knew how cruel this world could be and being too soft in a world like this could very well cost him his life. Over the last half-decade, Lauriella had tried everything she could think of to make the overweight teen take up warrior training or at least improve his actual combat ability, but Julius remained completely uninterested. Still, the Violetflame warrior hadn''t given up trying. "The teams were chosen based on ability and the kinds of beasts that would be able to challenge you. With the strength of Ace and Amira, they would need to venture deeper into the wilderness to find beasts capable of challenging them. Of all the disciples remaining, only you''re capable of protecting yourself in that kind of environment." Though her words grated on the pride of the other youths, they all understood she was telling the truth. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Over their time in the Pavilion, they had challenged Ace and Amira on multiple occasions. Not because they thought they could actually beat them but because they wanted to see how far they had come, and more importantly, how big the gap between them was. But after a couple of years, they stopped trying because it was too demoralising. The more they fought, the more they found that the gap was actually increasing. Though he knew what she said was right, it was for that very reason that Julius wanted to join any team but theirs. He had no desire to go up against the kinds of beasts that could give those two battle-hungry fiends a challenge. He was practically begging with his eyes as he looked to each of the other instructors. Unfortunately, they all agreed with Lauriella on this one. "To keep you from meeting and forming one large group, each of you will be dropped by one of us to separate sides," Mathias explained, ignoring the incredibly overweight teen completely. "Team one will be dropped to the west by Lauriella, team two will be dropped off to the north by yours truly, and team three will be dropped to the east by Kong. In six months, each of us will return to the locations you were dropped off at to pick you up. Ooh, and one more thing. Though magical beasts are your targets for this particular exercise, other humans are the ones you should be most weary of. There''s nothing as fickle as the human heart, so other than each other, trust no one." Mathias''s tone was especially sombre as he said that. He needed each of them to understand just how serious he was being before it cost one or more of them their lives. "We''ll be leaving first thing tomorrow, so go now and prepare yourselves for what will undoubtedly be an arduous few months," Mathias added before watching the kids hurriedly take their leave. "Oi Ace!" Wukong hollered as he flipped his hand. "Catch." Ace turned his head in time to catch the polearm whizzing towards him, only for him to almost drop it due to its ridiculous weight. "What''s this?" "Did you forget you won our little bet back then?" Wukong asked back. "This is your reward." After enrolling in the Pavilion, Ace had been so caught up in his training that he genuinely forgot about their bet, but looking at the glaive in his hand, he couldn''t help but grin wildly. He was still wielding the one he''d stolen from Alissa''s former colleague back when they''d tried to assassinate them. Thanks to his [armament haki], it was still in good condition, but it was definitely far below his current level, but this one¡­ "It''s perfect!" Ace exclaimed as he examined it. The shaft was made of a reddish-brown coloured wood and a deep blue coloured blade, making it look especially magical. As he looked at the blade, he couldn''t help but admire how incredibly sharp it was. The only problem was that it was a little heavy, but it should be perfect for when he breaks through to the fifth rank. Unfortunately, it meant he''d have to lug it around with him till then whilst still using his old weapon. "The shaft''s made from Ichor wood. A wood perfect for polearms due to its weight and sturdiness, but its most famous for its ability to feed on blood to recover from damage. But the blade''s the main reason behind its weight. It''s made from Adamantine, one of the hardest and heaviest materials known to man." Wukong explained. "Most forgers wouldn''t be able to smelt it, let alone turn it into an actual blade, but lucky for you, Lauriella became a saint a few months ago. She may well be the only blacksmith on the continent capable of turning adamantine into a blade." Ace wasn''t the same uneducated kid he was all those years ago. He knew he''d need a new weapon in the near future, so he made sure to speak to his master about suitable materials. From Aiden, he was told about several materials, including Ichor-Wood, which he knew was the hardest wood that still retained a decent amount of flexibility. Aiden also told him about Adamantine. He told him that it was extremely heavy and virtually unbreakable to mortals and even most saints. Still, because of that, it was extremely difficult to find a blacksmith capable of smelting it, and of those that could, he didn''t know any that could effectively turn it into a blade with an edge. Meaning it was better suited for blunt, heavy weapons like hammers and clubs but useless for bladed weapons. "Thank you," Ace said as he looked down at his new weapon fondly. "It''s perfect!" "What will you call it?" Lauriella asked with a smile. "Every ''Lauriella original'' needs a good name." As Ace looked at it, he couldn''t help but think of the man who inspired him to wield a glaive in the first place. The man who, to this day, he most looked up to. The only man he ever saw as an actual father figure. "I''ll call it Newgate!" Ace declared. Though neither she nor any of those present were able to deduce the meaning behind the name, they could all feel Ace''s passion through his words, and looking at the smile on his face, they understood it meant a lot to him. Book 3: Chapter 3 – Sworn Brothers After receiving his new weapon, Ace promptly made his way through the network of caves and out of Yin-Yang Mountain. As neither Lance nor Milianna were actually members of the Pavilion, they decided to make a small wooden cabin just over a kilometer away so as not to feel as though they were intruding but still be close enough to see Ace and Killian regularly. As Ace approached, he saw Lance training his spearmanship outside whilst Milianna sat cross-legged with her back to him, seemingly deep in meditation. Ace couldn''t help but smile when he saw how content they both looked. After five years of living together, Milianna and Lance were officially a couple and happier than ever. As he got within 200 meters of the cabin, the corners of Ace''s mouth crept up. At some point during the last five years, Milianna managed to successfully awaken her [Observation haki]. Although nowhere near as monstrous as her sons, she was still able to stretch it out by almost 200 meters without compressing it. That wasn''t her only improvement. Being Arianna''s disciple, the Pavilion''s guardian spared no effort in training her. As a result, Milianna was now a rank two mage and warrior. Though it was far from impressive when considering her age, after taking into account how much emphasis Arianna puts on comprehension over realm, it was a remarkable accomplishment. Sensing his appearance, Milianna gracefully stood up and slowly turned to face her approaching son. Despite being five years older, whether it was her flawless milky white skin or her silky, long dark hair, Milianna looked more beautiful than ever. "Ace, you''re here early," Milianna greeted with a gentle smile. "I didn''t think you would be here till tonight." "I finished early today, so I thought I would spend my free time here with you guys," Ace replied. "You mean you thought you''d come and steal whatever food you can get your hands on," Lance said, helplessly correcting the topless teen as he stuck his spear into the ground by his feet. Lance was, without a doubt, the least talented person in the vicinity of the Pavilion, but he was also one of the most hardworking. After Milianna was picked to be Arianna''s sixth disciple, Lance began training harder than ever. As a man, he wanted to be someone Milianna could rely on. Despite having no warrior manual to train his battle-qi, he still managed to reach the early fifth rank on his own almost two years ago. Though, that had a lot to do with his diet of magical beasts he''d hunt in the local forests. Between his diet and his constant practical combat training, his training speed was like a rocket. At least by his standards, anyway. Unfortunately, he still reached a bottleneck after reaching the fifth rank preventing him from making any further progress. Thankfully, he was surrounded by people who essentially stood at the top of the food chain on the continent. Upon finding out about his dilemma, Milianna asked her master for a solution for her now partner. Not wanting to disappoint her sixth disciple, Arianna handed over a water-based battle-qi manual for Lance to use. He felt slightly uncomfortable receiving something he, and most ordinairy people, would see as extremely precious, for free, but since his pursuit of strength was primarily based on his desire to want to protect his partner, Lance decided to quietly accept it. From then, Lance''s progress continued at a slow and steady pace. After another two years of hard work, Lance had reached the peak of the fifth rank, and like many of the nobles he had heard stories of and used to look up to, he also had successfully cultivated a water-based battle qi that dramatically increased his power. If Lance were still in Wushan Town, with his current strength, he''d be second only to Hogg and Hillman. "Do you really think so little of me?" Ace asked back. Though he didn''t respond, it was clear from the look on Lance''s face that the answer was a resounding yes, not that it seemed to bother Ace in the slightest. "But you did have a reason for coming, didn''t you?" Milianna asked. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As his mother, she was still the person who knew him best. "I came to say goodbye," Ace sighed. "It''s that time already?" Milianna asked with a hint of unwillingness. "When do you guys leave?" "Tomorrow." "So soon?" The beautiful dark-haired mother asked in a dispirited manner. "How long will you be away for?" "Six months," Ace answered honestly. She had known for some time that Ace and the other children would be sent on a training exercise in the not-so-distant future, but she hadn''t expected it to be for so long. Ever since Ace had joined the Pavilion, Milianna knew that she would have to start letting go of her baby, but it didn''t make it any easier. In her eyes, he was still her baby. Still, she refused to spend their last day together in sadness. The trio spent the next few hours peacefully enjoying their last day together. At some point, Killian even turned up, making their little family of four complete. All four of them spent the night in bliss. It was only when Ace and Killian got up to return to the Pavilion that Milianna''s feelings of unwillingness threatened to overwhelm her. "I know you''ve both grown stronger than ever, but make sure you don''t take any unnecessary risks whilst you''re away," Milianna voiced with tears welling up in her eyes as she held them both in her arms. "And remember, I love you. Both of you." "We will," Both boys replied softly as they hugged her back. As the two boys turned to make their way back to their accommodation, Lance took Milianna in his arms. "Don''t worry. They''ll be back before you know it." "I know," She replied as she gently lay back in her partner''s warm embrace, watching as their backs disappeared into the distance. . . . "Kil," Ace said just as the dark-skinned teen prepared to head back to his cave. "Come with me for a sec." "Okay," Kil said as he followed Ace back to his cave, curious about what his best friend wanted. Like Mathias explained all those years ago, the inside of the Yin-Yang mountain was essentially a network of caves. There was one long winding tunnel that led from the bottom to the top and several caves branching off. Each of those caves branching off was essentially another room. Whether it was one of their bedrooms, the Pavilion''s library, a training hall, and even a large dining hall where the students would be provided with meals, there were dozens of caves made. And despite how it was the inside of a mountain, it was extremely well-lit, giving the natural feeling of daylight. Ace''s bedroom was a cave almost 20 meters long and 10 meters wide which had a large enough opening in the wall which acted like a window. Considering how Ace spent most of his time training outside, there wasn''t much in terms of furnishing, only a small single bed that sat under his ''window'' and a small desk, chair, and wardrobe in the opposite corner. It wasn''t his first time in Ace''s room, but that didn''t make Killian any less curious about what Ace wanted from him. "What''s that?" Killian asked in surprise as he watched his best friend retrieve a bottle of alcohol of some sort and two wine cups. "I got it for us from the old fart a while ago," Ace said with a grin as he took a seat on the floor, motioning for Killian to join him. "We''ve been together for the last seven years, but this will be our first time truly apart." As he said that, Killian couldn''t help but feel a hint of sadness. Ace was right. Other than the odd week here or there when the other was focusing on their training, they had never been away from each other and even during those odd few weeks, Killian was able to take comfort knowing that Ace was always nearby. "Since we met in Wushan town at their warrior training programme, we basically grew up like brothers. So I want to take this time to make it official," Ace explained as he poured two cups of wine. "You may not know this, but when you exchange cups of Sake, you become brothers." Killian took the glass with a dazed expression plastered on his face. Though he''d never said it aloud, Kil had always seen Ace, Milianna, and Lance as his family, but hearing Ace say he wanted to make it official still warmed his heart to no end. "What do you say?" Ace asked. "Are you willing to officially take me as your brother?" Hearing that, Killian didn''t hesitate as he downed the cup''s content in one gulp. "We were supposed to drink it at the same time," Ace chuckled before following Kil''s lead. "Ooh, but just so you know, if anyone asks, I''m the older brother!" "That doesn''t make sense," Killian complained as the alcohol started to hit him. "I was born before you *hiccup*, and I''m biggeerrrr." "It doesn''t matter," Ace stated directly. "I''m strongest, so what I say goes." Despite his intoxication, Killian could only stare at his sworn brother in awe of his brazenness. "Fiine," Killian sighed, his head wobbling as he tried to sit straight. "But I''ll surpaasss you *Hiccup* in theee future and taakkeee my riiiightfuuulll spooot asss the *hiccup* ooldeerrr brotherrrr!" Aiden''s collection of alcohol was anything but ordinary. He had learnt from Wukong that Aiden used to be quite the alcoholic, but after his soul started to really grow in strength, it became harder and harder to get drunk. With the level of his current spiritual essence, he apparently hadn''t been able to get drunk in well over a hundred years, but never did he stop trying. As a result, all the bottles of alcohol he had in his possession were incredibly potent, having been brewed with some of the strongest ingredients the Yulan plane had to offer. Ace had explicitly asked his master for the weakest alcohol in his collection; it was only dumb luck that it happened to be a type of sake. Still, its strength wasn''t something Killian could easily handle. Even Ace felt a little buzzed, but with the strength of his soul, he was able to remain somewhat sober. Ace watched with a smile as his ''little brother'' fell back, unable to remain conscious any longer. "I promise to be a much better big brother in this life." Book 3: Chapter 4 – Arrival At The Mountain Range Of Magical Beasts The following day Ace laughed as Killian struggled to get up, but his hangover was really getting the best of him. He threw up several times, and his head was pounding, but somehow, Ace got them to the top of the mountain in time. And yet, they were still the last to arrive. ¡°Kil,¡± Alissa hurriedly called out, ¡°What happened? Are you alright?¡± She wasn¡¯t the only one surprised about the gargantuan teen¡¯s condition. All the other kids looked at Killian with worry. As there were only ten disciples in the whole pavilion, over the last five years, they¡¯d all grown very close to each other. All misgivings any of them may have had toward one another had all but disappeared. Whilst the other children were crowding around, Ace and Killian showing their worry and concern, weird looks started appearing on the faces of the instructors. ¡°Killian¡­ Does he look hungover to you guys?¡± Lazerim asked as he studied the youngster from afar. ¡°That little idiot!¡± Mathias cursed. ¡°He knew he was about to go on a dangerous trip to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, and yet he chose last night to take up drinking! What was that idiot thinking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it was just him,¡± Lauriella said helplessly as she looked at Ace, who, although nowhere near as bad, still exhibited a few hangover symptoms on a lesser scale. ¡°Do they think this is some kind of joke?¡± Kimika asked as her frown deepened. ¡°They¡¯re supposed to be two of the team leaders for the training exercise.¡± ¡°I wonder where they got alcohol from anyway,¡± Wukong voiced as an amused smile played on his face. ¡°I gave it to them,¡± Aiden said as he and his wife seemingly appeared out of nowhere. ¡°You did?¡± Mathias asked in shock. ¡°Why would you do such a thing?¡± ¡°Ace asked,¡± Aiden replied with a casual shrug as if it weren¡¯t a big deal. ¡°What do you mean he asked?¡± Mathias asked, clearly displeased by the nonchalance of his master¡¯s husband. It wasn¡¯t just Mathias. Other than Wukong, who appeared just as carefree as ever, each of the other instructors looked at Aiden with furrowed brows. ¡°You really are terrible at explaining yourself,¡± Arianna sighed helplessly at her husband before turning to her eldest disciple. ¡°Back when little Killian first entered closed-door training with you, Ace asked Aiden for a bottle of wine so that he and Killian could swear an oath of brotherhood before they left for the training exercise. Unfortunately, the day your disciple came out of seclusion, it was announced that they¡¯d be leaving the next day. He probably would¡¯ve preferred to have done it earlier, but there was no way he would be willing to wait till they returned.¡± As his master filled in all the blanks Aiden was too lazy to, Mathias was able to understand Ace¡¯s reasoning. Though he saw Killian as a son, Mathias knew that his place in his disciple¡¯s heart would never compare to Ace¡¯s, and it was clear from how they interacted that Ace felt just as strongly. It was horrible timing, but he didn¡¯t blame them. In fact, he was happy for his hungover disciple. He knew that his lack of family had always been a sore spot for the boy. It was a big part of the reason why his relationship with Ace and his family meant so much to him. Mathias could only imagine how happy he must¡¯ve been upon hearing Ace¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Maybe we should postpone their departure by another day,¡± Lauriella suggested. Mathias and the others were inclined to agree with her, but there was one person who didn¡¯t. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Why?¡± Wukong asked. ¡°If you ask me, you should just carry on as planned.¡± ¡°They¡¯re venturing into one of the most unforgiving environments on the continent. You can¡¯t seriously want to send them on their way whilst they¡¯re not at 100%.¡± Kimika retorted. ¡°You know as well as I do that you¡¯re not always going to be at 100% going into every battle. The whole point of the exercise was for them to gain valuable experience that could save their lives in the future. This should just be another lesson for them,¡± Wukong replied. And as much as they wanted to disagree, each of the other instructors knew his words made sense. ¡°Little Kong¡¯s right,¡± Arianna stated. ¡°Anyway, the trip for each of them will take at least three hours, so they still have more time to recover. Between that, the fact that they both have strong teammates to watch their back, and that their all being dropped off at the outskirts of the mountain range, there¡¯s not much reason to worry.¡± Hearing that, the minds of Mathias and the others were put at ease. Now all that was left to do was set off. ¡°Okay, everyone, split into your three teams,¡± Mathias announced directly. ¡°Let¡¯s get ready to go.¡± As he said that, the Pavilion¡¯s head put both his index finger and thumb in his mouth and let out a loud, high-pitched whistle summoning three terrifying giant birds. On the left was Elise, the now ninth-ranked four-winged hurricane falcon that brought word of the soon-to-be invasion of Silverlight City to Wukong and Ace. On the right was a ninth-rank Wildthunder Stormhawk with a body full of glistening silver feathers, a crest of blue feathers atop its head, and golden eyes that made it look especially magical. And in the centre, a saint-level Hellfire Phoenix slowly floated downwards, silently exuding an aura that seemed to command respect from all who lay eyes on it. Five years ago, anyone of these three beasts would¡¯ve inspired no small amount of fear in the youngsters. Still, after half a decade in the Pavilion, they¡¯d all become very familiar with these particular magical beasts. The Four-Winged Hurricane Falcon was the beast partner of Kimika, whilst the Wildthunder Stormhawk, Silver, was the familiar of Lazerim. As for the Hellfire Phoenix¡­ Its name was Jax, and he was the partner of Arianna. After the three avian beasts descended, the teens proceeded to say their goodbyes before following their respective instructors onto one of the three birds, preparing to set off. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we take Elise, or even Silver?¡± Ace asked helplessly as he hopped on Jax¡¯s back. ¡°I could do with as much sleep as possible before we arrive.¡± ¡°You can blame your master for that one,¡± Lauriella smirked. ¡°He said that as you were the one who led Killian astray, this should be your punishment.¡± Hearing that, Ace turned to glare daggers at the man who was supposed to be his master. ¡°You shitty old fart! Isn¡¯t a master supposed to take care of their disciple?!¡± ¡°Who told you to take Killian and get drunk last night?¡± Aiden replied dismissively. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do it last night, but It¡¯s not like I had much of a choice,¡± Ace argued back. ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± Aiden asked back as if he seriously didn¡¯t know. Ace was about to get into a war of words with his master, but he forcibly stopped himself. He¡¯d learnt the hard way how unreasonable the man could be. ¡°After putting up with your shit for five years, I¡¯ve more than earnt this six-month holiday.¡± ¡°You? I was the one who had to forgo a lot of my normal rest time to train you, and what did I get in return? A snot-nosed disciple who still can¡¯t even fuse both states of wielding!¡± Aiden argued back. ¡°These next six months are more a break for me than for you!¡± ¡°Whatever!¡± Ace snorted, trying his best not to get wound up, knowing that was exactly what the ¡®old man¡¯ wanted. ¡°Ooh and brat,¡± Aiden called out as Lauriella commanded Jax to take off. ¡°Don¡¯t die out there.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Ace replied, flashing a confident grin before taking off. . . . Even though Ace¡¯s group had the furthest to travel, with Jax being a genuine saint-level beast, they had spent the least time travelling. And if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, flying at that kind of speed, the wind resistance prevented Ace from falling asleep. But it wasn¡¯t even him who had it worst in their group. Seeing how he wasn¡¯t even a warrior of the first rank, Julius spent the whole of their flight in near-constant pain with the wind slapping against his face. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lauriella had held him by his brown mage¡¯s robe, he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to remain on Jax¡¯s back. He heard Lauriella say that their taking Jax was a punishment for Ace, but whenever he looked up at the violet-haired warrior keeping him on board, he saw a mocking smirk suffusing her cherry-coloured lips. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Lauriella stated as Jax finally came to a stop allowing the three youths to look down at the long winding expanse of forest that effectively cut the whole of the continent in two. ¡°I know you¡¯re all strong enough to look after yourselves now, but inside the mountain range are several beings, human and magical beast alike, that are stronger than both my husband and me. So look after yourselves and, more importantly, look after each other. I¡¯ll meet you all back here in six months. Ooh, and Julius, if at that time you¡¯re ready to start training as a warrior to increase your survivability, just know, I¡¯ll be more than happy to train you.¡± An almost nefarious laugh escaped the supreme warrior descendant as she and Jax took off again, leaving the trio to begin their journey. Book 3: Chapter 6 – An Old Friend In the middle of a clearing deep within the mountain range of magical beasts, a giant Landwyrm of the sixth rank was viciously attacking a young girl. But despite their size difference, the young teen calmly evaded each strike wielding her twin katanas to leave small cuts where possible. ¡°[Blinding Light],¡± Amira called out, causing an incredibly to be emitted from the tips of her swords. The light easily blinded the beast, allowing Amira to close in with incredible speed turning into a blur as she danced around the enormous dragon-type beast leaving a myriad of gaping slash wounds on its body. As it couldn¡¯t see, the wyrm screeched and roared as it violently flailed around, hoping to catch its attacker with a lucky attack. But, unfortunately, Amira could see each of its attacks coming a mile away. By the time it regained its sight, it saw compressed air gathered around the blade of one of her swords. Its cold reptilian eyes turned into pinholes as it felt the threat of death looming, but after all the damage it had accumulated, it was too weak to even attempt to dodge. A deafening roar escaped its mouth as a giant ball of fire began to take form between its jaws. ¡°[Wind Slash],¡± Amira called out as she slashed her sword across her body. The wyrm launched its fireball at the same time, and yet the crescent blade made of pure wind tore through the air at an alarming speed chopping the man-sized ball of fire in half and continuing on to slice straight through the upper half of the dragon¡¯s still opened mouth leaving it with only half of its head. ¡°Not good enough,¡± Amira sighed to herself, disappointed with her performance. ¡°Not good enough? You do realise you jumped two ranks to defeat a dragon-type magical beast, don¡¯t you?¡± Ace asked helplessly as he suddenly appeared behind her. ¡°Most people our age could only dream about an accomplishment half as impressive.¡± ¡°That sounds oddly patronising coming from you,¡± Amira snorted, giving the dark-haired teen an almost threatening stare. ¡°I agree,¡± Julius said as he waddled over from the tree he took cover behind. ¡°It¡¯s definitely patronising. Very patronising!¡± ¡°Who asked you, fatty!¡± Ace snorted, glaring at the round teen as if he was daring him to continue. ¡°Mira, Ace is bullying me again,¡± Julius said as he hurried to Amira¡¯s side. ¡°Why are you running to Mira like she¡¯s your older sister?¡± Ace asked disdainfully. ¡°You do realise you¡¯re the oldest one here, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°And why are you taking your frustration out on him for telling the truth,¡± Amira retorted. ¡°Why¡¯s the top disciple for five consecutive years, in an institution for geniuses, trying to talk for ¡°most people our age¡±?¡± Ace looked blankly at Amira, not knowing how to respond. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought!¡± The little Amazonian snorted. ¡°Since you actually started speaking to me, all you do is take fatty¡¯s side and gang up on me,¡± Ace mumbled under his breath, knowing that arguing was all but pointless. ¡°What was that?¡± Amira asked, raising an eyebrow as she stared Ace down. ¡°Nothing,¡± Ace hurriedly replied. ¡°I was just saying how amazing you were in your fight.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think so,¡± Amira replied. ¡°Come on fatty, let¡¯s go relax whilst Ace brings tonight¡¯s dinner back to the campsite.¡± Ace could only watch helplessly as Amira and Fatty hurried away. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The trio had been in the mountain range for over a month now. The first week had been pretty tough on Amira and Julius as there had been several assassination attempts made on them, but thankfully, none of their would-be attackers were too powerful, and Ace was there. After their first attack, Ace made sure to keep his [Observation] spread over a 100-meter radius. When not compressed, his [Observation] reached over 2.2 kilometers, so 100-meters was easily maintainable for the current him. Julius, or fatty as he was known by his peers, struggled to adapt the most. Not because Ace and Amira forced him to get involved in the battles but because he truly hated the blood and gore that came with them. It was only after a few days that Julius told them that before he became a mage, he was the only son of a single mom, who was also a magic chef ¨C A chef who uses magic to cook. Unfortunately, he never got to meet his father, as he died in a battle for the Rhine Empire before he was born. Even though it was only him and his mother, he never wanted for anything, and because of her position as a magic chef, they were a well-respected family within their town. Unfortunately, those days of peace came to an end when his town suffered the assault of a saint-level warrior who was angered by our city lord who had apparently stolen a treasure from under his nose. He ended up being the sole survivor of that massacre, with his mother using all her power to save his life. Ace and Amira could see the distress on their classmate¡¯s face as he forced himself to relive that traumatic incident, but he continued anyway. He explained how the only things he had left of his mothers were the pendant he wore on his neck and her mage¡¯s tome. It was with that tome that he taught himself fire magic. He didn¡¯t know he was particularly talented until much later. All he knew was that tome would give him a chance to start on the right path to avenge his mother. After the massacre, he was taken to an orphanage in a neighbouring town, where he was bullied for being such a loner. The bullying was so bad that he was beaten severely on a nearly daily basis, but he didn¡¯t care. The only thing on his mind was avenging his mother. Eventually, he broke through to the first rank as a fire mage. And like most children who suddenly developed the ability to protect themselves after being bullied, he intended to use his newfound powers on his bullies. The next time they came to pick on him, he had every intention of burning them to a crisp when a memory of his mother surfaced. It was on one of the anniversaries of his late father¡¯s death. It was the only time he ever remembered his mother crying. She practically begged him never to take up fighting. She wanted him to grow up without having to worry for his life because of a fight that didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. As he said that, a sorrowful smile suffused his lips as he explained that deep down, he knew his mother would never expect him to not at least protect himself if someone wanted his life. Still, his mother was a woman who gave him everything he ever wanted and asked for nothing in return; how could he bring himself to ignore the only request she ever made of him? Amira promised that when she became a saint in the future, she would go and hunt down the saint and bring his head for him to lay at his mother¡¯s grave. When he heard that, a desolate smile appeared on Julius¡¯ face as he explained that Lauriella had already offered to do the same thing. As tempted as he was, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to accept her offer. If his mother was ever to be avenged, it needed to be with his own hands. He refused to let anyone else do it on his behalf. If he did, he would never be able to face his mother in the afterlife. Ace was left speechless when he learnt the truth about Julius¡¯ past. He knew how cruel and merciless the world could be; just their first few days in the wild had proven it. But after everything he¡¯d experienced in his previous life, how could he ever tell Julius he was making a mistake? In fact, he respected the overweight teen now more than ever. To be born with the talent to reach a level where he¡¯d almost definitely be able to avenge his mother one day, and yet because of something his mother asked of him when he was still a toddler, he not only chose against revenge, he also refused to take the easy way out and ask someone else to do it on his behalf¡­ That kind of inner strength was beyond rare. Since then, their group of three became closer than ever. And even though he never helped in terms of actual combat, Julius made sure to fill their stomachs with fantastic food daily. Although cooking in the wild was said to be a big no-no, with Ace¡¯s [Observation], they were able to quickly deal with any and all potential problems, giving Julius a chance to cook freely. ¡°Wooh, fatty, you really outdid yourself with that one,¡± Ace complimented as he lay back to relax whilst his food digested. ¡°You really did,¡± Amira added. ¡°You¡¯re better than the chefs in the palace back home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it,¡± Julius beamed. Since he couldn¡¯t avenge her, he decided to honour his mother by following in her footsteps as a magic chef. Hearing others praise his cooking was like music to his ears. Whilst Amira and Julius were talking amongst themselves, Ace suddenly sat up straight. A look of shock appearing on his face. ¡®Is that¡­¡¯ ¡°What is it?¡± Fatty asked. ¡°Is someone coming?¡± Amira quickly stored all their items in her interspatial ring, thinking that trouble was approaching. ¡°Not exactly,¡± Ace said as a fiendish grin took shape on his devilishly handsome face. ¡°I just saw an old friend I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting again.¡± Book 3: Chapter 7 – Ace Vs Linley (1) A little over a mile away, a handsome teen with dark brown hair could be seen calmly walking through the forest with an adorable jet-black little mouse sitting leisurely on his shoulder when suddenly, the image of an illusory old man materialised behind the teen. The boy was Linley Baruch. One of the Ernst Institute¡¯s two supreme genius mages and the heir to the Baruch Clan. The little rat-type magical beast on his shoulder was his beast partner, a ¡®mutated Shadowmouse¡¯, Bebe and the illusory old man that just appeared behind him was his master, Doehring Cowart, a former saint-level earth mage that sealed himself in the ring on Linley¡¯s right index finger. ¡°Grandpa Doehring, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Linley asked cautiously. They had been in the Mountain Range of magical beasts for almost two months now, and in that time, his master didn¡¯t actually intervene much. Doehring Cowart knew that this disciple of his was very talented, but having grown up as the young master of a clan which ruled over a small village, Linley had never suffered any hardships till now. Although due to how his father raised him, he was very mature for his age, Linley still had a lot of growing to do, and as far as Cowart was concerned, this trip was necessary to temper Linley¡¯s spirit to better prepare him for inevitable future hardships, but anyone who could use their spirit to lock on to the presence of another was someone dangerous. Likely too dangerous for the current Linley. ¡°I just sensed an odd spiritual essence lock on to us,¡± The white-haired old man said with a deepening frown as he looked in the direction of Ace and his group. ¡°Linley, you need to be extremely careful this time. Whoever¡¯s approaching is a warrior also in the fourth rank with spiritual essence several times even yours.¡± A frown appeared on the brown-haired teen¡¯s face as he pulled out an incredibly sharp inky black dagger he¡¯d taken from the corpse of an assassin who had previously targeted him and insta-cast the first rank wind spell ¨C [Wind Scout], just in time to see his supposed attacker closing in on him. ¡°Yoo, Linley. It¡¯s been a while,¡± Ace said as he suddenly appeared just over a dozen meters away. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Linley asked back as he looked at the somewhat familiar teen before him whilst trying to suppress the shock in his heart. The boy looked to be significantly younger than him, but according to his master¡¯s warning, was a warrior no weaker than him and even stronger spiritually. The talent needed to accomplish feats such as that was nothing short of astounding. As for not recognising him, it had been over seven years since Linley had last seen Ace and almost six since he heard about the incident between him and his brother. To him, the youth who¡¯d rejected his family¡¯s goodwill had been no more than an afterthought, so not being able to recognise him after all this time made sense. ¡°Ooh, you really don¡¯t recognise me?¡± Ace asked with an evil smirk. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, though. Why would the young master of the famous Lizardblood warriors recognise a simple child of humble beginnings.¡± As Ace¡¯s voice waned, Linley¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened around his dagger. He may not recognise the youth, but he could hear the animosity in his voice, and for the bloodline he was so proud to be a part of, despite not having the required purity to truly awaken it, to be referred to as ¡®Lizardblood¡¯¡­ Linley¡¯s anger could be imagined, but thankfully after his time in the wild, he had matured significantly. Nevertheless, keeping his emotions in check was all but a necessity if one wanted to survive in an environment like this. ¡°I believe his name was Ace,¡± Cowart mentally transmitted to his disciple. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, he was the child your family originally wanted to make your personal guard.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Although he was back in the coiling dragon ring, not wanting to take any chances after sensing Ace¡¯s odd usage of spiritual essence, the former saint could still see what was happening in the real world. And like his disciple, he too was in shock when he saw the youngster. Of all the children Doehring had seen since taking Linley as his disciple, despite only seeing him once, it was this youth who left the most profound impression on him. Not only was his talent amongst the best he¡¯d ever seen or heard of, the manner in which he conducted himself when politely but firmly rejecting the Baruch family¡¯s offer was nothing like one would expect from a child. Hearing his master¡¯s words, Linley¡¯s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as the image of the boy who rejected his father¡¯s offer all those years ago overlapped with the teen before him today. ¡°You¡¯re the one who broke my brother¡¯s arm and embarrassed my family five years ago?¡± Linley asked coolly. ¡°You seem angry,¡± Ace smirked as he spun the glaive he took from the assassins the Baruchs had hired to kill his family around his hand with deft control. ¡°But it¡¯s us who should be angry after what your pathetic excuse for a family did.¡± Ace thought back to the assassination attempt six years ago. If any of them were even a little bit weaker, or if his mother didn¡¯t awaken her [Conqueror¡¯s haki], there was a very good chance that he could have lost everyone he cared about in this new life. Each time the glaive completed a full spin, a bit more of the anger he¡¯d been suppressing all this time seeped out, transforming into a killing intent so potent it was almost tangible. Amira, who had just arrived after carrying Julius, looked at Ace from behind, taken aback by what she was witnessing. She¡¯d felt Ace¡¯s killing intent several times over the last month. Whenever an assassin was to target her, no matter if they were close or not, Ace¡¯s killing intent would flare. Still, though she never came out and said it, despite his killing intent making the temperature in the surrounding area plummet, it made her feel oddly warm inside, but this¡­ Ace¡¯s current killing intent made him seem less human and more like a demon that had slaughtered its way out of the depths of hell. ¡°Mira, Fatty, you guys should leave,¡± Ace said frigidly, his cold, emotionless eyes remaining trained on Linley. ¡°I¡¯m going to take this little wannabe lizard¡¯s head and send it back to his family. I don¡¯t think Fatty should be here to watch this.¡± Julius was shocked by the killing intent Ace exuded. Like Amira, he too had felt Ace¡¯s killing intent several times over the last month, but where it was usually focused on the assassins who attacked them, this time, not only was it infinitely stronger, but it was also unrestrained. ¡°Fatty,¡± Amira called out loud as she continued to stare at Ace. ¡°You get back; I¡¯m going to stay here.¡± ¡°O¡­ Okay,¡± Julius said as he hurriedly did as was told. Linley was far from an idiot. He didn¡¯t know of any plot to have Ace and his family killed, so typically, he would¡¯ve picked up on the oddity of Ace¡¯s words, but his clan was a sensitive subject for him. As the firstborn, both his mother and father had put the restoration of their clan in his hands, but the look of dejection on his parent¡¯s faces when he failed to reveal the bloodline purity needed to become a Dragonblood warrior stayed with him till this day. It was a big part of the reason he worked so hard despite Wharton, his little brother, being more than capable of restoring his family¡¯s former glory. So for Ace, someone who¡¯d already humiliated his family on two separate occasions to do so again in such a blatant manner, even after the arrival of Ace¡¯s party, it was taking all of his willpower not to charge over. ¡°Bebe,¡± Linley said in a voice no less frosty than Ace¡¯s. ¡°Don¡¯t interfere. He¡¯s mine!¡± Sensing Linley¡¯s rage via their connection, Bebe wanted nothing more than to tear the youth that angered his only family limb from limb, but ultimately, he trusted Linley and hopped off his shoulder so Linley could handle it himself. Cowart silently watched everything unfold with a pensive expression on his face. Unlike Linley, he knew there was undoubtedly more to the story. In fact, he had a pretty good idea as to what happened. Still, he said nothing in the end. ¡°[Super Sonic],¡± Linley voiced aloud as he turned into a blur speeding straight towards his opponent. As a warrior of the fourth rank and a mage of the fifth, Linley¡¯s speed was very impressive. But, unfortunately, his opponent was Ace. A derisive smirk hung on Ace¡¯s lips as his glaive moved like a snake to intercept him before he could even use his dagger to attack. Linley hurriedly brought his dagger to attempt to parry the blow as he forcibly came to a stop, but Ace¡¯s strike was a lot stronger than he anticipated. Though he was successful in parrying the strike, he was still sent stumbling back over ten steps before he was able to stabilise his footing. As he looked up, he saw Ace looking straight at him in pure disdain. ¡°Is that it?¡± Book 3: Chapter 8 – Ace Vs Linley (2) The shock Linley radiated was palpable as he stared at the teen two years younger than him. Despite using [Super Sonic] to increase his speed and them being the same rank as warriors, Ace was somehow able to generate a lot more power than he could. ¡°One with the glaive,¡± Doehring Cowart sighed in admiration as he looked at Ace from within the coiling dragon ring. ¡°Linley, you can¡¯t fight him in close quarters. With him having comprehended ¡®One with the glaive¡¯, you trying to get close to him is nothing short of suicidal.¡± Linley didn¡¯t respond; he simply glared unwillingly at his opponent. He was a descendant of one of the four supreme warriors, and even without having awakened his bloodline ability, he was still blessed with a body somewhat stronger than those at the same rank and yet here he was being bullied by a boy two years his junior. Still, he wasn¡¯t an idiot. Through the notes given to him by his father documenting the path of a warrior, he was fully aware of what becoming one with your weapon meant. Thankfully, whilst he was a talented warrior, that came second to his talent as a mage. ¡°[Earth Spike],¡± Linley called out as he flicked his wrist and began chanting the incantation for his next spell. Despite being so quick with his spell, Ace could literally see the earth essence gathering beneath his feet. Before the spell had even formed, he had already moved out of the way as he launched himself at his opponent, but Linley wasn¡¯t done. ¡°[Superfield gravity],¡± Linley called out as his glaive-wielding opponent neared. Ace suddenly felt the gravity in the area double, but he barely flinched as he channelled more strength into his legs as he attempted to close the gap. Linley smirked when he saw Ace suddenly slow whilst under the effects of the increased gravity. He was a Baruch, a supreme warrior descendant. If he couldn¡¯t beat Ace up front as a warrior, he¡¯d use magic to support him, but one way or another, he would defeat Ace as a warrior. He recast his [Supersonic] spell and charged in once again. This time he found it a lot easier to get in range to use his dagger, but Ace was still able to calmly react to each of Linley¡¯s attacks. With his [Observation], he could clearly see the path of Linley¡¯s attacks and skilfully use various parts of his polearm to defend without taking a single hit. One might think that his most significant improvements over the last five years came from his various breakthroughs, but in truth, his biggest gain came in the shape of his battle IQ. One of the things that made Aiden such an incredible warrior was how he could use minimal effort to defeat those much stronger than him. He could see the weakness of his enemies at a glance and use the least amount of strength required to take advantage of that. A lot of Ace¡¯s time training was spent sparring with his master, who would do nothing but attack his weak spots. Whilst Ace never seemed to get any closer to closing the gap between his master, when facing the others, Amira included, he could use less and less effort to defeat them. That was the main reason why everyone, minus Amira, and Killian, refused to fight against Ace anymore. It was simply too frustrating. And now Linley was starting to feel that very frustration. Despite being able to use a lot more speed and strength than his opponent, Ace hadn¡¯t taken a single step back as he blocked, parried, and dodged each of his opponent¡¯s strikes. The thing was, the more frustrated he became, the more openings he left, and Ace was nothing if not decisive. As soon as he saw an opening, Ace¡¯s glaive was like a predator that smelled blood. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Ugh!¡± Linley grunted as he jumped back, using his empty hand to cover the bloody gash on his shoulder. Although it wasn¡¯t deep, it was definitely a hindrance, especially in a battle of this level. Moreover, the lapse in concentration caused by the wound even caused the dispersion of the gravity spell. He couldn¡¯t help but gnash his teeth in frustration as he looked at Ace¡¯s indifferent visage. ¡®Is the difference between us really this big?¡¯ Suddenly, Ace¡¯s figure disappeared from his field of view, and Linley¡¯s eyes threatened to pop out of their socket. ¡°[Wall of Earth], [Earth Shield],¡± Linley roared, insta-casting two weaker defensive spells and launching his body out the way as Ace appeared by his side and began chanting for his next spell. Seeing so much earth being used as a last-ditch effort to shield his target from harm, a disdainful snort left Ace¡¯s mouth as the whole of his glaive turned pitch black. Linley watched in horror as the now obsidian polearm sliced straight through his spells like a hot knife through butter, but Ace was far from finished. He had to patiently wait and bide his time under Linley¡¯s relentless barrage of attacks when he was suppressed by the increased gravity. Now it was Linley¡¯s turn to be on the receiving end of his attacks. As the jet-black blade of Ace¡¯s glaive descended, Linley felt as though he was standing beneath a falling mountain. He immediately understood that not only had this young enemy of his comprehended ¡®one with the glaive¡¯, he had also comprehended ¡®wielding light as though it were heavy¡¯. It was at that moment that he thought back to the day his family had originally asked Ace to become his personal guard. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that Ace was more than justified in turning down such a position. He had heard from his family that although Ace had set a record for his spiritual essence, he had no affinities, so whilst there was a good chance that Ace would one day go on to become a ninth-rank warrior, his becoming a saint was all but impossible. Still, as he looked at the unwavering confidence that radiated from Ace¡¯s eyes, Linley felt there was nothing capable of stopping Ace¡¯s rise. For the briefest of moments, Linley resigned himself to his defeat, but then the memory of his father entrusting him with the clan¡¯s future resurfaced in his mind. ¡®I can¡¯t die here; I have to survive!¡¯ ¡°[Wall of Earth], [Earth Shield].¡± Linley roared as his mageforce sprang to life like never before. Under the threat of death, Linley managed to achieve a small breakthrough to become a mid-rank five mage. The earth by his feet shot up and over his head to slow the incoming strike, and right behind that was a floating shield of earth. Linley was under no delusions. He knew that even with his minor breakthrough, these two spells would be nowhere near strong enough to protect him from this next blow, but he wasn¡¯t done. ¡°[Earthguard]!¡± Linley roared as he raised his arms above his head and a layer of stone covered his body. This was the first time Linley managed to insta-cast a spell of the same rank. Any other day, Linley would have been immensely proud of his achievements, but now, all of his attention was on Ace¡¯s descending glaive. As he expected, the two weaker spells did next to nothing in the face of Ace¡¯s strike, but it did give him just enough time for his [Earthguard] to finish forming. But, unfortunately, he still underestimated Ace¡¯s attack. Ace¡¯s haki-coated glaive cut through the stone, leaving a long gash on his wrists and across his chest. Ace was just about to finish the job and lob off Linley¡¯s head when he noticed a black shadow speeding through the air in his direction at a speed that caught even him by surprise. Still, he kept his calm as he smoothly transitioned from ¡®wielding light as though it were heavy¡¯ to ¡®wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯. His glaive was like a blur as it flickered into the path of the shadow. Ace¡¯s dark eyes widened with surprise as he felt his arms numb and took three steps back to stabilise himself. ¡°Bebe,¡± Linley said weakly as he tried his best to ignore his wounds. ¡°Thank you for saving me again. It looks like I¡¯m going to need your help after all.¡± ¡°Scree!¡± The little black rodent called out as it licked its boss¡¯s wounds and glared threateningly at the one who caused all the damage. ¡°ACE!¡± Amira called out worriedly. She knew Ace¡¯s strength better than anyone. That last strike may have been redirected at the last moment, but he wasn¡¯t holding back in the slightest, and yet, he was still forced to retreat. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Ace said, sensing the worry in Amira¡¯s voice. ¡°I still don¡¯t want you to interfere. This is something I need to do by myself.¡± His voice remained emotionless as his eyes stayed on the tiny mouse that was somehow able to get the better of him in a direct confrontation. He may not know much about the various types of magical beasts, but he understood that that mouse was definitely no ordinairy magical beast, but it didn¡¯t matter. All he knew was that a year from today would mark the first anniversary of Linley Baruch¡¯s death, and if the mouse insisted on getting in the way, he would kill it too! Book 3: Chapter 9 – Wielding Fusion As surprised as Ace and Amira were, Linley was even more so. He knew Bebe''s strength better than anyone. Though he was only a rank-four magical beast, Bebe was more than capable of fighting off rank-seven magical beasts on his own, and his speed was by far one of its most impressive attributes, and yet, Ace had managed to divert his attack at the last second to block his beast companion''s surprise attack. A sigh escaped Linley''s mouth as his former rage calmed. "My family was wrong to look down on you for rejecting to be my guard. If that''s why you wish to kill me, on behalf of my family, I apologise." From inside the coiling dragon ring, Linley''s master smiled appreciatively. ''It takes a wise man to be able to ignore his pride and take a step back. Unfortunately, if I''m right, that won''t be enough¡­" "Hahahaha, you apologise? Do you think that''s enough? Because of your family''s pathetic pride, my family were almost slaughtered!" Ace laughed, the anger in his heart rising to all-new heights. "No matter where it is, you nobles always believe you''re beyond reproach. I don''t want your apology. I want your head!" As he said that Ace masterfully used [Soru] to charge in Linley''s direction. Unfortunately, although Linley was injured, his beast companion wasn''t. Even with Ace focused on the shadowy magical beast, it still appeared as a blur. If it wasn''t for his ability to see through its intention, Ace might not even be able to react. Still, he was placed in a position where all he could do was defend. Seeing that Bebe was able to steadily suppress his attacker, Linley decided to take that time to recover what little energy he could. He knew that Ace had two more teammates, and even if he didn''t know exactly how strong they were just from looking at them, he knew they were unlikely to just sit back and watch as Ace died. For both his and Bebe''s sakes, he couldn''t afford to underestimate them. Ace had been on the defensive for over five minutes already, and unlike Linley, who began to lose his patience after finding no opening, this little shadowy rodent appeared to be a natural-born predator. "Looks like I can''t hold back anymore," Ace sighed as he blocked another one of his new opponent''s strikes. As he said that, he unstrapped the glaive that Wukong had gifted him from his back and calmly put it on the ground. "Bebe, be careful," Linley transmitted mentally to his beast partner. "I don''t know why but both he and his partner seem a lot more confident now that he''s taken it off." "Don''t worry, boss," Bebe sent back confidently. "He may have been holding back, but so was I." As Ace removed his glaive, a sigh of relief escaped Amira''s thick bow-shaped lips. This was the main reason that Amira had been able to keep herself from interfering in Ace''s fight so far. It had to be remembered that ''Newgate'' ¨C Ace''s new glaive ¨C was made from Adamantine and Ichor Wood, two of the heaviest materials on the continent. Though he wasn''t ready to start using it as yet, Ace had decided to keep it on his back as a passive way to train. Not only had it affected his movement speed, it had also restricted his movements slightly. Amira knew that when he removed it, his speed would be incomparable to what it was. Ace saw an almost human-like derisive sneer on the little mouse''s face as it tore through the air towards his neck. He knew it more than likely didn''t believe Ace could do anything to change his position, but it was in for a rude awakening. As it neared the neck of its prey, Bebe''s jaw opened, revealing its razor-like teeth, preparing to tear a chunk out of Ace''s neck, but instead, he phased straight through his opponent''s body. ''Afterimage?'' Cowart realised in shock. After removing the deadweight from his back, Ace managed to set a new personal best for [Soru], kicking off against the ground 23 times in an instant. "BEBE, WATCH OUT!" Linley shouted as Ace appeared behind his beast companion. Ace''s [Haki] infused glaive was like a shooting star as he performed a perfect [Thrust] straight into the airborne rodent. Linley could only watch in horror as Bebe, a magical beast he saw as more of a brother, was sent flying through the air. "I''LL KILL YOU!" He roared, his voice a mix of fury and anguish. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He ignored his wounds as he hurriedly stood to his feet and shot forward. "Not if I kill you first," Ace smirked as he seemingly teleported in front of his target, performing yet another meteoric [Thrust] aiming for Linley''s heart. "[Superfield Gravity], [Supersonic], [Earthguard]!" Linley roared, impressively insta-casting not three spells, two of which were spells of his own rank. It was true; there was no faster way to improve than in life-and-death battles. Linley''s improvements during this fight were incredible. Unfortunately, Ace was too much of a monster in comparison. He felt the gravity double suddenly, and although his attack slowed slightly, it was still too fast for Linley to dodge or block. But at that moment, defence was the last thing on Linley''s mind. To him, Ace had just murdered his brother. The only thing he wanted was Ace''s death. He completely ignored Ace''s attack as he threw his dagger at Ace''s head. Seeing that, Ace merely smirked. With incredible control, he went from offence to defence, and back to offence in one move. As the dagger was mere inches from his face, he spun the glaive in his fingers, knocking it up with the butt of his polearm and using the momentum of his spinning glaive, he seamlessly transitioned into a [Chop]. Amira could only sigh in admiration at Ace''s skill. Honestly, it was like watching an artist at work. When using magic to supplement her abilities as a warrior, technically, she should be the superior of the two, but Ace''s skill and combat experience put him in a league of his own. If it were anyone else, she would more than likely hate the feeling of being second best, but for some reason, she didn''t mind it with Ace. Time seemed to slow as Linley watched the air being split by Ace''s glaive. He was under no delusions. He knew that his [Earthguard] wouldn''t be able to block this next blow, especially with his [Superfield Gravity] spell increasing the power of Ace''s attack, but at this point, he didn''t care. He watched with a helpless smile as death approached. ''Father, Mother, Wharton, I''m sorry, but this is as far as I go.'' Linley thought to himself. ''Bebe, I''ll see you soo-'' Just as Linley felt he was about to die, he heard an immature voice in his mind. "I''m not dead yet, boss!" He''d been so overwhelmed by his partner''s ''death'' that Linley forgot his bond with Bebe was still as strong as ever. Bebe''s speed was definitely one of his most impressive attributes, but without a doubt, his most impressive attribute was his defence. Not even a seventh-rank magical beast had been able to do anything to him, let alone a fourth-rank warrior, even one as heaven-defying as Ace. Ace had long since realised his attack had done next to no damage. As shocking as it was, he was more focused on killing Linley. He would focus on the little rat after Linley''s death. Unfortunately for Ace, it seemed that he wasn''t the only one who''d been holding back. Bebe shot forward like a bullet, his speed reaching all new heights. The edge of his obsidian blade was centimetres from Linley''s face when Bebe crashed into its flat side, knocking it just off target. As Ace''s glaive crashed into the ground, a small crater formed by Linley''s feet, but as soon as he knew Bebe was all right, he had already begun jumping back, trusting his partner would handle the incoming attack. From there, the second round between Ace and Bebe began, and although Ace wasn''t suppressed as badly as at the beginning of the fight, he could do next to no damage to Bebe, even with his [Armament Haki]. He knew the only way he could break the freakish defence of this monstrous rodent was if he switched to ''Wielding light as though it were heavy''. But, unfortunately, the drop in speed would mean that not only would he be unable to land a hit on his rocket-like opponent, he would undoubtedly suffer from its razor-sharp claws and teeth. Instead of giving in to his frustrations, Ace''s focus reached all new heights. He focused on nothing but penetrating the rat''s ridiculous armoured fur. It appeared the fight was at a stalemate as neither could break the defence of the other, but neither appeared willing to give up. After ensuring that Bebe was in no immediate danger, Linley sat down to recover as much as possible in preparation for what was to come. The fight continued for almost two hours, with neither party slowing down when a giant grin suddenly appeared on Ace''s face. "Hahaha, I finally did it!" As his voice waned, a frown suddenly appeared on Linley''s face. At first, the strike seemed no different than before. Its speed was impressive but not too much for Bebe to handle, but when the two made contact, Bebe was forced to retreat. That wasn''t the shocking part, though. What really made Linley worry was the drops of blood on Ace''s glaive. Though it was only a couple of drops, meaning it hadn''t done much damage, its implications were what made Linley worry. It meant Ace was now capable of hurting Bebe, which in turn, meant Ace''s victory was only a matter of time. "Bebe¡­" Linley called out worriedly as he suddenly began chanting quietly. Ace was too focused on Bebe to realise what Linley was doing. He immediately began to suppress the little rodent who was doing all it could to survive. Unfortunately, a new injury would appear on Bebe''s body with each subsequent clash. Ace might not have realised what Linley was up to, but Amira, who had been patiently watching from the side, immediately understood what Linley was planning to do when she heard him chant the incantation for the [Supersonic] Spell. Linley was easily capable of insta-casting a spell like that on himself, so when she heard the all too familiar incantation, it became obvious that he intended on using it on Bebe. "[Supersonic]," Amira called out as she, too, used [Soru] to appear in front of Linley, her sword pressed against his neck. She knew Ace wanted to kill him personally, so instead of killing, she resorted to threatening to kill him to keep him from finishing the spell. Ace was just about to finish Bebe, who had accumulated too many injuries to avoid this next attack when a scream entered his ears. "AMIRA?!" Ace shouted as he stopped his attack to turn to face the direction of the scream. When he turned, he was shocked by what he saw. Amira was on her knees, clutching her head in pain, and floating above her was the illusory figure of a smiling old man. The shocking part was that he couldn''t see him with his eyes; it was only through the use of his compressed [Observation] that he could see him. "Who are you?!" Ace asked through his teeth, his killing intent reaching all new heights. Book 3: Chapter 10 – The Truth About Pure Souls It wasn¡¯t only Amira, Fatty also seemed to have been affected by whatever the illusory old man had done, but unlike Amira, Julius had directly lost consciousness. Ace was moments away from victory, but he wouldn¡¯t allow his need for revenge to put those he cared about in harm¡¯s way¡­ ¡®Not again!¡¯ He wanted to grab Amira and Julius so he could at least try and protect them, but he didn¡¯t dare to move. He guessed the old man had used some type of spiritual technique to attack their souls. Whilst he knew it would have no effect on him due to the barrier his master had told him was protecting his soul, he also knew he wasn¡¯t fast enough to get to Amira and Julius before the ghost-like figure could attack again. As much as it pained him to admit it, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But if anything happened to either of them, he¡¯d slaughter everyone here in the most brutal way imaginable. It might seem arrogant, considering the old man was able to do so much damage with such ease, but Ace was confident that the old man was some sort of spirit. Of course, he had no idea what level he was at exactly, but as long as he wasn¡¯t a deity, he wouldn¡¯t be able to harm Ace¡¯s soul, which meant all Ace had to do was take on Linley and his beast partner and, in their current conditions, neither would be a match for him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I have no intention of harming you or your little friends any more than I already have,¡± Cowart explained when he felt Ace¡¯s steadily rising killing intent whilst hiding the shock he felt in his heart. ¡°I just needed to get your attention before you killed my disciple¡¯s beast companion.¡± Ace was right, he was nothing but a spirit at this point, but he was still a former saint-level mage. Even if he didn¡¯t have a corporeal body, his soul was still at the saint level. So even though he couldn¡¯t use spiritual attacks much without it weakening him, any casual attack should be more than enough to deal with a child. How could he be anything but shocked when the boy in front of him didn¡¯t seem to even feel it? ¡°Well, you have it,¡± Ace stated coldly. Doehring Cowart could only sigh helplessly. He was telling the truth when he said he didn¡¯t want to hurt Ace or his friends. He felt the boy and his family had gone through enough already; he didn¡¯t want to add to it. ¡°Both of your little friends will be okay after a little rest,¡± Cowart explained softly. ¡°To prove that I mean you no harm, I¡¯ll even let you bring both of your friends over to your side. I just want you to listen to everything I have to say, and then what happens next is up to you. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t have to tell you, but you¡¯re the one in the driving seat here.¡± Ace understood that that was the spirit¡¯s way of telling him he couldn¡¯t harm him and that he would do whatever he could to protect Linley and his mouse. Ace moved like a flash as he appeared behind Amira, lifting her carefully into his arms. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Hearing Ace¡¯s caring voice, a gentle smile appeared on the little amazon¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Ace didn¡¯t even spare a glance at the old ghost or Linley, who was glaring daggers at him. Amira¡¯s well-being was the only thing on his mind. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If it wasn¡¯t for me, none of th-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m fine,¡± Amira said reassuringly, not seeming to mind the fact that she was being carried like a princess by Ace. ¡°What about fatty?¡± Making sure to hold her tight in his arms, Ace swiftly made his way to where Julius was lying unconscious. ¡°I can¡¯t tell for certain,¡± Ace said as he lifted Julius over his shoulder and carried Amira in his other arm. ¡°But I think he¡¯s just unconscious.¡± As he returned, Ace stopped 10 meters away from Linley and his master. He gently lay Julius behind him and went to put Amira behind him, only for her to stop him. ¡°We handle whatever comes next together.¡± Ace wanted to argue, but when he saw the look in her eyes, he could only smile helplessly. But his heart felt a warmth he wasn¡¯t used to. Whether it was this life or his previous one, he had many people he cared about, many of whom were more than willing to give their lives for him, but none made him feel like Amira did. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! It was only when the sound of Doehring clearing his throat rang in his ears did Ace remember they weren¡¯t alone. Amira was shocked as Doehring allowed himself to become visible even to her. Though she quickly regained her composure as she frostily glared at him understanding he was the one responsible for the sudden spiritual attack she received. The warmth in Ace¡¯s heart was instantly replaced by a frigid killing intent as he locked eyes with the illusory old man who dared put his friends in harm¡¯s way. ¡°You have two minutes,¡± Ace stated directly. ¡°Speak!¡± ¡°First, my name¡¯s Doehring Cowart. I¡¯d like to extend my sincerest apologies on behalf of my disciple and his family,¡± Cowart said, not minding Ace¡¯s rudeness. ¡°Grandpa Doehring¡­¡± Linley said unwillingly. ¡°Why are you apologising? He tried to kill us after I already tried to apologise. He almost killed Bebe.¡± Though his injuries were far from fatal, Bebe¡¯s jet-black fur was stained red with his blood. He glared at Ace from Linley¡¯s shoulder as if he would attack the second Linley gave the order. Still, Ace remained completely unphased as he silently waited to hear what the ghost had to say. ¡°That¡¯s probably because you were apologising for the wrong thing,¡± Cowart said softly, bringing no small amount of confusion to Linley. ¡°You were apologising for the way your family treated Ace and his family after they rejected your offer, but Ace is angry ¨C and understandably so ¨C because your mother tried to have his family killed.¡± ¡°What? My mother would never do something like that!¡± Linley adamantly declared. Doehring could only sigh when he heard that. He knew that Linley deeply loved his parents, but he also understood what his mother was capable of. ¡°Linley, your mother¡¯s not the angel you believe her to be. At least not anymore.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Linley asked, his tone sombre. ¡°You remember when you were younger, and you overheard your father talking to that Hillman fellow about your mother¡¯s attempted kidnapping but never finding out who did it or why? At first, I didn¡¯t think much of it, but when I overheard people referring to your mother as a gentle and caring person, I found it weird as that¡¯s not the woman she was today. I know you love her, but I know you noticed the changes your mother¡¯s been experiencing over the years.¡± Cowart explained slowly. Linley didn¡¯t say anything, but the former saint knew that all things considered, that was his disciple¡¯s way of silently acknowledging his point. ¡°Well, if I¡¯m right, it was likely done by the Radiant Church, or at least by someone hoping to gain their favour,¡± Doehring explained, shocking both Ace and Linley. The only person who didn¡¯t seem too surprised by this sudden revelation was Amira, who seemed to figure something out from the old man¡¯s words. ¡°First, you need to understand, although it¡¯s a secret to the masses, for as long as I can remember, both the radiant church and the cult of shadows like to collect those born with pure souls and offer them up to their respective sovereigns. I don¡¯t know what those sovereigns want with them, but I know that both forces will do almost anything for more pure souls.¡± He explained. ¡°What are pure souls?¡± Ace asked when he remembered that his master had said his mother also had one. ¡°Those with pure souls are considered to be blessed by the heavens. They have incredibly high affinities to either the laws of life or light, allowing them to comprehend those laws with unparalleled ease. Their souls also grow stronger at an almost ridiculous speed, ensuring they won¡¯t meet a bottleneck till they become rank-nine mages. The other common factor those with pure souls share is their extremely kind natures. Unfortunately, that comes at a potential cost. If those with a pure soul come to suffer any kind of evil deed, their souls tend to become tainted with darkness. Over time, that person will become darker and darker in nature. Unless they can somehow find a way to overcome the darkness in their heart, they will eventually lose themselves in it completely.¡± As his master said that, Linley felt a deep worry take over his heart. Like his grandpa Doehring said, he noticed his mother¡¯s dark changes over time. Though she showed him and Wharton nothing but love, she had become arrogant and overbearing to everyone else, including his father ¨C Hogg. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything sooner?¡± Linley shouted at his master. As much as he loved his master, he wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive him if something happened to his mother because he refused to tell him about the problem sooner. ¡°Because whilst I do know a way to save her, it requires a certain potion, and several of the ingredients needed can only be found in the depths of the wild. Places where rank-eight and nine beasts run amok. There¡¯s a good chance you¡¯ll also have to go up against saint-level beasts.¡± Cowart sighed. ¡°Unless your strength reaches at least the eighth rank, you should forget about attempting to hunt the ingredients down.¡± Linley couldn¡¯t say anything in response to that. If this trip had taught him anything, it was that as talented as he was, he was far from invincible. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much,¡± Cowart said when he saw the sombre expression on his disciple¡¯s face. ¡°By my estimations, your mother should have another ten years before all hope¡¯s lost. As long as you can reach the eighth or even ninth rank by then, you should be able to venture into the wilderness and collect the ingredients.¡± Hearing that, hope blossomed in his heart. ¡®Five years! In five years, I¡¯ll reach the eighth rank, and then I¡¯ll venture into the wild.¡¯ Linley vowed internally. ¡®And after that, I¡¯ll destroy the radiant church for ever daring to harm my mother!¡¯ Cowart could guess what his disciple was thinking, but he didn¡¯t say anything to dissuade him. He knew better than anyone how talented Linley was; he was also very hard-working. Still, he had always been missing that ambition that was needed from true experts that aspired to reach the peak. This was precisely what Linley needed to really make the most of his untapped potential. In the space of one battle, he had found himself a bitter enemy and arguably most importantly, he¡¯d found himself a rival, but for Ace and Linley to truly become rivals, Ace would have to let go of his desire for vengeance. At least until Linley was able to mature. Book 3: Chapter 11 – Another Lizard ¡°As you can see, things weren¡¯t as they seemed,¡± Cowart said as he turned back to face Ace. ¡°I apologise for everything your family had to endure, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive them.¡± Hearing the explanation of Lina¡¯s descent into darkness, Ace¡¯s desire for revenge waned slightly. He knew it wasn¡¯t their fault, and by the sound of things, the rest of the family didn¡¯t know about her plans to have them killed. Still, Ace wasn¡¯t a saint who was willing to simply turn the other cheek. If her plan had been successful, he, Lance, Killian, and his beloved mother would have all lost their lives. A simple sorry wasn¡¯t enough to right that wrong. It was then that Linley did something that caught everyone present by surprise. ¡°I understand no sorry could ever be enough to curb your anger over such a vile act, so instead, I offer you my head,¡± Linley said as he prostrated himself before the dark-haired teen. ¡°Just allow me to save my mother¡¯s soul and uproot the church. Give me 50, no, 30, give me 30 years. In 30 years, after I finish handling my family¡¯s matters, you can do whatever you want with me. Whether you wish to kill me or have me serve as your personal guard, my life will be yours to command as you see fit.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, Bebe began squealing in protest, but Linley remained kneeling with his forehead firmly pressed against the ground. Though surprised by Linley¡¯s decision, Cowart didn¡¯t say anything to dissuade his disciple. Instead, he just patiently waited for the young warrior to make his decision. If it were anyone else who¡¯d made a vow like that, Ace would never have believed them, especially as Linley, an ignorant teen, was vowing to destroy a behemoth like the radiant church in only three decades, but when he heard the sincerity and resolve in his voice as he made his promise, Ace subconsciously believed he might just do it. ¡°Ahh, whatever, do what you want,¡± Ace replied before turning his attention back to the old ghost hovering above Linley. ¡°What were those ingredients you mentioned to heal the soul of someone with a tainted pure soul?¡± An amused smile hung on the old ghost¡¯s lips as he saw Ace¡¯s response or lack thereof in this case. Though he didn¡¯t come out and say it, judging by the fact that Ace¡¯s killing intent had all but vanished, it was clear that he no longer felt a need to seek out vengeance. Doehring believed that in the future, these two youngsters would grow to become true experts who would one day stand at the very apex of this world. He couldn¡¯t help but look forward to seeing that day with his very own eyes. ¡°Oii, ghost,¡± Ace called out once again upon seeing the distracted expression on his illusory face. ¡°The ingredients!¡± ¡°Ooh, right, yeah. They¡¯re as follows Blueheart Grass, Cloudsoul Root, Phoenix Heart Ginseng¡­¡± Cowart said, listing over a dozen ingredients. ¡°¡­ Like I told Linley, many of those can only be found in the depths of the wi-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to worry about me,¡± Ace snorted, still not completely having forgiven him for attacking Amira and Julius earlier. ¡°Oii, Fatty,¡± Ace called out, kicking the overweight mage in the side. ¡°Stop pretending to sleep. Get up. We¡¯re lea¡­¡± ¡°Why did you kick me? I¡¯m still injured, you know,¡± Julius complained as he rolled to his feet, only to see the grave expression on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°What is it?¡± It wasn¡¯t just him who noticed the sudden change in Ace¡¯s demeanour, they all did, but only Doehring Cowart was able to understand the reason behind it. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Mira, fatty, we need to leave. Now!¡± Ace said hurriedly as he took Mira and Julius by the hands and pulled them to run in the opposite direction he had just been looking. Unfortunately, it seemed Mira and Julius still weren¡¯t 100%. They barely ran three steps when both of them stumbled over. ¡°Their souls are still a little shaken,¡± Cowart explained apologetically. ¡°For fuck sake, old man. If anything happens to either of them, I¡¯m holding you personally responsible!¡± Ace said as he grabbed his old glaive. ¡°Mira, you and fatty need to try and escape whilst you still can.¡± ¡°What is it? What¡¯s coming our way?¡± Mira asked, unwilling to leave Ace on his own to face whatever threat had him so worked up. ¡°A magical beast of the fifth rank,¡± Ace stated as he turned to the approaching magical beast. ¡°Fifth rank?¡± Julius asked, his body relaxing when he heard that. ¡°If it¡¯s only at the fifth rank, why are you so nervous? I¡¯ve seen you defeat beasts at the seventh rank.¡± ¡°Because even though it¡¯s only at the fifth rank, the aura it¡¯s giving off is just as potent as that little rat,¡± Ace said, pointing to Bebe on Linley¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Divine Beast?¡± Amira asked in shock. ¡°It should be,¡± Ace answered helplessly. During his time at the Pavilion, his master told him about the various types of beasts they might come across in the future. Magical beasts were the most common. They would reach varying levels of strength depending on their bloodlines. Above them were Mystic Beasts, who would automatically reach the saint level upon reaching maturity. They were also able to jump a rank when fighting other creatures of the same level whilst still a mortal. Finally, there were the Divine Beasts Amira mentioned. According to Aiden, the chances of running across one were slim to none, as they were too rare. Whilst Mystic Beasts matured into saints, Divine Beasts automatically reached the Deity realm upon reaching maturity. If that wasn¡¯t shocking enough, they were also capable of jumping at least two realms as mortals. Though neither he nor Amira had seen or heard of a Divine Beast matching Bebe¡¯s description, for it to be able to fight Ace on par whilst only at the fourth rank as well meant it had to be a Divine Beast. And an extremely powerful one at that, considering it was able to jump not two but three ranks. Just seeing one Divine Beast was exceedingly rare, so to see two in one day was nothing short of shocking. Ace guessed it smelt Bebe¡¯s blood and rushed straight over to kill and eat the future deity-level rat, knowing it would greatly enhance its strength. Ace had half a mind to kill the little fellow and take Amira and Julius to escape, but firstly, he knew if he tried, the ghost would likely target his classmates again and secondly, he doubted the incoming divine beast would still let them escape anyway. It would more than likely see the rest of them as a dessert. ¡°Oii, Linley,¡± Ace hurriedly called out. ¡°Your mouse, can it still fight?¡± Linley was still in a daze after hearing everything Ace and Amira had said about Bebe. He¡¯d never even heard of Divine Beasts before, so how was he to know that his unassuming little partner was one? It made sense, though. He¡¯d never heard of any rat-type beasts anywhere near as special as Bebe. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to waste like this!¡± Ace shouted in frustration. ¡°Can it still fight?!¡± ¡°Errm,¡± Linley didn¡¯t want to let Bebe fight again in its current condition, not against a beast that was likely stronger than him even when he was at its best, but Bebe told him to let him fight, and even his master mentally told him that this was their only chance of getting out of this alive. ¡°Yeah, he can fight.¡± ¡°Good, tell it to support me,¡± Ace hurriedly commanded. ¡°The rest of you get back!¡± From the bottom of her heart, Amira desperately wanted to stay by Ace¡¯s side to face this new threat, but she also knew that in her current condition, she would only get in the way. ¡°What are you doing?! Stop!¡± Ace commanded as he heard her begin to chant, and her face pale. ¡°[Supersonic],¡± Amira voiced before wiping the blood trickling from her nose. ¡°I told you; we do this together!¡± ¡°You idiot,¡± Ace said softly as he gently stroked her pale cheek with his thumb. Ace felt his body become as light as a feather, but if the cost was her health, he wished she never did it. Still, a warm smile appeared on his face as he nodded and passed her to Julius for him to support her as they walked back. But, unfortunately, they didn¡¯t have time to get very far. ¡°ROOAAARRRR!¡± Looking up, they saw a giant dragon Chinese dragon over 15 meters long hovering in the sky above them. It had beautiful crystalline azure scales, two branch-like milky white horns sticking out of its head, a thin but long strip of glistening white hair travelling right across the length of the back of its winding body, and an enchanting pair of glistening wings that flickered in colour, alternating between azure blue and crystal white depending on the angle you looked at it from, slowly flapping behind it to keep it in mid-air. Its electric blue reptilian eyes coldly swept over them until it locked on to Bebe, who was standing on all fours beside Ace. ¡°What am I, a fucking lizard magnet?!¡± Ace cursed as yet another creature with dragon blood targeted him. Book 3: Chapter 12 – Ace & Bebe Vs Azure Dragon At first, the terrifying Divine Beast only had eyes for Bebe. To it, the scent of the little mouse¡¯s blood was almost heavenly, but when it heard Ace¡¯s words, its aloof reptilian eyes focused on the human beside its main prey. Due to its rank, it was unable to speak in human tongue, but as a Divine Beast, its intelligence couldn¡¯t be compared to other beasts of the same level. Its intelligence was already comparable to that of a human teenager. As such, it was more than capable of understanding Ace¡¯s words. It hadn¡¯t met many other dragons due to growing up in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts instead of the forest of darkness where the dragon pit was located. Still, it had met a myriad of other Beasts, including various types of lizards, and without fail, none of them could compare to it. It may not know much about its lineage, but what it did know was that it was no mere lizard. The fact that a human dared to say that was an insult to its supreme bloodline. Since this human was in such a hurry to die, it would kill him first before focusing on his primary target. It wasn¡¯t just him. Even Linley felt insulted by Ace¡¯s remark, especially as he was fully aware that at least two of the ¡®lizards¡¯ Ace was referring to were he and his brother. Still, he knew now was neither the time nor the place to say anything, as Ace and Bebe were likely about to be in for the battle of their lives. As he looked up at the beast, though, he felt a slight affinity to it. The longer he looked at it, the more his blood thrummed with excitement as it coursed through his vein. It was hard to put into words, but if he had to try, the only word that came to mind was ancestral. Of course, it didn¡¯t make much sense to him, especially when considering he was human and the dragon before him was clearly still an infant, but it was how he felt all the same. ¡°Does he have to provoke everyone he meets?¡± Julius asked helplessly. Even though he heard Ace say he wasn¡¯t confident, like the rest of his classmates, Julius had unwavering faith in Ace. In his eyes, Ace was unbeatable, and their time in the wild this last month had only cemented that viewpoint, so whilst he acknowledged the fearfulness of the dragon before them, he didn¡¯t feel all that worried¡­ Until he heard Amira¡¯s voice. ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s an Azure Dragon!¡± ¡°Ooh, you recognize it?¡± Cowart asked with a hint of surprise as even he didn¡¯t recognise it despite his wealth of experience. ¡°My family¡¯s library has many books documenting various types of Divine Beasts. But of all the various types of Divine Beasts, there were four that stood at the very peak. That Dragon, it¡¯s infinitely smaller than the one I read about, but it¡¯s still the spitting image of a genuine Azure Dragon!¡± Amira explained, the worry on her face quickly turning to anger, frustration, and resentment as she turned to the ghost-like old man. ¡°And because of you, I can¡¯t even help him!¡± Doehring could only smile wryly at her words and say nothing as he knew she wasn¡¯t wrong. Still, he didn¡¯t regret his decision. It was the only way he could save both his disciple and Bebe. ¡®If it comes down to it, I¡¯ll use what¡¯s left of my strength to ensure all of you get away safely.¡¯ Thinking to there, Cowart couldn¡¯t help but give the light-skinned girl beside him another glance. Before his ¡®death¡¯, Doehring Cowart was quite the scholar. What kind of library hadn¡¯t he visited during his time? He¡¯d heard of Divine Beasts, but any information on them was scarce, to say the least ¨C they were simply too rare. Yet this girl seemed to know far more about them than even he did. ¡®There¡¯s definitely more to her than meets the eye.¡¯ The former saint thought to himself as he turned his attention back to Ace, his interest piqued. ¡®What¡¯s the deal with these freakish kids?!¡¯ Ace and Bebe had no idea what the others were talking about. They couldn¡¯t afford to lower their guard against a Beast like this for even a second. Upon making its decision to kill Ace first, the dragon didn¡¯t hesitate in taking a nose dive towards the ground, its ferocious maw wide open as if it wanted to swallow the infuriating human whole. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. But both Ace and Bebe prided themselves on their speed, and with both of them receiving a buff in the form of [Supersonic] ¨C Ace from Amira and Bebe from Linley ¨C their speed was incomparable to what it was when they fought each other, not long ago. Like a flash, they separated, allowing the dragon to bite down on nothing but earth. And before it could regain its bearings, Ace had already returned, standing right beside him. His [Haki] coated glaive tore through the air as it aimed to split the scales on its neck and kill it in one go, but despite its head still being buried in the ground, its tail shot forth like a whip clashing with Ace¡¯s blade. ¡°Ugh!¡± Ace grunted as he slid backwards along the ground, his arms almost numb from that one clash. ¡®That thing¡¯s power is no joke,¡¯ Ace thought as he studied the beast in front of him with an oddly nostalgic smile suffusing his lips. ¡®It almost reminds me of that freak Kaido.¡¯ As that thought crossed his mind, his blood began to boil with excitement. Whilst a member of the Whitebeard pirates in his previous life, he had watched ¡®Pops¡¯ clash with ¡®The King of Beasts¡¯ once or twice over the years. He had always aspired to stand at that level one day, and although he couldn¡¯t in his last life, he could in this one. The dragon watched as Ace vanished from his position, appearing right before it. It would be lying if it said it wasn¡¯t surprised by the speed of the little human. It had to admit that as far as speed went, it was slightly inferior, but unlike Bebe, speed wasn¡¯t an attribute it was particularly proud of. No, that was its virtually impenetrable scales and its peerless strength. Ace watched as the Dragon thrust its claw at his face. He could tell just from the way the wind howled around it that if the claw were to land, his head would instantly be reduced to paste, but he had no intention of trying to compete with it in raw power. Instead, he skilfully used his blade to slap the claws up whilst he ducked, narrowly avoiding death. Just parrying took more strength than he would¡¯ve liked, but the smile on his face only widened as he came to that realisation. The thrill of battling against such a powerful opponent was almost overwhelming. If he were alone, he would love to go crazy and really push himself to his limits in a battle to the death against the Divine Dragon, but he couldn¡¯t afford to do that, not with Amira and fatty being there, especially in their condition. Instead, he sent a message he knew Amira would understand. As he danced around the dragon, parrying and dodging each attack, he suddenly tapped the upper rear of his neck. Other than Amira, Cowart was the only member of the group that saw Ace¡¯s action, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what it meant. ¡°Linley,¡± Amira called out whilst her eyes remained focused on the battle. ¡°Can you pass a message to your partner?¡± ¡°Errm, yeah. Why?¡± Linley replied in confusion. ¡°Every dragon has something called a reverse scale. It¡¯s a scale that¡¯s significantly weaker in comparison to the others. Unfortunately, every dragon has theirs in a completely unique position.¡± Amira explained. ¡°Luckily, it looks like Ace just found the one belonging to this specific dragon.¡± Linley and the others were all shocked by that revelation. Not about dragons having reverse scales, but that Ace was able to actually locate it. Till now, it genuinely looked as though Ace was being thoroughly suppressed and was holding on for dear life, yet somehow, he was still able to locate the ¡®reverse scale¡¯ and relay its location to Amira. Linley could only sigh as he admitted his inferiority. Everyone considered him to be a genius seen once in a generation, but as it stood now, he and Ace couldn¡¯t even be mentioned in the same sentence. Still, he knew now wasn¡¯t the time to get caught up in his feelings of inferiority if they wanted to survive. He hurriedly passed the location given to him by Amira to Bebe. Whilst Ace was fighting for his life against the dragon, Bebe had been patiently hiding in the shadows waiting for his time to act. As soon as he received the location of the reverse scale from Linley, his beady little eyes locked on to it. On the top of its neck, hidden by part of the milky white hair on its back, was an unassuming azure scale that faced in the opposite direction compared to the others around it. If not for Ace, Bebe never would¡¯ve noticed it, but now that he had¡­ The dragon had long since known where its primary target had been hiding. It had been expecting Bebe to pounce at any moment, so when Bebe made his move, an almost human smirk appeared on its face, but that smirk quickly disappeared. From the moment that Bebe and Ace dodged his attack, it knew that they were both the speedy type, but it never expected the little rodent to be this fast. At its top speed, Bebe was even faster than Ace. Still, it saw Ace as the bigger threat of the two. Though it had been the one dominating thus far, and Ace hadn¡¯t been able to break its defence as yet, after clashing for so long, it understood that Ace¡¯s weapon definitely posed a threat to it if it weren¡¯t careful. The moment Bebe made his move, Ace shifted gears, going from passively defending to attacking. As the tip of Ace¡¯s glaive shot towards its eyes, the dragon chose to ignore the rat and trust in its near impenetrable defence as its long winding tail acted like a whip striking Ace¡¯s sinister glaive away. Believing it had Ace right where it wanted him, the dragon prepared to pounce when it was suddenly overwhelmed by pain the likes of which it had never experienced before. Bebe¡¯s frighteningly sharp claws and razor-like teeth had torn straight through the dragon¡¯s reverse scale, allowing it to deal a savage blow to its insides, causing the dragon to release a heart-wrenching roar. Book 3: Chapter 13 – Enraged Enlightenment Book 3: Chapter 13 ¨C Enraged Enlightenment The Azure Dragon had grown up alone in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Ever since it had hatched from its egg five years ago, it was forced to fend for itself. Thankfully, due to its overbearing physical abilities, it not only survived but also thrived. Unlike Bebe, who was raised under Linley¡¯s protection, being forced to grow in the wild meant that the young dragon had learnt to defend itself through trial and error. Though it had suffered quite a lot in that time when going up against some of the stronger beasts, it had also honed its skill as an apex predator. If Bebe and the dragon were in the same rank, as much as he hated to admit it, Bebe knew that the dragon would undoubtedly win. During its time in the wild, the dragon had come close to death on several occasions. It was very much accustomed to pain, but never in its life had it experienced a pain anywhere near the pain it was experiencing at that moment. If it had been raised around other dragons, it would understand the implications of having its reverse scale attacked, but as it had grown up alone, it didn¡¯t even realise it had a reverse scale, let alone know it should be protected at all costs. The dragon¡¯s deafening, pained roars continued as it thrashed around, trying to get the little rat off, but how could Bebe let go now that it had a firm hold of its weak point? Bebe had every intention of continuing to ravage the dragon¡¯s insides when its wings began to flap with all their might. The dragon hurriedly shot into the air, where it flailed around as though its life depended on it ¨C which it definitely did. Bebe tried to hold on for as long as he could, but ultimately, it became too difficult. Ace and the others watched as Bebe was flung towards the ground, but none of them, not even Linley, worried too much. They were all well aware of how ridiculous Bebe¡¯s defences were. A fall from that height would do next to no damage to the little Divine Beast, but their eyes suddenly widened when they saw the dragon¡¯s reaction. As it opened its terrifying jaws, steam suddenly started forming as the temperature in the vicinity plummeted. ¡°BEBE, LOOK OUT!¡± Linley called out, terrified when he saw the giant icicle shoot out of the dragon¡¯s mouth like a rocket. Even though Bebe¡¯s innate defence was nothing short of miraculous, between the size and speed of the spear of ice, Linley and even Bebe knew that it was capable of causing severe damage, and as he was still in mid-air, Bebe had no way of dodging. Fortunately, Bebe¡¯s last attack appeared to have done more harm than they initially thought. Despite being no more than 10 meters away at the moment it launched its attack, the giant icicle whizzed straight over Bebe¡¯s head. Just as Linley took a sigh of relief, he heard Ace¡¯s heart-wrenching shout ring in his ear. ¡°AMIRAA, NOOOO!¡± The icicle may have missed Bebe, but it continued on its original path flying straight towards Amira. Amira, who had just been leaning against the tree for support, desperately wanted to dodge, but after Cowart¡¯s attack on her soul and her using [Supersonic] to further enhance Ace¡¯s speed, she could only watch like a dear in the headlights as the icicle shot straight towards her. Under the threat of losing Amira, Ace set a new personal best as he kicked off the ground 24 times in an instant. With Amira¡¯s [Supersonic] spell still active, he moved faster than ever before, but he was too far away. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Ace watched the icicle get nearer and nearer to claiming Amira¡¯s life, but there was nothing he could do to save her. His heart threatened to burst as tears began to well in his eyes. Ace, who had experienced the pain of losing a brother, never thought any other pain could compare, but when he saw the gentle smile on her enchanting face as her eyes met his, the pain his heart experienced at that moment dwarfed that a hundred times over! But just when it looked like Amira would forfeit her life, the sound of fatty¡¯s immature yet unwavering voice lit a spark of hope in Ace¡¯s heart. ¡°[SMOULDERING SPEAR]!¡± The overweight teen roared as a fiery spear formed in front of him almost instantaneously and shot forth to meet the incoming icicle. [Smouldering Spear] was a spell of the seventh rank, so the look of shock on Doehring Cowart¡¯s face could be understood as, despite Julius clearly being a mage of the sixth rank, he was somehow able to insta-cast a spell of a higher level. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Unfortunately, Amira wasn¡¯t the only one still suffering from Cowart¡¯s earlier attack. Not only had Julius instantly collapsed after forming the spell, the strength of it was also nowhere near what it should be. Instead of the seventh rank, the power of Julius¡¯ [Smouldering Spear] was barely at the peak of the fifth rank. As the two spells met, Julius¡¯ was the one on the losing side. Fortunately, the icicle had melted to about half the size and slowed in speed, but Ace was still too far away, and Amira was in no position to dodge. Ace, whose heart was currently on an extremely fast-paced emotional rollercoaster, watched in shock as Linley threw himself in the way of the incoming icicle. ¡°Ugh!¡± Linley grunted as his body flew backwards, dragging Amira with him. Even though Amira¡¯s life was no longer in danger, Ace¡¯s eyes glazed over, and a killing intent far more intense than anything he¡¯d ever shown in the past suddenly erupted from him as he turned his attention back to the dragon. Bebe squealed unwillingly when he saw the icicle spear straight through his partner. As a magical beast, he was innately less compassionate than humans, so he didn¡¯t care whether Amira lived or died, but that lack of compassion disappeared when Linley¡¯s life was threatened. Thankfully, due to their connection, he knew Linley¡¯s life wasn¡¯t in any immediate danger. From the moment the icicle had passed over Bebe¡¯s head to the moment Linley had thrown himself in the way, not even three seconds had passed. When Bebe turned his attention back to the Azure Dragon above him, he was still in mid-air, falling to the ground. As soon as the dragon realised its attack had missed, he took another nose-dive in Bebe¡¯s direction, disregarding its previous attack as though it didn¡¯t exist. It was still suffering severely from the damage the little rodent had caused it. All it wanted was to kill the little rat in the most painful way possible. But when it was mere meters from its target, the human he had all but forgotten about suddenly appeared behind it. The killing intent being exuded from Ace snapped it out of its wrath-filled daze. The hairs on the back of its winding body stood erect as it felt an emotion it hadn¡¯t experienced before ¨C at least not of this magnitude¡­ Fear! At that moment, the only thought on its mind was to escape. It wanted nothing but to get as far away from the human behind it as physically possible ¨C even if it meant forgoing a meal that could speed up its growth significantly. It had every intention of doing precisely that, but just when it went to flap its wings, it felt space suddenly compress around it, preventing it from moving. Though Ace was once again experiencing another bout of sudden enlightenment, allowing him to comprehend impose, subconsciously, all he could think about was what would¡¯ve happened if Linley didn¡¯t save Amira. A world without Amira wasn¡¯t a world he wanted to live in. Though Amira had survived, Ace would never allow anyone who put her in such harm to carry on living. ¡°Die!¡± Ace said softly as he thrust his glaive forward. Though his voice wasn¡¯t raised, nor was it giving off any emotion, to the dragon, it sounded no different than the voice of the grim reaper himself. As the glaive neared the hole Bebe had torn open earlier, the constriction of space only seemed to tighten around the Divine Beast. It could sense that death was approaching, but it was so terrified that it couldn¡¯t even give voice to so much as a frightened whimper. ¡°Impose? Did a 13-year-old boy just reach the impose boundary?¡± Cowart muttered in shock as he stared at Ace¡¯s figure standing over the body of one of the most terrifying Divine Beasts to ever live. ¡°No. Judging by the glazed look in his eyes, he should¡¯ve experienced a bout of sudden enlightenment. Still, seeing as he¡¯s already experienced using it, it shouldn¡¯t be long before he genuinely comprehends it¡­ This child is a little too frightening.¡± As Ace snapped out of his enlightened state, he didn¡¯t spare the dragon another glance, nor did he even spend any time or energy thinking about the fact that he had just touched a boundary that he had been dreaming about since the moment he watched it being used by Wukong against Brutus almost six years ago. The only thing ¨C or person rather ¨C on his mind was Amira. His body flickered as he disappeared from his original position, only to reappear right beside the beautiful light-skinned teen who caused him so much worry. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Ace asked softly as he gently helped her up, worried he might hurt her more if he used any more strength. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Amira nodded. Like Cowart, she too had watched as Ace used impose to kill the Azure dragon. But whilst he was shocked, she was filled with endless warmth, knowing that her life being threatened was the cause of his rage. Usually, the thought of someone feeling the need to protect her like she was some sort of damsel in distress brought her nothing but disgust, but it wasn¡¯t like that with Ace. On the contrary, with Ace, she quite liked it. It was only when they heard Linley¡¯s groans as Bebe jumped on him and began licking the hole in his shoulder where the icicle had pierced that they stopped focusing solely on each other. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ace said with the utmost sincerity. ¡°Thank you for saving Amira. I¡­ I owe you one.¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that Ace wanted to say he was willing to move on, but they also knew that the assassination attempt wasn¡¯t just on his life. Ace couldn¡¯t bring himself to forgive and forget on behalf of the others, even if he knew they weren¡¯t likely to oppose his choice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s the least I could do,¡± Linley replied whilst holding his bleeding shoulder. ¡°You were the one doing most of the fighting against the dragon.¡± As he said that, Ace could see the look of longing on Linley¡¯s face, and he also guessed the reason behind it. From Lauriella, he¡¯d learnt that descendants of supreme warriors who didn¡¯t awaken their bloodlines naturally could awaken it by digesting the blood of other beasts who have a similar bloodline to their ancestors. ¡°Its blood should be useful to you,¡± Ace said. ¡°It¡¯ll only go to waste if we take it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t accept that,¡± Linley said, understanding how valuable the blood of such a dragon was even for those who didn¡¯t share his bloodline. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°Plus, your little partner did a lot of the work.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Linley said, unable to hide his excitement. ¡®I¡¯m gonna awaken my familial bloodline!¡¯ Book 3: Chapter 14 – Future Rival With that solved, as the only one with an interspatial ring, Amira stored the corpse of the Azure dragon in her ring before they gathered all their stuff and took their leave. They all knew that a battle like that would bring visitors sooner or later, and those that dared to come likely wouldn¡¯t be weak. The group ended up setting up a makeshift camp a few miles away. Amira even had Linley stay with them, telling him that she would be able to help heal him after she recovered in a few days. Linley felt a bit awkward accepting all things considered, but he knew he was in no condition to refuse her help. Even though Bebe¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t too bad when taking his vitality as a divine beast into account, he still didn¡¯t want to take any chances, not when he didn¡¯t need to. He had too much to accomplish to allow his pride to get the better of him. Over the next few days, whilst the others were recovering, Ace was the one who guarded them. However, he spent most of that time training. Now that he wasn¡¯t feeling so emotional, his excitement over touching the impose boundary resurfaced. He trained like a madman in the hopes of comprehending it properly, but it wasn¡¯t that easy. He expected at least that much, though. Impose was the last thing stage of comprehension for mortal warriors. If it were so easy, even with the help of enlightenment, it wouldn¡¯t have been so elusive for so many that had come before him. After a few nights¡¯ rest, Amira finally recovered enough to help Linley heal. Despite being a mage of the fourth rank, Amira had actually used the fifth rank spell, [Angelic Light]. Once again, Linley and his master were beyond shocked. ¡°What institute did you say you three belong to?¡± Cowart asked. ¡°The Yin-Yang Pavilion,¡± Julius answered. Of the three of them, he was the most friendly to their new companions. Amira tended to be aloof to most people until you grew close to her, and Ace was still unsure how to treat Linley, so he decided to just ignore him completely, at least until he spoke to his mom and the others. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it,¡± Cowart mumbled to himself. ¡°It must be a new institution.¡± ¡°Five years old, to be exact,¡± Julius explained. ¡°The teachers must be quite spectacular to attract three talents like you,¡± Cowart said curiously. ¡°They are. There are two saint-level instructors, and the other three instructors, whilst not at the saint level, are no weaker than the average saint.¡± Julius casually explained. Other than the presence of the sect¡¯s guardians, Mathias had already told them that there was nothing they had to keep secret. In fact, Mathias had given them several not-so-subtle hints that they should do whatever they could to spread the word about the Pavilion¡¯s prestige so that when it was time for them to recruit in the future, there would be a giant influx of potential new students. Whilst Cowart was slightly surprised by that revelation, he had also expected something similar after seeing the talents of Amira, Ace and Julius first-hand, but Linley was literally gobsmacked! Till now, other than the saints who did battle in the skies above Wushan town when they were younger, he had never seen another saint. How could he not be shocked by the fact that they had two actual saint-level instructors? But as Julius went on to explain the inner workings of the Pavilion, not even Cowart, a former saint could remain unsurprised. ¡°You mean of the ten of you, aside from Ace, the rest of you can insta-cast all the spells of your rank, and aside from you, the others have all at least comprehended one with their respective weapons?¡± Linley asked, dumbfounded by the notion of ten such geniuses all being under one roof. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As it stood, even the weakest disciple of the Pavilion was no weaker than him, with the strongest being several times stronger than he, a supposed genius and the strongest student of his generation at the Ernst Institute. He couldn¡¯t help but think back to the day he heard about Ace¡¯s results for his talent test in Fenlai city five years ago. Like everyone else, though he acknowledged the talents of Ace, Killian, and Alissa ¨C whom he hadn¡¯t met ¨C he thought they would be wasting their potential away at some unknown school. It was only now that he understood just how wrong they all were. Part of him wished he could go back in time and enlist in the Pavilion with the rest of them. With his talent, whilst he might not be a match for Ace, he wouldn¡¯t be as far behind as he currently was. But when he looked down at the large gourd in his hand, a confident smile took shape on his face. ¡®They may be stronger than me now, but they won¡¯t be for much longer.¡¯ Inside the gourd was all the blood drained from the Azure Dragon. Earlier in his journey, he was lucky enough to stumble onto some blueheart grass ¨C the other ingredient needed to safely awaken his latent bloodline. Though he was impatient, as he had everything he needed already, he forced himself to wait till his return to the Ernst Institute, where he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his safety. Thinking to there, Linley cupped his hands and bowed slightly. ¡°Thanks again for everything, but I should really get going. I¡¯ve been in the mountain range for two months already. It¡¯s about time I return. Please thank Ace again for me and tell him he has my word; I will definitely keep my promise.¡± Amira nodded calmly as she took her leave, no longer paying Linley any further attention. ¡°Don¡¯t read too much into it. She¡¯s like that with most people until you really get to know her,¡± Fatty explained when he saw the wry smile on Linley¡¯s face. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about Ace. After saving Amira, you¡¯ve already earned a permanent spot in his good books.¡± He didn¡¯t need to explain any further. Ace¡¯s feelings for Amira were obvious for everyone to see at this point. ¡°I understand,¡± Linley nodded. ¡°Thanks again. I hope to see you all again soon.¡± ¡°Take care,¡± Julius waved as he watched Linley disappear into the forest. ¡°How are you feeling, Linley?¡± Cowart asked as he suddenly appeared behind his disciple from inside the ring. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that there are so many talented people in the world,¡± Linley sighed. ¡°The world really is a big place. I hope this has put things into perspective for you,¡± Doehring replied. ¡°It has. I was truly ignorant to think so highly of myself in the past,¡± Linley answered. ¡°But even though there are so many talented people out there, I won¡¯t lose to any of them in the future.¡± An appreciative smile appeared on the old man¡¯s face as he felt the unrestrained confidence his disciple was radiating as the grip around the gourd of dragon blood tightened. ¡°I believe in you.¡± Even though he wasn¡¯t there to personally see Linley off, Ace could sense the soon-to-be awakened Dragonblood warrior¡¯s presence getting further and further away as Amira made her way over to him. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to say goodbye before he left?¡± Amira asked. ¡°No need,¡± Ace replied as he continued to practice his glaivesmanship. ¡°We¡¯ve said everything that needs saying for now.¡± Amira didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, she just silently watched Ace practice for the next few minutes. It was only as his glaive finally came to a stop that she posed her next question. ¡°In 30 years, when he finishes his family matters, what do you intend to do when he forfeits his life to you?¡± ¡°When? Not if?¡± Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You think he¡¯ll be able to destroy an organisation as powerful as the church in only 30 years?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Amira asked simply. Ace looked blankly at Amira for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird to have so much faith in someone we just met? Especially one who has such an unrealistic goal¡­¡± ¡°Maybe if he were an ordinairy teen,¡± Amira shrugged. ¡°But Linley¡¯s talent was already no worse than anyone else at the Pavilion. After he awakens his bloodline as a Dragonblood Warrior, using the blood of an Azure Dragon no less, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his talent was able to match yours in the future.¡± Most would feel somewhat offended hearing the girl they had feelings for singing the praises of another man, but Ace felt more excited than anything else. He was well aware that his classmates stood at the peak of their generation, and yet, of them, only Amira, Julius, and potentially Killian in the future could rival him. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, he could never see any of them as a true rival, at least not in the way Whitebeard saw Roger. Though he could still get a challenge from fighting those older than him, he believed that it would only last until he matured, and then he would be alone at the peak of this world. To many, that sounded like a dream, but Ace couldn¡¯t think of anything worse. It was why the thought of Linley unearthing potential that didn¡¯t lose out to him brought him no small amount of excitement. While many in his position would be worried that Linley would be a threat to them if his future potential was too strong, Ace was worried that Linley wouldn¡¯t unearth enough potential to give him enough of a challenge. Though she didn¡¯t receive a direct answer to her question, Amira didn¡¯t feel the need to ask again. The excited grin on Ace¡¯s face told her everything she needed to know. Book 3: Chapter 15 – Enjoyable Battle After Linley left, Ace, Amira, and Julius continued their adventure through the mountain range. Other than looking for beasts to hunt that could pose a challenge to Amira or Ace, they also looked for different ingredients for Julius. Whilst Linley received the dragon¡¯s blood, Ace kept the bones, scales, and its core for himself and gave the meat to the overweight teen chef. Ace was practically salivating over the thought of tasting it after it was cooked by Julius, but he told them that meat like that was too precious to cook with the ingredients he currently had on hand. Instead, if he wanted to truly make the most of the dragon meat to make a meal deserving of the quality of meat, he needed certain ingredients. Over the last month, they had found the majority of the ingredients Julius had mentioned. Now, they were only missing one more. ¡°Fatty, I think I¡¯ve found the lion heart ginseng you mentioned,¡± Ace said as he stared at the ground from the top of a cliff. At the base of the small mountain they stood atop, a large crimson ginseng with specs of silver could be seen poking its head out of the ground. ¡°Finally!¡± Julius exclaimed as the corners of his lips raised, giving shape to a wild and excited grin. Whilst Ace was excited to eat the dragon meat, he was excited to finally try his hand at actually cooking it. ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go get it!¡± ¡°Not so fast,¡± Ace said. ¡°You guys stay here. I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Amira¡¯s right eyebrow raised suspiciously when she heard that. ¡°What rank is the beast down there?¡± ¡°Not particularly high,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°Only at the peak of the fourth rank.¡± ¡°Then why are you grinning like that?¡± Julius asked as he noticed the fiendish smile that hung on his friend¡¯s lips. ¡°You only ever smile like that when you¡¯re about to face something that can really give you a challenge.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a¡­¡± Amira looked down at the ground where a large opening could be seen in the mountain opposite them. ¡°Since when was it so easy to find Divine Beasts? How does its aura compare to Bebe¡¯s and that Azure Dragon from before?¡± ¡°No weaker than either of them,¡± Ace replied, his grin getting wider by the second. ¡°But its aura feels a lot more bloodthirsty.¡± Amira looked down at the opening of the cave unwillingly. She was yet to fight against a Divine Beast, let alone one of that level, but she was also aware that although she¡¯d improved a lot over the last few months, she was at most capable of challenging a peak rank six beast. A Divine Beast like that was still too strong for the current her. Plus, Ace¡¯s expression said it all. This fight was his! ¡°Tch, whatever! But the next one is mine.¡± Amira snorted. Ace and Julius gave her a look as if to say that they had already run into three; the chances of them running into a fourth were virtually zero, but when they saw the threatening glint in her eye, both boys wisely decided against saying anything. With that decided, Ace excitedly ran down the mountain laughing wildly as he ran towards the beast¡¯s cave, basically announcing his presence to the beast inside. In response, Ace received a deafening roar. He may not speak beast, but he knew whatever was inside was angry for being disturbed. ¡°Haha, COME!¡± Ace bellowed back, his blood boiling with excitement at the prospect of his first serious fight since the Azure Dragon. As the creature exited the cave, Ace¡¯s eyes lit up, his fiendish growing to the point it looked like it would envelop the whole of his face. ¡°Do you recognise it?¡± Julius asked Amira from atop the cliff, calmly looking down at the growling beast that emerged. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Amira shook her head as she studied the horse-sized black lion with a striking crimson mane. ¡°Though my family¡¯s documents on Divine Beasts are extensive, there are still many Divine Beasts and beings that aren¡¯t recorded.¡± As Ace looked at the large lion-type Divine Beast before him that boasted an incredibly muscular physique, a strange thought suddenly popped into his head. ¡°Submit to me!¡± Like the Azure Dragon from before, although it couldn¡¯t speak, it could understand the words of the little human in front of it, and just like the Azure Dragon, its pride ran bone deep. Though there were many beasts in the mountain range stronger than it, it had slaughtered its way to the top of the food chain in this region, making it something of a local hegemon. Not only was the human before it provoking it by encroaching on its territory, it was even trying to violate its pride by telling it to submit to him. A deep growl escaped the lion¡¯s mouth as its hind legs bulged. ¡°Shit,¡± Ace said as he hurriedly ducked, barely avoiding its paw, which was no smaller than Ace¡¯s head. If it weren¡¯t for his [Observation] remaining active the whole time, Ace¡¯s head would¡¯ve been slapped off of his shoulders. As soon as the paw passed over his head, Ace realised that even with the combination of his recently comprehended fusion of ¡®wielding¡¯ states and his [Armament Haki] coating his arms and glaive, in a battle of raw power, Ace would always come out on the losing side. Surprisingly, Ace felt that this lion was the strongest of the three Divine Beasts he¡¯d seen thus far in terms of pure power, but that only served to excite Ace even more. ¡°Only a beast like you is qualified to follow me!¡± Ace declared as his body flickered, appearing on the opposite side of the lion, his glaive descending with incredible speed and power. The lion roared furiously as if it wanted to deafen the ignorant human in front of him, its paw swiping up to meet the incoming polearm. Despite having gravity on his side and having started his move first, Ace was still forced three steps back, a feat that made his smile grow all the wider. ¡°Again!¡± Ace bellowed as he laughed heartily. ¡°It¡¯s always Ace who gets the best opponents,¡± Amira said as she enviously watched Ace enjoying himself. ¡°Best opponent?¡± Julius asked as he palmed his face. ¡°I knew getting stuck with you two masochists was a terrible idea.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s a masochist?¡± Amira snorted as she glared at the round teen threateningly. ¡°Did I say two?¡± Julius replied nervously. ¡°Ace is the only masochist in the team. You definitely should¡¯ve been chosen to lead the team instead of that brute.¡± Amira just rolled her eyes at the supersized mage¡¯s attempts at flattery, very much used to his slick tongue, before focusing back on Ace¡¯s battle. Though she wasn¡¯t particularly worried for his safety, she still found it hard to concentrate on anything else. From the outside looking in, it looked as though Ace was the one in the superior position as several shallow cuts started to accumulate on the body of the giant feline. Still, Amira, who had a very keen eye for battle, knew that their battle-crazed team leader¡¯s condition was no better. His attacks were still incredibly fast and sharp, but they were definitely slowing slightly. Amira¡¯s understanding of Ace¡¯s current strength was second only to Ace himself. She knew that with his stamina, there was no way he would be slowing down this soon. The only possible reason was that the impact of each clash was doing more harm than he let on. She could also tell that he was trying his best to avoid a direct clash, but incredibly, the lion¡¯s battle IQ didn¡¯t appear to be much worse than Ace¡¯s. Even though Ace was definitely the faster of the two, the lion always managed to find a way to force Ace to fight head-on. Amira and Julius watched as the strength of Ace and his opponent began to wane as the fight went on. More cuts and bruises began to form on both of them, which only sped up their fatiguing. Amira was tempted to assist Ace on more than one occasion, but when she saw the pure-hearted smile on his face, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. Instead, she couldn¡¯t help but think back to Julius calling him a masochist. ¡®Maybe he was right¡­¡¯ The most peculiar part about it was that it appeared that Ace wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to be enjoying himself. It looked as though the lion was also grinning as it clashed with an equal opponent. As a Divine Beast, it was rare that it met an opponent and rarer still that the opponent was of the same realm. After another hour, Ace and the lion collapsed. They were both still conscious, but neither was able to move another muscle. ¡°Seriously?¡± Amira scolded as she appeared behind him. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the team leader, yet you decide to fight till you can¡¯t even move?¡± ¡°Haha, my bad,¡± Ace chuckled as Amira helped him up. ¡°Let me guess,¡± Amira said as she looked over at the exhausted feline. ¡°You don¡¯t want me to finish the job¡­¡± Even though it was unable to move anymore, its pride hadn¡¯t waned in the slightest. It didn¡¯t exhibit so much as a hint of fear as it calmly met her gaze. ¡°You know me so well,¡± Ace chuckled as he too focused his eyes on the giant lion. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to defeat him, and when I do, I¡¯ll make sure to beat him till he agrees to follow me of his own will!¡± A look of surprise flashed across the eyes of the lion when it heard its former opponent tell his companion to spare it, but when it heard the following sentence, a loud and surprisingly human-like snort left its mouth. An act that was subsequently met with a boisterous laugh by the glaive-wielding teen. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get going already,¡± Amira said as she pulled the enervated youth away. ¡°I¡¯ve already picked the ginseng. The faster we set up camp, the faster fatty can make our ¡®Divine Dinner¡¯!¡± Book 3: Chapter 16 – Bond Of Equals After Amira helped their weary team leader back to their make-shift camp, Julius immediately got started on dinner. The smile on his face was no less than the one on Ace¡¯s whilst fighting the lion earlier. His getting the chance to cook meat of this quality was a dream come true. Ace stared at the back of the young round chef with saliva falling from the corner of his mouth. The aroma was simply too captivating. Even Amira stared impatiently at the pot of food Julius was preparing. The meal prepared was dragon soup, a popular delicacy of the Yulan continent, one both Ace and Amira had tried several times over the course of their lives, but never in their life had they tasted any that tasted even remotely as incredible as this. They could taste each and every one of the ingredients Julius used, fusing together perfectly to create a taste so incredible that Ace felt as though he had died and gone to heaven, but that was just the beginning. As they swallowed each bite, they could feel a heat rising from within. Their cells burning with a renewed vigour. Even Ace, who could barely move after his fight with the lion, had a sudden burst of energy. By the time they finished their meals, both Ace and Mira experienced small breakthroughs in their warrior cultivation. Mira to the Middle and Ace to the Peak of the fourth rank. The trio devoured every bit of the dragon soup to the point where Ace actually licked the bottom of the pot, unwilling to waste even a single drop. An act that fatty took as the biggest compliment one could give. Because of the energy provided by the meals and his most recent breakthrough, Ace only took three days to make a full recovery, at which point he made his way back to the lion for round two. Though Ace¡¯s recovery was sped up by the heaven-defying meal he had consumed a few days prior, the vitality of a magical beast was always superior to that of a human, let alone a Divine Beast on the level of the lion. When Ace made his return, the regal black lion calmly strolled out of its cave to meet him, not a wound in sight. Without so much as a sound, it and Ace shot towards each other, resuming their battle exactly from where they left off. After his breakthrough, all of Ace¡¯s physical abilities saw an improvement. Although the difference wasn¡¯t huge, and the battle was still extremely difficult, Ace was able to leave on his own at the end of the battle. From that day on, Ace and the Divine Beast would fight once every few days, and much to the lion¡¯s surprise, whether it was its physical abilities or its technical abilities, it was actually improving at a much faster speed than it would when fighting against other beasts. Still, what was even more surprising was that its human opponent seemed to be improving at an even faster speed. Though it didn¡¯t know what haki was, it knew that when Ace¡¯s arms and glaive were no longer black in colour, it meant that his opponent was holding back, and yet it still wasn¡¯t able to beat Ace. Through the course of their battles, Ace¡¯s [Observation] had taken another step forward, reaching a level that VERY few in his last world, even amongst proficient [Haki] users, had achieved. He had finally comprehended [Future Sight]. With his ability to peer a few seconds into the future, Ace could counter each of the lion¡¯s moves before it even made it. It was frustrating to no end, but there appeared to be nothing it could do. After almost a month, a confident smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he softly opened his eyes after spending the morning deep in meditation. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Hearing that, Amira, who was practicing her swordsmanship not far away, turned to look at her team¡¯s leader. ¡°So you¡¯re finally willing to have your final fight with that lion?¡± Whilst Ace and the lion would normally fight every two or three days, it had now been eight days since their last bout. It was strange, considering Ace had broken through to the fifth rank four days ago, but when asked, he just said that he wanted the next time they fought to be the last, and he would win as convincingly as possible. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve comprehended it?¡± Fatty asked as he sat up from lazing on the ground. Ace didn¡¯t speak, but a confident smile hung on his lips as he picked up the glaive lying across his lap. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Now that he had reached the fifth rank, he was finally capable of actually wielding ¡®Newgate¡¯ ¨C the glaive gifted to him by Wukong before he left. As he skilfully spun the glaive through his fingers, his smile softened. ¡°Are you ready for your first battle, partner?¡± The glaive was the real reason he wanted to wait before challenging the lion again. It was a weapon he named after a man he saw as a father figure, a man he respected from the very depths of his heart. He wouldn¡¯t allow his first fight with it to be anything short of perfect. As Ace approached the cave, he was met by the deafening roar of his sparring partner. ¡°Ooh, looks like you reached the fifth rank as well,¡± Ace noted as he watched the titan-like lion proudly walk towards him, stopping a little over ten meters away. ¡°This will be our last fight before you submit!¡± When it heard Ace¡¯s last statement, the lion let out a deep and disdainful growl. Over the last month, the lion¡¯s feelings towards the young human had undergone several changes. It went from anger and frustration on their first meeting to respect and even anticipation as it began to enjoy each of their fights, but its pride never faltered. It couldn¡¯t bring itself to even consider submitting to another being, let alone one that was so close to it in strength. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Today, I¡¯ll show you the real difference between us,¡± Ace said calmly, the corners of his mouth creeping up to form an almost teasing smirk as he raised his left index finger. ¡°One move. In just one move, you¡¯ll understand why submitting to me will be the best thing you ever did¡­ Are you ready?¡± Even though it felt disdainful regarding Ace¡¯s boastful claim, it also knew that his opponent was stronger than him ¨C albeit only slightly. It couldn¡¯t afford not to give Ace his undivided attention. Seeing the Lion focusing so intently, the smile on Ace¡¯s face vanished as he closed his eyes and allowed all distracting thoughts to fade. As it did, the lion was shocked to find that Ace¡¯s presence seemed to disappear. Even though it could clearly see him right in front of him, the rest of its senses failed to locate him. Suddenly a bad feeling arose in its heart as Ace disappeared from his spot. Ace kicked off against the ground 25 times in an instant allowing him to move at speeds that would¡¯ve made the him from his previous life gawk in amazement. Holding ¡®Newgate¡¯ in his right hand, he suddenly appeared directly in front of the dumfounded lion. Whilst it was true that between his breakthrough to the fifth rank and his being able to use [Soru] with 25 kicks, his speed had definitely seen a large improvement, it also had to be remembered that as far as natural physical ability went, Ace could never compare to a genuine Divine Beast. The improvements they saw with every breakthrough were nothing short of heaven-defying. So although fast, Ace still shouldn¡¯t be able to catch a beast like the lion by surprise. But as soon as its eyes failed to keep up with Ace¡¯s movements, it was unable to sense him with the rest of its senses allowing Ace to catch it off guard so easily. But like earlier mentioned, after reaching the fifth rank, its physical abilities were incomparable to what they were before. It was able to remain calm as it prepared to jump back and put some distance between them, but that was where its second surprise came. As its hindlegs began to bulge in preparation for its escape, it felt the space around it suddenly constrict. As the tip of Ace¡¯s glaive approached the skull of the lion, it felt the compression of space around it getting tighter. At that moment, the Lion subconsciously believed it was about to be killed, and there was nothing it could do. Looking passed the incoming blade, it noticed that Ace¡¯s usual light-hearted smile was no more. Instead, he had an expression of total indifference. ¡°Submit,¡± Ace commanded. ¡°Or die.¡± There were no superfluous words. If even after showing it the difference between them now, it still refused to submit to him, Ace would simply kill it and let Julius turn it into a stew. Whilst most people would resort to all sorts of tricks and tactics to subdue the lion, it could feel that Ace was being completely serious. It was as though Ace was telling him that although he wanted it to follow him, he definitely didn¡¯t need him. Ace watched as what looked like helpless resignation appeared on the lion¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t take it personally; he understood how proud the lion before him was. For it to not only lose in a fight to someone of the same rank but also be forced to make such a choice had to be exceedingly challenging for it. Still, Ace only chuckled as he lowered his weapon. ¡°Haha, you know what to do,¡± Ace said as he lifted his empty palm in front of the lion. He had long since known that for a beast to enter into a bond of equals with a human, they had to be the ones to initiate it. Though there were other, more forceful methods, Ace didn¡¯t want a mindless subordinate who followed him because of some restrictive contract. Instead, he wanted it to follow him because it believed he was worthy. Seeing Ace¡¯s hand, the red-maned lion calmly bit down on the teen¡¯s palm, making sure to puncture the skin. As it let go, Ace then watched as a dense reddish-black light began to emanate from the lion¡¯s hulking figure when a drop of fresh blood, a combination of both Ace¡¯s and the lion¡¯s blood, left the mouth of the Divine Beast. That blood suddenly transformed into two opposite, interlocking triangles, which the reddish-black light merged with, forming a strange magical formation that gave off an overbearing aura. The strange magical formation separated into two halves. One entering Ace¡¯s, and the other entering the lion¡¯s body. Upon entering Ace¡¯s body, the barrier surrounding his soul was about to act to destroy the foreign spiritual essence when the miniature translucent ¡®Ace¡¯ opened its eyes. The barrier shockingly became docile, allowing Ace¡¯s half of the formation to enter his spiritual sea successfully. Though he was still unable to use inner sight to take a look at his spiritual sea, Ace knew that the barrier around his soul could pose a problem, but when he felt the connection between him and the lion, he knew it had worked. Book 3: Chapter 17 – Avenging A Loss It was an odd feeling. Even though he couldn¡¯t see inside his spiritual sea, he could clearly sense his connection to the lion and vice versa; it too could feel its connection to Ace. Whether it was their position or emotions, it was as if they were an open book for the other to read at will. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Ace asked, using their connection to speak straight from mind to mind. ¡°Name?¡± The lion asked back, its voice very deep yet oddly immature. ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Well, that needs to change. I can¡¯t just call you ¡®lion¡¯,¡± Ace replied as he began to seriously consider what to call his new beast partner. Whilst Ace was busy thinking of names, Amira and Julius slowly approached from the rear. It recognised Amira from their very first battle, but Julius was new. The thing that surprised him most was that, other than Ace, Julius was the one it felt the biggest threat from. Even though he knew he was safe by the side of Ace and Amira, Julius still felt cautious approaching, especially when he felt the lion¡¯s eyes fall on him. ¡°You¡¯ve already met Amira, and this is Julius. They¡¯re two of my classmates and travel companions.¡± Ace introduced. ¡°And this is my new partner, name pending¡­¡± Despite knowing it was so much stronger than her, Amira fearlessly walked up to it and began stroking its silk-like fur. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a name yet?¡± With its connection to Ace, the lion could sense his new partner¡¯s strong feelings for the caramel-skinned girl stroking him. It was because of those intense feelings that the lion instinctively had a good impression of her. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m just trying to think of one now,¡± Ace explained whilst he watched his new partner affectionately rubbing his mane against the side of Amira¡¯s face. ¡°So you make me fight you every other day for a month, and yet you accept her in a few seconds? Where¡¯s the fairness in that?¡± ¡°Because he can sense that I¡¯m worthy of his acceptance,¡± Amira stated matter-of-factly as she enjoyed the feeling of the lion¡¯s soft fur against her skin. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right¡­ Leonel?¡± ¡°Leonel?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Yeah, it means proud lion and can also be translated as proud king?¡± Amira explained as she focused her attention back on the lion that had actually begun to purr. ¡°What do you think? Do you want to be called Leonel from now on?¡± ¡°Leonel, it is,¡± Ace declared while watching Amira and Leonel interact with a gentle smile. ¡°I feel sorry for you,¡± Julius stated from beside Ace. ¡°Sorry? For me?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°You¡¯ve just recruited another ally for Amira to get to bully you,¡± Julius sighed as though he genuinely felt pity for the dark-haired teen beside him. ¡°Another?¡± Ace asked, his voice becoming slightly more threatening in nature after hearing the teen chef¡¯s statement. ¡°Well, we definitely can¡¯t have that. Maybe I should get rid of the other one¡­¡± ¡°What was that, Mira? You want me to come over there?¡± Julius said as he edged away from Ace, feeling less fearful of the Divine Beast than the teen who defeated it in the first place. ¡°I¡¯m coming¡­ right away!¡± Ace said nothing. He just watched in amusement as Julius edged away from him but refused to get too close to Leonel. . . . This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Over the next few weeks, Ace and his group of four made their way through the forest, constantly hunting new beasts for Amira to fight against and fending off one assassination attempt after another, with Mira being the one who did most of the fighting. Ace or Leonel only intervened if it was too much for her to handle on her own. Due to the constant life and death battles, Amira had actually managed to comprehend ¡®Wielding light as though it were lighter¡¯, allowing her to make quick work of virtually every being below the seventh rank. Unfortunately, she still wasn¡¯t quite at the level where she could take on those of the seventh rank. Normally she would¡¯ve been ecstatic about her warrior comprehension taking another step forward, but one of the drawbacks of being in a team with Ace was that she had to watch the speed at which he progressed. It was hard to do without subconsciously comparing yourself to him unless you were Julius, who had absolutely no desire to get stronger. Still, being in a team with Ace wasn¡¯t all bad. She got to spar against him regularly, and at his current level, he could see her openings in a similar fashion to how his master had when facing him. It allowed her to improve her swordsmanship at an incredible speed. In that time, Julius had gone from deeply terrified by Leonel to best friends. Because Leonel was no less of a glutton than Ace, Julius had managed to get him to warm to him through his stomach. Though not as good as the Dragon soup, Julius¡¯ meals were still delicious, and for a glutton like Leonel who was only used to raw meat¡­ It was no wonder why he warmed to Julius so quickly. On one sunny afternoon, Ace and Amira were walking through the forest side by side, with Leonel walking just behind them with Julius sitting on his back when they heard a group of teens not much older than them walking not far from them, completely oblivious to the presence of Ace and his group. ¡°Did you hear about what that young master of the Baruch Family is offering?¡± ¡°You mean the 10,000 gold for any news on the location of someone called Ace or the location of some supposed new school ¨C the Yin-Yang Pavilion? Yeah, I heard. He¡¯s been searching for news of this Ace guy for the last year or so. I just don¡¯t get why he¡¯s going through all this trouble for some unknown boy. I mean, he¡¯s supposed to be one of the most extraordinary talents the War God Academy has produced since Olivier Akerlund. He¡¯s even been accepted as a disciple of the strongest saint on the continent ¨C Sword Saint Haydson. What¡¯s the point of challenging some nameless boy?¡± ¡°Apparently, during his selection five years ago, they fought, and apparently, he was publicly defeated and shamed. I have a friend in the War God¡¯s Academy who said that it was avenging that defeat that kept him so driven. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be willing to let this go, not until he¡¯s standing over his opponent¡¯s defeated body.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for this Ace guy. Because of something that happened over five years ago, he¡¯s probably going to end up being publicly humiliated.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s smart, he and that Yin-Yang pavilion of his will stay hiding under whatever rock they¡¯re currently hiding behind.¡± Whether it was Amira, Julius, or Leonel, they all turned to look at Ace curiously. They found it funny that anyone in the same generation would dare to challenge Ace, but that was because they had a profound understanding of Ace¡¯s strength. Still, Amira and Julius were more curious because it was another Baruch. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It was them who kept provoking me,¡± Ace declared. ¡°Anyway, I have no more interest in that little lizard.¡± If others were to hear how Ace was talking about Wharton, they would undoubtedly believe that he was just giving excuses as a reason not to fight, but they knew Ace had every right to look down on this Wharton teen. As it stood, there was likely no one in their generation who could actually give Ace a good fight. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Amira asked when she saw the sudden frown appear on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°That group we just passed¡­ they were just slaughtered,¡± Ace said solemnly. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, but you know just as well as I do how often acts like that happen in the wild,¡± Amira replied, not understanding why Ace cared so much. ¡°It¡¯s not them I care about but their attackers,¡± Ace voiced. ¡°They¡¯re being led by a warrior of the ninth rank.¡± When he said that, the mood of the group became extremely tense. Although Ace and Leonel were extremely powerful, they could still only fight against warriors of the eighth rank. ¡°They haven¡¯t noticed us yet, so we should be fine, but just to be safe, let¡¯s hurry up and get out of here,¡± Ace commanded as he led his team as far as he could in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, a little under a kilometer away, a team of six wearing matching black armour were looting the bodies of a few teens when one of them, a lanky man holding a sabre in one hand, looked down at a gem hanging from his waist which started glowing bright-red all of a sudden. ¡°Boss, apparently, there¡¯s one nearby.¡± As the man¡¯s voice waned, a stocky man with a great sword strapped to his back sitting on a large boulder off to the side opened his eyes. ¡°Is it the dragon we¡¯re looking for?¡± This man was the rank nine warrior Ace had sensed earlier and also the leader of this team of killers. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure,¡± the lanky man replied. ¡°But what¡¯re the chances of there being another Divine Beast in the vicinity?¡± ¡°Finally!¡± The leader said as a bloodthirsty grin suffused his fiendish face. ¡°The sooner we catch that little dragon, the sooner we can go back!¡± Book 3: Chapter 18 – Operation: Destroy Tracer ¡°Shit!¡± Ace cursed. ¡°What is it?¡± Julius asked from Leonel¡¯s back when he noticed Ace start to speed up, with Amira and Leonel upping their pace to match. ¡°Are they heading in our direction?¡± At a time like this, Ace and Amira were both thankful that Leonel was with them. Although Julius was a powerful mage, his running speed was below average, even for mortals. ¡°Yeah, unfortunately,¡± Ace answered sombrely as he suddenly led his team in a new direction. ¡°Follow me.¡± ¡°Dammit!¡± Ace cursed when he sensed the assassins change directions to follow them. ¡°Why¡¯re they chasing us? How¡¯re they even able to follow us from so far away.¡± Ace was only able to sense their presence due to his [Observation], which could reach up to 2.5 kilometres, but haki was an ability unique to him and his mother. The fact that they could track them from over a kilometre away was mindboggling to him. However, Amira seemed to have thought of something as her head suddenly turned to Leonel before turning back to Ace. ¡°I think they¡¯re tracking Leonel.¡± ¡°Huh, what makes you say that?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°Well, although there are ways of tracking us, such methods are only used by major forces, and none of us has done anything to offend any of them. Not recently, anyway. So the only other possibility that still makes sense is for them to be chasing after Leonel,¡± Amira explained. ¡°There¡¯s an item called a tracer that allows you to locate Divine Beasts within a certain radius. Although it¡¯s exceedingly rare, I¡¯m pretty sure there are at least two factions able to get their hands on one, namely the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness.¡± ¡°Cult of Darkness?¡± Ace asked as alarms suddenly went off in his head. ¡°Five years ago, Wukong said that it was the Cult of Darkness that stole a certain dragon egg that caused the Dragon¡¯s Pit to start the beast tide that hit Silverlight City.¡± ¡°You think that Azure Dragon was that Dragon?¡± Amira asked, understanding what Ace was hinting at. ¡°It fits. A Divine Beast of that calibre would definitely be enough for them to react like that.¡± Ace continued. ¡°I mean, it would be like them being guaranteed a leader at the Deity realm in the future. With it being a Divine Beast, they would no longer have to fear the human¡¯s deities. I don¡¯t know how they could¡¯ve allowed it to escape, but the chances of there being another Dragon with a Divine Bloodline so far away from the Dragon¡¯s Pit is virtually zero. It would also explain the presence of a group from the Cult of Darkness of that strength.¡± Though they knew they were likely correct with their theory, it didn¡¯t actually help them in their current predicament. In fact, knowing they were being chased by the Cult of Darkness only added to their worries. ¡°They¡¯re getting closer,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°What does the tracer look like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fist-sized gem that glows red when it senses the presence of a Divine Beast,¡± Amira explained when she suddenly guessed the reason behind Ace¡¯s question. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of trying to destroy it, are you?!¡± ¡°Boss, don¡¯t!¡± Leonel said mentally. ¡°If anything, we should split up. If I head off on my own, I should be able to ditch them somewhere and meet ba-¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Ace snapped. ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision. You guys keep running. I¡¯ll intercept them with an ambush, destroy the tracer, and then escape.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°You should know that even if I can¡¯t fight someone at the ninth rank yet if I want to escape, there¡¯s no way they¡¯d be able to stop me,¡± Ace said as he smiled confidently to put their minds at ease. ¡°Just believe in me.¡± Amira hated feeling so useless. Whilst she had faith in Ace¡¯s strength, especially after the improvements he¡¯d shown over the last month, she hated that he always had to face the danger alone to protect them. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡®I need to get stronger faster so I can stand by his side,¡¯ Amira thought to herself as she saw Ace turn and head back in the opposite direction on his own. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± . . . Whilst Amira, Leonel, and Julius were heading deeper into the mountain range, Ace was making his way towards the approaching cultists. He showed no nerves as he ran towards them, only a cold composure. When they were only 500 meters away, Ace suddenly jumped in the air and then, against all logic, he jumped again off the air. This was the reason he was so confident about escaping. After reaching the fifth rank, he could finally use [Geppo], another one of the techniques from the World Government from his previous life. It wasn¡¯t that he had forgotten about it before, but it was a technique that required one to kick off the air with such force that the air beneath their feet temporarily became solid. It required a lot more strength than [Soru]. ¡®There you are,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he saw the group of six armoured men swiftly cutting through the forest and more specifically, at the gem hanging from the lanky warrior¡¯s waist. ¡®Rank 8, huh?¡¯ Ace noted as he assessed the man whilst he subconsciously thanked heaven it wasn¡¯t being held by the leader. ¡®Okay, let¡¯s do this.¡¯ As his thoughts reached that point, his eyes became eerily focused as he became one with nature. Space compressed around the blade of his obsidian-coloured glaive, but he still managed to swing his polearm with such speed and force that a crescent-shaped blade of compressed air no smaller than him shot towards the leader. ¡°[Flying Slash]!¡± Ace voiced icily as he used [Geppo] to launch himself in the direction of his target. This was another technique he had remembered from his previous life. It was a technique predominantly used by swordsmen that was pretty simple in theory. By swinging your blade with enough speed and force, you can create a powerful pressure in the form of a compressed air blade. Unfortunately, the space in this world seemed a lot more stable than his last. It was the reason why all the techniques from his previous world required so much more strength than it would have had he been in his former world. Still, all that mattered was that he could use it now. Due to him having become one with nature and being so far away when he first made his move, no one, not even the group leader, sensed anything amiss until the attack was near enough on top of him. Still, as a warrior of the ninth rank with a lot of experience, the man was able to draw the great sword strapped to his back just in time to block the attack, although he was still knocked off balance. Though Ace would¡¯ve liked if his attack killed, or at least incapacitated the man, he expected this much from someone that strong. His initial attack was simply to give him enough time to attack his actual target. Like the others in the group, the lanky sabre wielder was also caught off guard by the [Flying Slash]. By the time he drew his sabre in preparation to face whatever enemy had decided to target them, the hairs on the back of his neck were stood on edge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow descending from his blind spot at a ridiculous speed. He hurriedly tried to jump out of the way, but space suddenly compressed around him, slowing him down by a large margin. When used on Julius or even Amira, Impose kept them from moving, but Ace already knew from his tests on Leonel that impose could only somewhat slow the movements of someone with power at the eighth rank. Fortunately, that was all he needed¡­ Ace¡¯s glaive was like a shooting star as it tore through the air. He watched as a shadowy skin-tight aura coated his target¡¯s body, but he remained steadfast. Between his [Armament Haki] Coating his blade and his fusion of both states of ¡®wielding¡¯ Ace was full of confidence. His blade slowed slightly as it pierced the man¡¯s head, but ultimately, his glaive pierced through the left side of his skull and out the right, but he wasn¡¯t done. The cultist wasn¡¯t his primary target in the first place. Despite the speed he descended, Ace elegantly landed on the ground and swiftly slashed the ¡®Tracer¡¯ in two before using [Soru] to jump back and raise his glaive across his body. ¡°Ugh!¡± He grunted as he was sent flying through the air, barely having blocked the leader¡¯s slash. ¡°A warrior at the ninth rank is no joke,¡± Ace muttered as he coughed a mouthful of blood and rolled to his feet. ¡°Who are you?¡± The leader asked coldly, hiding the shock in his heart over a mere teen successfully killing one of his strongest men and successfully blocking an attack from him. Even if it was just a casual strike, it wasn¡¯t something a boy so young should be capable of dealing with. Unfortunately for him, Ace had no intention of wasting any more time with him. He¡¯d already used his connection to Leonel to tell him the tracer was destroyed; now it was time for him to leave. . . . A little over two kilometres away, Leonel suddenly came to a complete stop causing Julius to almost go flying off his back. ¡°What is it?¡± Amira asked hurriedly. ¡°Did he do it?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief when she saw Ace¡¯s familiar nod, but when she saw the look of worry in his eyes, her heart re-tightened. ¡°What is it? Is he still in danger?¡± Leonel looked hesitantly at Amira, he knew the last thing Ace would want was to put Amira in danger, but he didn¡¯t even get the chance to lie to her before she jumped on his back. ¡°If he needs help, then let¡¯s go help him!¡± Amira exclaimed, not leaving any room for discussion. ¡°Hurry up!¡± Book 3: Chapter 19 – Slowly Revealing His Talent Instead of replying, Ace simply jumped up and then, under the shocked eyes of the remaining cultists, he jumped off the air like it was solid ground. ¡°Ooh no you don¡¯t!¡± Garoa, The team leader, roared as he launched himself into the sky in pursuit of his attacker. As shocked as he was by Ace¡¯s ability to move through the air like that, he refused to let an unknown teen escape so easily after killing one of his men right under his nose. He may not be able to fly or walk on air, but as a warrior of the ninth rank, the power he used when jumping wasn¡¯t something Ace could compare to at his current level. He¡¯d barely made it 50 meters when he was forced to turn to block a strike that would¡¯ve otherwise cut him in two. ¡®What was that?¡¯ thought to himself as he stared down at the small crater created where Ace crashed into the ground. ¡®Some sort of Battle Qi?¡¯ The moment before Garoa¡¯s sword made contact with the shaft of Ace¡¯s glaive, both the polearm and his upper body turned pitch black in colour. As a ninth-rank warrior who¡¯d been alive well over 100 years, he¡¯d seen all sorts of abilities and techniques, but everything Ace had shown so far was a first for him. Watching Ace roll to his feet, he could see from the fight in his eyes that the youth was far from done. ¡°You three,¡± Garoa called, talking to the three seventh-rank warriors under his command. ¡°Go and capture him.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± The three answered in unison before drawing their swords and charging at the boy. Though they too were shocked by the prowess of the youngster before them, they could now sense he was only at the fifth rank. An awe-inspiring achievement for a youth so young, but they didn¡¯t believe he could jump two ranks to defeat any one of them, let alone all three of them. As far as they were concerned, he was only able to kill their superior because he caught him off guard. In a direct confrontation, he wouldn¡¯t be able to close the gap in strength. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. Despite being three against one and being two ranks higher, they were unable to gain a single advantage. Ace showed an incredible level of skill that allowed him to completely control the flow of the battle, but there was something else that made Garoa and Roquen, the last remaining eighth-rank warrior, stare in disbelief. ¡°Is he¡­¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Garoa nodded, an imperceptible light flashing in his eyes. ¡°He fused both states of wielding.¡± ¡°I only just comprehended wielding heavy as though it were light recently¡­ Just who is this kid?!¡± Roquen asked, unable to believe his eyes. ¡°He can¡¯t be older than 15, and yet he¡¯s comprehended the fused state of wielding and is able to hold his own against three fully grown warriors, each of whom is two ranks full ranks superior.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if I¡¯m right, he¡¯s still holding back,¡± Garoa answered as he watched the ongoing battle, the interested light in his eyes getting brighter with each passing second. ¡°Roquen, you go and help them.¡± ¡°Me?¡± The halberd-wielding cultist asked back. Though Ace was undoubtedly the most talented youth he had ever seen, he didn¡¯t believe he would be able to fight against him, a warrior of the eighth rank. It had to be remembered, the gap in strength between each rank only got bigger with every breakthrough. Ace may be able to hold his own against three warriors of the seventh rank, but he could slaughter five of them with ease. But when he saw the impatient look in his superior¡¯s eyes when he turned his attention towards him, Roquen knew better than to not obey. Seeing his subordinate obediently make his way to the battlefield, Garoa turned his attention back to Ace. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He didn¡¯t know how Ace was able to turn his body and weapon black in colour, but since he wasn¡¯t using it now, it was obvious Ace was holding back. He may not know how much the boy was holding back, but he was determined to find out, one way or the other. He was right. Ace was holding back. He was trying to waste as much time as possible to give Leonel the time to get here. Alone he was no match for Garoa, but with Leonel¡¯s support, he might just stand a chance. Unfortunately, as strong as Ace was, he didn¡¯t want to test his luck against an eighth-rank warrior and three seventh rank-warriors, especially when he still had to face the big bad boss. It was only then that Roquen understood, Garoa¡¯s concern. His eyes bulged as he watched Ace, who, just moments ago, seemed to be evenly matched against his three subordinates, suddenly explode with power and speed catching them all by surprise. ¡°STOP!¡± Roquen bellowed furiously as he furiously stomped on the ground, causing a web of cracks to appear beneath his foot as he launched himself in the boy¡¯s direction. But why would Ace listen to the command of an enemy? The first of the three cultists in front of Ace could only watch in horror as the boy¡¯s now jet-black glaive sliced straight through the battle-qi protecting his neck like a hot knife through butter. Garoa watched with a hint of appreciation as Ace elegantly flowed from a perfect [Slash] into a thrust, the blade of the youth¡¯s polearm piercing straight through another of his subordinates. Most would expect the leader of a team who watched his men being massacred to make an attempt to intervene or at least show some sort of frustration, but Garoa only smiled. It was slightly unsettling for Ace, who always kept an eye on the fearful warrior, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about the meaning behind it. As he pulled his glaive out of the second cultist¡¯s head and moved to chop the final of the three in two, the eighth-rank warrior appeared just in time to block the descending polearm. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me tell you to stop?¡± Roquen asked coldly, suppressing the shock he was currently experiencing. Seeing Ace¡¯s strength was one thing, but feeling the power behind his last attack was completely different. He no longer looked at Ace as though he was just a young genius whom he could kill when he wanted but as an opponent no weaker than himself. ¡°Why would I listen to someone trying to kill me?¡± Ace sneered before suddenly disappearing out of sight. The last rank seven cultist breathed a sigh of relief when his superior appeared just in time to save his life, but that relief seemed to be short-lived as Ace suddenly appeared beside him. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d let you kill any more of my men?¡± Roquen asked, his halberd moving to intercept the glaive of his brazen young opponent. ¡°Then you can die first instead.¡± Ace snorted coldly upon realising he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill his target with the appearance of his new opponent. As a warrior of the eighth rank empowered by battle-qi and able to wield heavy as though it were light, Roquen had a distinct advantage in terms of speed and power, and yet, he held no advantage in their battle. Ace was by far the most skilful warrior he had ever seen ¨C at least out of all the mortals he had ever seen. Not even Garoa could compare in a battle of pure skill. Even as Magrun, the subordinate he just saved, joined the battle, Ace was able to hold his own without suffering a single injury. With both of them joining hands to fight him, Ace was able to use one to hinder the other, keeping them from gaining the upper hand. ¡®Almost there, not much longer!¡± Ace thought to himself as he felt Leonel¡¯s presence getting closer and closer by the second. ¡®As soon as Leonel arrives, I¡¯ll kill these two, and we can face their leader together.¡¯ ¡®I can sense it.¡¯ Garoa mused as he intently studied Ace. ¡®You¡¯re still holding back. Let¡¯s see if you can still hold back if I¡­¡¯ Ace¡¯s calm and composed expression changed when he saw Garoa take a step in his direction. There was no way he could fight that man on his own, let alone with the support of two powerful subordinates. ¡®Fuck it!¡¯ Ace shouted in his mind. If he was going to be forced to fight Garoa on his own, he couldn¡¯t allow anyone else to support him. Roquen stared wide-eyed at Ace as the space around him suddenly became compressed. ¡°Im¡­ Impose?!¡± As higher-ranking members of one of the most powerful forces on the continent, every single person present understood what those words represented. Even Garoa halted in shock. Not even he, a rank-nine warrior who had once been hailed as a genius, had comprehended impose yet. For a boy who wasn¡¯t even a tenth of his age to have comprehended not something that had eluded him for several decades¡­ How could he not be shocked? Ace didn¡¯t care how shocked they all were; the only thought on his mind was killing his targets as quickly as possible. The closer his glaive got to falling on Roquen¡¯s head, the stronger the constriction became. Unfortunately, although he was shocked by Ace¡¯s sudden burst of power, Roquen¡¯s fight-or-flight response kicked in. With his fire-elemental battle-qi already coating his body, he was able to barely jump back just in time to avoid being bisected. ¡°Tch!¡± Ace kissed his teeth regrettably when he saw his primary target escape with just a long gash running down his chest. Still, he didn¡¯t allow his regret to get the best of him. Even if he couldn¡¯t kill Roquen, he would definitely kill his subordinate. ¡°NOOOOO!¡± Magrun roared unwillingly as he felt the constriction of space envelop him and the demonic youth¡¯s glaive pierce through his head. Book 3: Chapter 20 – Creating A Beast Tide As soon as he killed the last of the seventh-ranked cultists, Ace dashed backwards, putting as much space between him and the final two members of the Cult of Darkness as possible, but instead of chasing him down as he had initially anticipated, Garoa simply began clapping as he emphatically smiled at the incredibly talented youth before him. "Well done," Garoa voiced. "Very well done! You may be the most talented youth I''ve ever seen or heard of." Ace frowned as he listened to the man he originally assumed to be an enemy. Out of all the actions Ace was expecting, his being so friendly never even crossed his mind. Still, he didn''t lower his guard because of it. In fact, he became all the more cautious as he worried about what he wanted. There was nothing scarier than someone powerful whose intentions were a mystery. "You don''t need to fear me," Garoa explained upon seeing the rising caution on the boy''s face. "I mean you no harm. My name is Bishop Garoa of the Cult of Darkness, and you are?" "My name''s Luffy," Ace lied, deciding to play the game of the Bishop in front of him, trying to waste as much time as possible whilst he awaited Leonel''s arrival. "I see," Garoa replied with an amused smile, seemingly able to guess that the boy was lying. "Well, Luffy, it''s nice to meet you. The reason I wanted to talk to you was because, over the last few decades, there have been many incredible talents appearing from the likes of Olivier and Blumer Akerlund and Wharton Baruch of the War God''s Academy, his brother Linley Baruch, and Dixie Leon of the Ernst Institute. Of course, those are just a few, but one thing they all have in common is that they''re supported by some of the top powers of the continent. That brings me to my true purpose. As a Bishop of the Cult, one of my duties is to recruit any worthy candidates into our ranks, and you, my little friend, are nothing if not worthy. I understand that you likely already belong to a force or have a master who may well be a saint, but I also know you''re not from any of the continent''s major powers or the disciple of any of the reclusive, truly powerful saints. If you did, there''s no way I wouldn''t recognise you. Someone with your potential can only live up to their full potential with the backing of a major force. If you agree to join us at the Cult of Darkness, I promise you''ll rise through the ranks with incredible speed, and there''s a good chance that one day you may even rise to the position of pope, where you will be the leader of one of the six most powerful forces on the continent." Ace could hear the borderline fanaticism whenever he mentioned the Cult of Darkness, a force like that was the last place he''d ever join, but he also knew that he couldn''t outright reject him. First, he was still waiting for his Beast Partner, and if he was to tell him that he belonged to a force with almost ten individuals with the power of a saint, he knew this Bishop wouldn''t hesitate to kill him. The fact that Ace had killed four of their high-ranking warriors was already more than enough of a reason to kill him, especially if he came from a force with such a powerful line-up. A force like that wasn''t one they would ever want to antagonise for no reason. It would be safer and easier to simply kill Ace and hide his body, so no one ever found out. "Ooh, and I already know that you were able to turn the Azure Dragon into your familiar." Garoa voiced, a smirk suffusing his thin lips when he saw the shift in Ace''s expression. "I''m not sure how you were able to figure out that we were chasing it, but the fact that you went out of your way to destroy the tracer and then immediately try and escape gave you away. I''m guessing that it was injured in your fight, which was why you tried to intercept us on your own. Of course, now that you realise you can''t get away on your own, it''s hurriedly making its way to help you. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I should warn you that your plan''s futile. The difference between the eighth rank is bigger than you can imagine. Even if you and your Divine Dragon were to team up against me, I''d still be able to easily defeat you. The only reason I brought assistance to capture the dragon in the first place wasn''t because it stood a chance against me but because of its ability to fly." When he heard that, the surprise on Ace''s face turned into a frown as he was filled with helplessness. Even though Garoa had made several mistakes in his deductions, he was close enough to the truth that Ace immediately ordered Leonel not to come ¨C he couldn''t afford to risk the lives of Amira and Julius. "Okay, fine," Ace said unwillingly. "I''ll leave with you." "Good choice," Garoa replied before using a movement technique of his own to appear behind Ace and knock him unconscious. Ace''s last thoughts before he fell unconscious were just how much he''d underestimated a warrior of the ninth rank. With his [Future Sight], Ace had predicted Garoa''s sudden attack, but the difference in speed was simply too much for him to react. As shocked as Ace was, Garoa was several times more surprised as he looked at the unconscious body of the teen. He knew how fast he was when he used his movement technique; very few below the saint rank could keep up with him when he did. Ace was just a fifth-rank warrior, and yet, although he failed to dodge, Garoa realised that Ace had somehow been able to follow his movements just enough to attempt to move out of the way. The Bishop''s calm expression from when he was communicating with Ace all but disappeared. He had been lying when he said he believed Ace came from a small force. There was no way a small force could raise a genius on the level of Ace. Only the major forces or one of the reclusive Prime Saints could create a genius of this calibre. The only thing he wasn''t kidding about was wanting to recruit Ace to join the Cult. Ace''s talent was simply unmatched, and his abilities were out of this world. Add that to the fact that Ace had already contracted the Divine Dragon, controlling Ace was getting two future peerless figures for the price of one. He knew there was no way Ace would be willing to join of his own accord, but his Cult of Darkness had their ways of forcibly controlling him. The only thing he had to worry about was getting back to the Cult''s HQ before he was stopped. He may not know who stood behind Ace, but he didn''t believe for a second that they''d be willing to risk a talent of Ace''s level going out on his own without giving him some way of contacting them if he ran into a situation he couldn''t handle on his own. For all he knew, they were already on their way. Without a second thought, Garoa slung ''Luffy'' over his shoulder and used his other hand to pick up ''Newgate'' ¨C Ace''s glaive. ''A Glaive made of Ichor wood and Adamantine? There''s no way a minor force could get their hands on a weapon of this calibre!'' Thinking to there, the Bishop decisively put the glaive in his interspatial ring before indifferently turning to his injured subordinate. "Make your own way back!" Roquen could only stare helplessly as his team leader suddenly disappeared without giving him a chance to even respond. But from Garoa''s deductions, he too was able to guess that Ace likely came from a powerful force, and Garoa needed to get Ace back to their HQ as quickly as possible. He didn''t even dare to wait for the Divine Dragon ¨C the original objective of their mission. As soon as Ace was under their control, gaining control of the Dragon would simply be a matter of time. . . . Not long after Roquen had hurriedly taken his leave, not wanting to be there when Ace''s reinforcements arrived ¨C especially in his injured state ¨C Leonel, who was still carrying Amira and Julius, arrived at the location of Ace''s battle with the Cult. The bodies of the fallen Cultists were still there, but Ace was long gone. Leonel let out a deafening roar to vent his unwillingness. Via their connection, he could sense the direction Ace was being carried, but from the speed they were moving, even if he didn''t have to carry Julius and Amira, he still wouldn''t be able to keep up, and if that wasn''t bad enough, Ace was unconscious so he wouldn''t be able to slow them down. "I know you can''t speak yet, so I''m just going to ask you yes or no questions. I just need you to nod or shake your head," Amira said, her voice frighteningly calm as she pointed to the west. "Are they heading in that direction?" "Can you catch them if Julius and I get off your back?" Amira asked when she saw the jet-black lion nod. Seeing Leonel shake his head, Julius began to panic, thinking about all the things that were likely to happen if they were unable to rescue Ace. Still, Amira remained composed as she voiced her next question ¨C a question that brought no small shock to Julius when he heard her words. "Can you start a Beast Tide if I tell you the destination?" Book 3: Chapter 21 – The Dark Empress’ Proposal After two and a half days of non-stop sprinting, Garoa had finally made it back to the Kingdom of Heishi ¨C the Capital of the Dark Alliance. As a Bishop of the Cult, Garoa was very well-known by the citizens of the capital. As a result, he was able to directly enter the city without being stopped, but that didn''t prevent him from receiving odd looks from those he passed. Though he was uninjured, after running that long without taking a rest, his appearance was more than slightly dishevelled, but the main reason everyone stopped to stare as he passed them was the appearance of a young teen being held over his shoulder. Ace had woken up several times over the last two days, but as a ninth-rank warrior, his senses were incredible. Despite Ace''s best efforts, the Bishop was able to sense the moment Ace woke up and immediately knocked him unconscious. Though he wasn''t worried about Ace somehow managing to defeat him, he was well aware that with Ace''s ridiculous ability to fight above his rank, the youth on his shoulder was more than capable of giving him enough trouble to slow him down and with an unknown superpower presumably backing him, he couldn''t afford to slow down, even slightly. As such, the easiest thing to do was to keep him unconscious until he returned. In the middle of the city, a giant castle stood higher than any of the buildings in the city. Despite being in the capital of a city controlled by a faction with an ominous name like ''The Cult of Darkness'', the castle, which served as their main headquarters, wasn''t ominous at all. In fact, it gave off an almost valiant air. As Garoa approached, the guards bowed respectfully and moved out his way. Like everyone else he passed on his way here, he indifferently ignored them as he made his way through the castle''s winding corridors until he reached the basement, where there were ten empty cells and an armoured warrior at the peak of the eighth rank who appeared to be on guard. "Bishop Garoa," The man called out respectfully. "This is¡­?" As a high-ranking member of the Cult, the man on duty ''guarding'' the empty cells was aware of the Bishop''s mission to hunt down the Divine Dragon that had escaped them all those years ago. So he was shocked to see him return with a boy instead of the Dragon. "This prisoner is to be monitored as if your life depends on it," Garoa commanded as he tossed Ace inside one of the empty cells. "Is that understood, Deacon Joureil?" Joureil couldn''t help but look at Ace in shock and confusion. Each of the cells were made of Adamantium, so unless you were at the saint rank, you could forget about even attempting to use force to break out. Garoa, of course, knew that, but as far as Ace was concerned, he wasn''t willing to take any chances. Ace was the Cult''s chance of rising past their rivals, the Radiant Church, and reaching the same level as the O''Brien and Yulan Empires, the only two human factions with a deity at the helm. Even though he was shocked, the Deacon didn''t dare to disobey a direct command from a Bishop. "Yes, Bishop," Joureil answered respectfully. "I understand." As soon as he was dropped in the cell, Ace was finally given the chance to awaken properly, and the moment he did, his eyes couldn''t help but widen in surprise. He quickly spread his [Observation] to get a better idea of his current predicament, only to sense almost a dozen saint-level presences. Aiden had already told him that at the rate of improvement of his spiritual essence when he broke through to the fifth rank, no ordinairy mortal would be able to feel his [Observation] due to the ridiculous power of his spiritual essence. Of course, that didn''t include freaks like himself, Wukong or any of Arianna''s disciples whose spiritual essence had long since entered the realms of saints. It was for that reason that Garoa wasn''t able to sense Ace''s spirit when he locked onto them, but the saints in the castle all clearly felt Ace''s [Observation] pass over them, even if only briefly. Without hesitation, each of them stopped what they were doing and headed straight towards the source of that spirit. Garoa, who''d only just closed the door to the dungeon, was shocked to discover so many of his superiors suddenly in front of him. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Sirs, Madam Empress," the dishevelled Bishop hollered respectfully as he dropped to his knees. "Bishop," A woman in the centre of the group dressed in a fitted black robe with elegant and ostentatious golden stitching that highlighted her alluring curves called out as she coldly eyed the closed door to the dungeon. "Do we have a new prisoner I don''t know about?" Her name was Shelia, and she was the Dark Empress. The leader of the Cult Darkness and ruler of the Dark Alliance. "Yes, Empress," Garoa answered respectfully. "I was just coming to find you to report back to you." She didn''t even glance at her kneeling Bishop as she floated straight passed him and into the dungeon. "Madam Empress," Joureil greeted respectfully as he too dropped to his knees. Just like with the Bishop still kneeling on the other side of the door, she proceeded to ignore the Deacon guarding the prison. Instead, all her focus was on the youth sat on the cold dungeon floor, calmly staring back at her without so much as a hint of fear. "The boy?" Shelia asked, not seeming to mind the lack of respect she received from him. "Who is he?" "He claims his name is Luffy, but I suspect that to be an alias of some kind," Garoa explained, his voice laced with fear and awe. "I met him whilst we were tracking the Divine Dragon¡­" As Bishop Garoa explained everything about his running into Ace, the Dark Empress calmly listened. All the while, her eyes remained trained on the teen whose apparent achievements, despite her perfect concealment, thoroughly shocked her. "¡­ And so I hurried back here without stopping," Garoa explained, still kneeling. "I see," Shelia replied simply. "You were right to bring the boy back. As for his ability to locate you without you discovering him, that should be because of his unique ability to spread his spirit, which has surpassed that of many ninth-rank mages. If I had to guess, that and the ability to turn his body and weapon black you mentioned is part of an original bloodline ability." As her voice waned, both Garoa and Joureil were shocked. As far as they knew, only those descended from the four supreme warriors had bloodline abilities. For there to be another¡­ How could they not be shocked? "Luffy, was it?" Shelia asked as she addressed the teen before her for the first time. "How would you like to become my Son-In-Law and the crown prince of the Dark Alliance?" Though he was looking at the Peak Saint before him, Ace was actually focused on his conversation with Leonel. When his partner first told him of their plan to create a beast tide to attack, Ace wanted to curse. If Leonel were the leader of the Beast Tide, at most, he''d be able to elicit the support of magical beasts of the eighth rank. Though that would be quite the fearful Beast Tide to most cities, there were at least ten saints in the castle alone. Any one of them would be able to singlehandedly deal with a beast tide of that level, but when Leonel explained the entire plan, Ace was suddenly filled with confidence. Confidence may have been too strong of a word; maybe hope was more fitting. It was still a gamble, but it was one he was willing to make, but when he heard the proposal of the Dark Empress, one of the most powerful and influential figures on the continent, Ace couldn''t help but look at the Empress in surprise. "Not interested," Ace answered straightforwardly after quickly getting over his surprise. "INSOLENCE!" One of the other saints shouted. "Her majesty''s proposal is your great fortune. Who do you think you are to reject her goodwill?!" Ace didn''t dare spread his [Observation] again with so many saints present. Though they had correctly guessed that it was a bloodline ability, he didn''t wish to do anything to antagonise the situation any more than absolutely necessary. Still, his spirit was so strong now that he didn''t need to use his [Observation] to sense the auras of those around him. He immediately recognised the loudmouthed saint from his earlier use of his [Observation]. The man was a miniature giant standing over seven feet tall and dressed in an eerie black armour somewhat similar to Bishop Garoa, but Ace could sense from the instability of his aura that he was a newly promoted Saint. His name was Sulturn, and he was an Archbishop of the Cult. Though Ace knew he was far from a match for the man, after spending five years in the Yin-Yang Pavilion, it would take a lot more than the posturing of a man weaker than each and every one of his instructors to intimidate him. Ace calmly glanced at the man before disregarding him altogether as he turned his attention back to the empress. "I''m not interested." Though Ace''s tone of voice couldn''t be classed as actively disrespectful, that was only if he were talking to a peer. Shelia was a Peak Saint and the leader of one of the most powerful factions on the continent. Still, Ace didn''t seem phased in the slightest. The newly ascended saint was about to blow his gasket when one of the castle''s guards arrived at the dungeon. Normally such a low-ranking cultist had no business being anywhere near so many of the top figures of the Cult, but this time he came with news that couldn''t wait. "Ugh¡­ Erm¡­ Excuse me¡­ Ma¡­ Madame Empress¡­" The man stammered, unable to keep his composure in front of so many saints. "Outside¡­" "Good god, what is it?!" Sulturn snapped. He knew it had to be important for a trivial guard to dare interrupt them, but he was too frustrated by Ace''s arrogance to wait for the guard to get his words out patiently. "A saint-level lion is outside, and with him is the princess of the Rohault Empire," The guard explained as respectfully as possible. "They have demanded to see the empress." "I suggest you speak to them," Ace said with a calm confidence that gave birth to a faint worry for many of those present. Book 3: Chapter 22 – The Truth of Leonel’s Past Seeing the confidence on the boy¡¯s face, a slight frown adorned the enchanting face of Dark Empress Shelia. ¡°Rohault Empire? So that¡¯s the force behind you?¡± Ace didn¡¯t say anything in response, but the look in his eyes was all Shelia needed to see to draw her own conclusions. ¡°I¡¯ll go meet our guests,¡± A handsome man wearing an unassuming fitted black robe with a long straight sword sheathed by his side said calmly from the rear of the group. This man was Gediah, the leader of the Cult of Shadow¡¯s Demoniacs ¨C the cult¡¯s secret elite force of all saints. In terms of personal power, he was second only to the Dark Empress herself. He was also her husband, meaning the daughter Shelia offered up to Ace was none other than his daughter. Still, when his wife made the offer of an arranged marriage, he didn¡¯t so much as bat an eyelid. Shelia didn¡¯t say anything in response as her husband calmly made his way to meet the party from the Rohault Family. ¡°The Rohault Empire may be one of the six major forces, but they¡¯re still a little inferior when compared to my Dark Alliance,¡± Shelia explained indifferently as she looked down at Ace, having long since regained her indifference. ¡°But seeing as you have no intention of marrying into my family of your own free will, I guess we¡¯ll have to do it the hard way. Garoa, bring the boy up to the main hall.¡± Ace had his doubts as he watched Shelia lead her followers out of the dungeon and up the stairs, but there was nothing he could do at this point other than put his faith in Amira and the others. . . . Whilst Ace was being carried up the stairs to the main hall, Amira, Leonel, and Julius were stood on the back of a giant lion with reddish-yellow fur and glowing scarlet eyes as it floated in the skies above the castle disdainfully looking down at the mortals beneath it. Amira¡¯s original plan was to have Leonel lead a beast tide to wait on the outskirts of the Dark Alliance¡¯s territory whilst she made her way here by herself, where she would demand Ace¡¯s release after informing the Cult that Ace was a member of her Empire and that rejecting would lead to a beast tide today and followed up by a war against her Rohault Empire, but whilst hunting for other beasts, they ran into a lone Fire-Lion of the seventh rank. After easily defeating it, the lion let out an unwilling roar. Amira and the others understood it was calling the rest of its pack, but as Fire Lions were magical beasts of the eighth rank, they decided to wait, as the more high-ranking beasts in the beast tide, the better. What they weren¡¯t expecting was that the reinforcement it called for wasn¡¯t another fire lion at all, but a Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion ¨C a mid-saint level fire-type magical beast. Apparently, the young lion they had previously defeated was the granddaughter of the saint-level beast. Just as Julius was cursing their luck, the saint-level lion they assumed would try and kill them stared at Leonel in disbelief before roaring with laughter as tears of joy fell from its scarlet marble-like eyes. It was then that they found out that Leonel was none other than the long-lost son of the saint-level lion. Apparently, around half a decade ago, one of his wives had actually laid a large egg. But as lions didn¡¯t reproduce by laying eggs, he and the rest of his pack understood that it had to be a Divine Beast, as all Divine Beasts are hatched from eggs. So, just like for the dragons of the dragon pit, the lions saw this soon-to-hatch egg as their path to rise. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Unfortunately, they had many rivals in the wild. One of which was a pack of Wolves led by a Saint-level Sky-Wolf. When the wolves had gotten word about the egg they were protecting, led by their Sky-Wolf leader, they assaulted the pride of lions in an attempt to kill the egg. The fight was particularly brutal, but the difference between the leaders of both groups was virtually non-existent. It only came to a stop when they realised that the egg had already hatched and the Divine lion cub had already made its escape, presumably after sensing the power of the two saints in the distance. But because their fight went on for multiple days before stopping, Carter, the Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion, wasn¡¯t able to find it after that. His whole pride had spent a long time trying to track its newborn son, but it couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. And after their war against the wolf pack, he and his family of lions were already injured, and as they were in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, where many other powerful beasts were lurking, ready to pounce, they had to retreat from their original home in an attempt to nurse their wounds. Though he knew it was unlikely he¡¯d ever see his son again, Carter had never stopped looking. With his saint-level spiritual essence and his incredible senses, he was able to recognise his long-lost child with just a glance. The palpable excitement of the saint-level lion was completely understandable. Still, that excitement quickly turned into an unbridled rage when he learnt that his son, a genuine Divine Beast with infinite potential, had forged a bond of equals with a mere human child. He was about to kill Amira and Julius in a fit of rage, but Leonel hurriedly stood in front of them, unwilling to back down, even if it was his father and a saint at that. Seeing how determined his son was to protect the humans frustrated him. As a magical beast that stood near the apex of all magical beasts, he understood better than most that the relationship between humans and beasts was virtually always hostile, with the only time that humans and beasts were able to co-exist relatively peacefully was when humans subjugated beasts. So how could he, as a leader of a powerful group of magical beasts, ever look kindly at humans? If it were any other member of his family acting against him like that, Carter would¡¯ve mercilessly slaughtered them and then killed the humans, but Leonel wasn¡¯t just any member of his family. Aside from the fact that he was a Divine Beast, Carter went to sleep every night for the last five years racked with guilt for not being able to protect him. As Leonel had spent the last five years fending for himself in the wild instead of under his protection, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill those his na?ve son cared for ¨C even if it went against his better judgement. But his tolerance only went so far. When Leonel asked for his help saving his human partner, Carter almost re-lost his temper, but Leonel wasn¡¯t willing to give up so easily. When he explained that Ace was only captured after risking his life to save his own, Carter¡¯s rage calmed ¨C albeit only slightly. Still, he had no intentions of rescuing the boy from power like the Cult of Darkness. Leonel argued that since he wasn¡¯t going to help, then he should just pretend they never met as he wouldn¡¯t be leaving with him. Carter prepared to knock his son unconscious and take him by force, knowing that Leonel wouldn¡¯t see reason after just meeting him, but before he could make his move, Amira stepped forward. She explained that Leonel wasn¡¯t just an ordinary Divine Beast; he could be considered an Apex Divine Beast, one that, by all intents and purposes, is unmatched in the same realm. Carter snorted, replying that he obviously knew that, but Amira¡¯s following words caught her off guard. She explained that even though Carter¡¯s natural ability was nothing short of incredible, Ace was able to defeat Leonel despite being of the same rank. Hearing that, the giant, scarlet-eyed lion looked towards his son in disbelief, only to see him nod as if to tell him that everything Amira said was true. Amira then said that if he were to help him save Ace, his pride of lions would effectively be getting themselves two freaks on the same level as Leonel and that he definitely wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. Feeling intrigued, Carter eventually agreed to help them, but he wouldn¡¯t risk the lives of his son or the rest of his family by fighting directly against the Cult, to which Amira assured him that that wouldn¡¯t be necessary. From that moment, Carter was the one who took charge of creating the beast tide, and as a mid-stage saint, he was far more efficient than his son. Whilst Carter, Leonel, Amira, and Julius were waiting above the castle, the rest of his pride was waiting on the outskirts of the city with thousands of magical beasts. Several of which were actually of the ninth, eighth, and seventh rank. Upon exiting the main gates to the Cult¡¯s main headquarters, Gediah¡¯s head turned to the east, where he sensed the presence of several very powerful magical beasts. A helpless sigh escaped his lips as he calmly floated into the skies only a few meters away from the saint-level lion that had put the fear of god into all his subordinates below. ¡°My name¡¯s Gediah; how may I help you all today?¡± Book 3: Chapter 23 – Divine Boon Of Darkness As the princess of the Rohault Kingdom, Amira had been briefed on all of the movers and shakers on the continent, so even before he formally introduced himself, she had recognised the handsome man as the Emperor of Darkness and the commander of the Demoniacs. ¡°Emperor Gediah, my name is Amira Rohault,¡± The light-skinned teen introduced calmly. ¡°I have come because it has come to our attention that a member of my empire has been taken by one of your bishops.¡± ¡®Looks like that brat really was a member of the Rohault Empire after all. How troublesome,¡¯ Gediah thought to himself whilst keeping a perfect poker face in front of Amira and her party. ¡°Ooh, is that right? I haven¡¯t heard anything about that, but if you give me his name, I can ask around for you and get back to you immediately.¡± It was obvious that Gediah was playing games at this point, but knowing how sticky a situation this was, Amira knew she couldn¡¯t afford to be too demanding. ¡°His name¡¯s Ace.¡± ¡°Ace?¡± Gediah asked back with a raised eyebrow. ¡®So that¡¯s the boy¡¯s real name? Why does that name sound so familiar?¡¯ Just as Gediah was going to continue speaking, his attention was grabbed by the gentle roars of a jet-black lion standing beside Amira. It wasn¡¯t a magical beast that he recognised, but it gave off an impressive aura, especially when it was clearly only at the fifth rank. ¡°Ace is his name,¡± Carter said, his voice indifferent as his scarlet eyes remained trained on the peak saint in front of him. ¡°But the name he gave to you should¡¯ve been Luffy, and according to my son, he¡¯s currently being escorted to your main hall against his will.¡± When he heard that, Gediah instantly understood that the divine beast Garoa and his team had sensed earlier wasn¡¯t the Divine Dragon they had initially been assigned to recapture but this lion, who was Ace¡¯s true beast partner. ¡°Gediah, I suggest you not bother trying to lie anymore,¡± Carter snorted coldly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already realised that my son here is a Divine Beast, which means that upon reaching adulthood, he will naturally reach the Deity realm, meaning that if anything were to happen to his human partner now, in the future, when he becomes a Deity, it would be simplicity in and of itself to come back and get revenge. And before you even think about making a move now, you should know that you may be a peak saint, but the only person I fear in the Cult of Darkness is your wife, and not even she could make me stay if I wish to leave.¡± Upon hearing Carter¡¯s not-so-veiled threat, Gediah¡¯s calm expression receded as a frown took its place. He originally believed that as the Azure Dragon wasn¡¯t here with them, he might be able to easily stall for time without them using the boy and the Dragon¡¯s connection to see through him, but things wouldn¡¯t be that easy now. Especially since everything that Carter said was true, when Leonel became a Demi-God in the future, if he wished to slaughter every single one of them, the Cult would be powerless to stop him unless they had a deity of their own¡­ . . . On the castle¡¯s top floor, Ace had been tossed into the very centre of what appeared to be an octagonal magical formation of some sort. Stood on each point of the octagon was one of the various saints of the Cult. Ace didn¡¯t know what they were planning to do, but he couldn¡¯t help but get a bad feeling. A hopeless smile suffused Ace¡¯s lips as he realised that whatever the cult had planned for him, they were determined to finish regardless of what happened outside. ¡°Leo,¡± Ace sent mentally via their connection. ¡°I know we didn¡¯t get to spend that long together, but I need you to do me a favour. Get your father to take you, Amira, and Julius out of here. It looks like there¡¯s no getting out of this one for me.¡± When he heard that, Leonel let out a heart-wrenching roar as he unhesitantly leapt from his father¡¯s back towards Ace. Having grown up having to fend for himself since birth, Leonel had led a lonely life. But since meeting Ace and the others, he finally felt a sense of belonging. He would rather die than let anything or anyone take that away from him. Especially as the only reason Ace was in this predicament at all was to protect him. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to his partner as a result. ¡°Leonel, no, come back!¡± Carter shouted hurriedly, but when he saw the vicious glint in Gediah¡¯s eyes as the man¡¯s hand reached for his sword, he couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of how he had been too weak to protect his son in the past. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE!¡± As soon as Gediah saw Leonel leap in his direction in an attempt to go after Ace, he saw it as a blessing. Carter was right earlier; if Leonel left with his life today, although there was a good chance that Leonel might join them after they had finished ¡®convincing¡¯ Ace to join them, there was still a chance that Leonel would reject knowing Ace wasn¡¯t acting of his own free will. And as talented as Ace was, there was no guarantee he would become a deity. Unfortunately, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Leonel, who was guaranteed to become one in the future unless he died prematurely. So as Leonel jumped in his direction, he saw it as the best opportunity to protect the Cult. But, unfortunately, with Carter so close, he¡¯d never be allowed to kill the young Divine Beast so easily. As soon as Leonel had jumped off, Amira, understanding what was about to happen, quickly grabbed Julius and hopped off Carter¡¯s back, but she wasn¡¯t done. As soon as Leonel had made his move, she had guessed the reason. Whilst in mid-air, with a flick of her wrist, she summoned a crystal-like cannon and a giant purple magicite core almost twice the size of her head. Without a second thought, she hurriedly injected the core into the cannon and watched as the cannon began to glow furiously. As the cannon crashed into the ground, Amira quickly and calmly aimed its tip at the top of the castle in the direction where Leonel had tried to chase after Ace. The magicite cannon was like a miniature weapon of mass destruction. The higher the level of magicite core used to fuel it, the more power it would be able to output. With her having just used a saint-level core, the force of the blast would be no weaker than the forbidden spell of a saint. Gediah¡¯s face darkened as soon as he noticed what Amira was planning. His sword was just inches from piercing the skull of the young divine lion. Still, if he did, he would be too slow to block the inevitable violent retaliation of Carter, who, despite being one sub-rank beneath him, wasn¡¯t much weaker than him being a saint-level magical beast. Ordinarily, such a risk would¡¯ve been worth it if it meant taking out a potential future threat like Leonel. Still, from the sudden emergence of the black light hovering over the castle, he knew the ritual his wife and the others wanted to use on Ace had begun, and the backlash of failing would be disastrous for them. As such, Gediah suddenly disappeared from his original position, only to reappear in the way of the purple beam tearing through the air. His blade, coated in a pitch-black battle-qi, easily tore through the lightning elemental beam as he glared at the young princess, a hint of killing intent arising. Unfortunately for him, Amira wasn¡¯t the slightest bit phased by his presence. The time for talking had passed, now was the time for action. She quickly loaded another saint-level magicite core into the cannon, aiming straight through the man and at the top of the castle. The Demoniac¡¯s commander wanted to hurry down and kill the nuisance, but after catching his son before he got himself killed, Carter appeared above Gediah¡¯s head, his colossal paw slapping down at the man¡¯s head as he let out a furious roar signalling the beasts on the outskirts of the city to begin their attack. Unable to dodge for fear of the harm it would cause to his wife, he was forced to grit his teeth and block both blows simultaneously. In the hall on the castle¡¯s top floor, Ace and his captors could hear the blasts of the battle going on outside, but it only spurred Shelia to hurry up. ¡°As your humble servant, Lord Sovereign, I call upon you here today to do your bidding.¡± As she said that, a black aura appeared above the grimoire in her hand. An energy so dark in colour that it seemed to want to devour the light of the world around it. But as Ace felt the fear and unwillingness from not only Leonel but also Amira and Julius with his [Observation], he stared at the Dark Empress, his face void of any emotion, but it was that same emotionless glare that made her shudder. ¡°You had better kill me,¡± Ace said, his tone just as emotionless as his face. ¡°If you don¡¯t, in the future, I will slaughter every single one of you!¡± Although the skirmish outside was far smaller, knowing that there were those outside risking their lives to rescue him¡­ Ace couldn¡¯t help but think back to the ¡®War of the Best¡¯. It was something he never wanted to experience again, and yet, here he was¡­ again! Shelia didn¡¯t understand how she had just been intimidated by a child, but when her eyes fell on the black energy hovering before her, her heart was filled with awe and worship. ¡®Unfortunately, you won¡¯t have that chance after being hit by the Divine Boon of Darkness!¡¯ It may have just been a hint of divine power, but it was still the power of a sovereign. As the energy manifested, even the fighting outside seemed to come to a standstill. The power of a sovereign was inviolable. Still, even as the light shot penetrated his insides, causing his body to glow with a dark radiance and float in the air, Ace¡¯s emotionless eyes remained trained on the Empress. As the black ball of divine power entered him, all the fatigue and injuries he¡¯d suffered over the last few days seemed to be washed away almost instantly, but that was just the side effect. The energy¡¯s real target was Ace¡¯s soul. Theoretically, once this energy merged with one¡¯s soul, they would forever be a loyal follower of the sovereigns of darkness, but Ace¡¯s soul was anything but normal. As soon as the sovereign¡¯s power neared his soul, the barrier that protected it acted like it had a will of its own, taking the initiative to meet the divine energy. As the two incomparably powerful energies met, Ace¡¯s ¡®soul body¡¯ once again opened its eyes. Book 3: Chapter 24 – The Return of Fire Fist Ace Shelia and her followers all stared intently at Ace. Though it was rare, this wasn¡¯t the first time they had used a Divine Boon to take control of someone. Normally after being hit by the Divine Boon, the target would be marked with the Sovereign¡¯s insignia as their bodies gradually floated back towards the ground. But not only was there no insignia forming on Ace¡¯s body, but the boy was still floating in mid-air, indifferently staring directly into Shelia¡¯s eyes. No one understood what was happening, but it gave them a sense of foreboding. Especially as they watched the black aura being emitted from inside Ace¡¯s body slowly fade. How could they know that Ace¡¯s soul was being protected by a barrier and that as the barrier and Sovereign¡¯s energy clashed, both seemingly indomitable powers would begin to weaken? As soon as Ace¡¯s soul opened its eyes, the eyes of Shelia and the rest of her subordinates widened in disbelief. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Shelia asked in shock as she sensed the essence of nature, or more specifically, the fire essence in the surrounding area, surge into the boy still floating in the centre of the room. They were so shocked by the sudden turn of events that they didn¡¯t even realise Ace had lost consciousness. Inside Ace¡¯s soul space, the divine energy that was attempting to gain control over his soul was being rapidly consumed. On one side, it was still clashing against the remaining power of the barrier, and on the other side, the crimson motes of light that had entered his body from the outside world began to burn the dark energy in an attempt to enter Ace¡¯s soul. After almost 60 seconds, the dark, divine sovereign¡¯s power was finally dissolved, and the black light emitted from Ace¡¯s body disappeared, but his soul had no intention of letting things end just like that. The barrier tried to envelop Ace¡¯s soul once more, but it was nowhere near as strong as it had been previously. Sensing that weakness, Ace¡¯s ethereal, spiritual body raised its transparent hand, and as it did, the devouring force that worked to absorb the fire essence multiplied in power. And just like that, the barrier keeping Ace from sensing the natural laws had been absorbed, and Ace¡¯s spirit body became completely corporeal in nature, but that wasn¡¯t the end of Ace¡¯s transformation. With Ace¡¯s soul now saturated, it closed its eyes, and as it did, the fire essence entering his soul turned and flooded to a small, almost non-existent vassal positioned just beneath his naval, flooding it and forcing it to grow in size. If Ace were conscious, he would¡¯ve realised that not only had his soul directly doubled in size and power, he had officially become a mage of the first rank, but that was just the beginning. All the high-ranking members of the Cult could only watch with their mouths agape as Ace, who was surprisingly not a mage at all, broke through the first rank, then the second, and then the third, with things only settling down as he reached the peak of the third-rank. But it was at that moment that the eyes of both Ace and his soul sprang open, and for the second time since he arrived in this world, his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] surged forth, directly knocking almost everyone present unconscious. In the end, the only person who was able to stay awake was Shelia. As the strongest person present, that wasn¡¯t too surprising, but even she was forced down to her knees as her breathing quickened. ¡®This is¡­ Impossible!¡¯ She thought to herself as she watched Ace drop to his feet. The surge of power Ace emitted at that moment was oddly similar to the power of the Sovereign she previously called upon. Something that should be impossible! As soon as Ace regained consciousness, he could immediately sense the changes to his body and could vaguely guess what had happened, but instead of focusing on that, he turned his head to face one of the unconscious men on the ground. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. After being hit by Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], despite having no injuries to speak of, the Dark Empress found that her body refused to listen to her. She could only watch helplessly as Ace, the boy she thought she had right where she wanted, disappeared, only to reappear over the unconscious body of the same Bishop responsible for his capture in the first place. Ace could sense the eyes of Shelia on him, but he didn¡¯t seem to care about her in the slightest. Instead, he calmly removed the golden ring on Garoa¡¯s middle finger before sliding it on his right index finger. ¡®What¡¯s he doing?¡¯ Shelia wondered. She knew Ace was no idiot. Although an interspatial ring was incredibly desirable, that should be the last thing on his mind at a time like this, but when she saw what he did next, her eyes widened in disbelief for what felt like the hundredth time today. ¡°[Fire Fist]!¡± Ace roared as he thrust his fist in Garoa¡¯s direction, creating a large fist-shaped flame. Even though Mages were famed for their destructive might, Garoa was still a warrior of the ninth rank. Even without actively blocking, his body would still be capable of taking the flames of a mage of the third rank suffering little to no damage, but Ace¡¯s flames weren¡¯t ordinairy. Ace¡¯s fist-shaped spell not only incinerated the bishop¡¯s head, it also melted a hole in the walls behind him. ¡°Impossible!¡± Shelia blurted out in utter disbelief. ¡°How could you have already comprehended part of the profound mysteries of the laws of fire?!¡± As a saint, Shelia was more than capable of sensing that Ace¡¯s fire elemental mage force was strengthened by the laws of fire; what she didn¡¯t understand was how Ace had accomplished something most spent their lives unable to, despite clearly having only just become a mage. Unfortunately, Ace had no intention of communicating. With a flick of his wrist, the glaive he had taken from him by Garoa reappeared in his palm. Without saying a word to her, Ace¡¯s body moved like a flash, appearing in front of Shelia. As she was still incapable of moving, Ace was able to grab her by the neck and lift her above his head so her feet were dangling just above the ground. Even though she was shocked beyond measure over the power of Ace¡¯s last attack, as a peak saint-level warrior and mage, Shelia knew that even if she couldn¡¯t control her body yet, there was nothing Ace could do to her. As such, she calmly met Ace¡¯s icy gaze. ¡°I admit, you¡¯re even more impressive than I already believed, but there¡¯s no escape for you now. With your impressive spiritual essence, you should be able to sense what¡¯s going on outside. My husband is slowly getting the upper hand in his fight against that saint-level lion, and my subordinates are slowly suppressing the beast tide called in to save you. There¡¯s no¡­¡± Before she could finish her speel, Ace indifferently dragged her to the hole he had previously created in the wall. From there, he could see Leonel¡¯s father valiantly fighting against Gediah despite all the wounds he¡¯d accumulated thus far fighting against someone of a higher rank. On the floor beneath them, Amira and Leonel were fighting side by side against the mortals of the Cult of Darkness with Julius behind them, insta-casting spell after spell with genuine intent to kill. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Ace roared, giving voice to the pain in his heart from all the wounds his loved ones had suffered in an attempt to save him. When everyone looked up, there wasn¡¯t a soul unsurprised by the sight of a youth holding the leader of one of the most powerful forces on the continent by the neck with the blackened blade of his glaive pressed against her neck. ¡°SHHEELIIAAA!¡± Gediah shouted, worried about his wife¡¯s safety. Unfortunately, that momentary lapse in concentration was exactly what Carter needed. As soon as the man turned his head, the lion¡¯s paw, coated in a blazing crimson flame, crashed into his side, sending him flying into the side of the castle. The commander of the Demoniacs hurriedly flew out to chase after the boy who somehow had managed to take his wife hostage, but by then, Ace was already on Carter¡¯s back with Shelia still in his hands. ¡°I know I¡¯m still too weak to hurt you,¡± Ace said calmly as he glanced down at the woman whose neck his hand was wrapped around. ¡°But he isn¡¯t.¡± As Ace jumped on his back, Carter had half a mind to swat him away, but when he thought back to how much this youth meant to his son, he resisted his urge, but when he heard Ace¡¯s words, a hearty laugh escaped his mouth. ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s right. Hand her to me, brat. I wonder how much stronger I¡¯d get after eating someone as powerful as the Dark Empress.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you da-¡± ¡°Did I give you permission to speak?¡± Ace asked as he coldly cut Gediah off. ¡°If the next words out of your mouth aren¡¯t calling your forces back, then you better believe I¡¯d happily let your wife be eaten in front of you.¡± Gediah glared at the boy wanting nothing more than the chance to tear him limb from limb for daring to speak to him like that, but he didn¡¯t dare act rashly. ¡°Fall back!¡± Shelia commanded directly. Though they were shocked by the sudden development, all of the cultists encircling Amira and her group obediently did as they were told, allowing the trio to cautiously get back on Carter¡¯s back. ¡°Leo,¡± Ace said mentally when all three of them were safely on Carter¡¯s back. ¡°Tell your father to fly us out of here as soon as I drop this old wench.¡± ¡°Now, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Gediah said begrudgingly whilst Leonel began to communicate with his father. ¡°Let my wife go!¡± ¡°My pleasure,¡± Ace said as he threw her up in the air, his now empty hand coated in [Armament Haki] as it made a beautiful arc in the air, perfectly connecting with her face, sending her flying in the opposite direction from the one Carter flew off in. Book 3: Chapter 25 – Awakening (Long Chapter) Whilst Ace and his group were making haste to leave the territory of the Dark Alliance, Linley had just returned to Wushan Town for the first time in almost four years. After finishing his training exercise in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, he first returned to the Ernst Institute to inform them of his successful return before officially asking for some leave to return home. As it was right in the middle of a school term, the institute wasn¡¯t in the habit of granting such requests unless it was for an emergency, but as it was their rising star whose strength had long since surpassed his peers, they decided to make an exception. There were three reasons for his wanting to return home. One was to tell his dad to get Wharton to stop pursuing Ace for a rematch. The second was to speak to his father about his mother¡¯s ¡®condition¡¯, and the church¡¯s apparent part in it, and last but not least was to finally activate his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline. The thought of finally living up to his parent¡¯s expectations filled him with so much excitement. The only reason he hadn¡¯t done it already was because he felt that this was something that should be done with his father, the man who passed down the bloodline to him in the first place. As he made his way through the streets of Wushan Town, no one was able to recognise him due to the length of time he¡¯d been away from home. But even with his drastic changes over the last few years, the guards of his family manor were able to recognise him almost immediately. After all, other than his actual family, they were the ones who probably saw him most. ¡°Youn¡­ Young master Linley?¡± One of the guards asked, unable to believe that the strapping, handsome teen in front of him was really his young master. ¡°Felicrin, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Linley greeted amiably. ¡°Is my father inside?¡± ¡°Yes, young master, he is.¡± Guard Felicrin answered respectfully. ¡°I¡¯ll head in then. Take care,¡± Linley said back before entering the back of the house, where he saw his father practising his swordsmanship with a large war blade. Linley didn¡¯t rush to interrupt his father¡¯s training. Instead, he just watched patiently. After his trip in the wild these last few months of training in the wild, especially getting to see Ace in action, his eyes had become a lot more discerning. He could tell just by looking at the way his father¡¯s blade danced through the air that his father had reached the boundary of ¡®wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯. An impressive feat for a man at the seventh rank, but it made him sigh helplessly as he remembered that Ace had managed to not only fuse both states of wielding but also touch the boundary of impose. Linley had never experienced any setbacks when comparing himself to anyone of his generation, but Ace was just a different breed. The most frustrating part about it was that it wasn¡¯t just Ace. Each and every single student in the Pavilion was a monster who, purely in terms of comprehension, was ahead of Linley himself. But he wasn¡¯t too disheartened. After awakening his bloodline, he¡¯d make sure to catch up with and surpass each and every one of them. ¡°Linley? Is that you?¡± Hogg asked as he turned around to see his son absentmindedly staring off into the distance. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming back today, son. If you had let me know, I would¡¯ve had the cooks prepare a feast for your return.¡± Hogg had never been much of an emotional man, so when his father took the initiative to take him into his arms, he could imagine how lonely he must¡¯ve been over the last few years. He knew that after he left for the Ernst Institute, both his parents had been arguing more, so when Wharton was accepted into the War God¡¯s Academy, they had both degreed that Lina would go with him. Hearing that his parents were having marital problems was difficult for just about any child, and knowing that the church was ultimately the reason behind his mother¡¯s tainted pure soul only served to anger him further. ¡°What is it, son?¡± Hogg asked when he noticed the abnormal change in Linley¡¯s demeanour. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Taking a deep breath, Linley steeled his nerves as he met his father¡¯s gaze. As hard as it would be, he couldn¡¯t keep the truth about his mother¡¯s condition from him. ¡°Dad, you should sit down. There¡¯s something you need to know¡­¡± Hogg was at a complete loss for words as he listened to everything his son had to say, each revelation more shocking than the last, but whilst he was surprised about Linley¡¯s assessment of Ace, a boy he would¡¯ve all but forgotten about had it not been for him hearing about his other son¡¯s very public challenge announcement, the thing he was most taken aback by was, of course, the news of his wife¡¯s condition. He grit his teeth in anger and frustration. As an experienced warrior and also a descendant of one of the former most prominent clans on the continent, he obviously understood the power of the church, but as a husband, how could he not be angry that the kidnapping attempt of them, or someone who wished to get in their good graces, led to his wife¡¯s negative spiral. Things may be tense between them, but he still loved her. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He was now at a loss. Even though Linley said there was a way to save her, he still wanted revenge, but he also knew he wasn¡¯t capable of opposing the behemoth that was the Radiant Church. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry,¡± Linley reassured. ¡°We may not be capable of paying the church back now, but in the future, after we rebuild the Baruch Clan back to its former heights, the Church will be begging for our forgiveness!¡± ¡°Son, I need you to promise me you won¡¯t go looking for revenge!¡± Hogg said sombrely when he sensed the killing intent his son was emitting. In Hogg¡¯s eyes, though Linley wasn¡¯t able to awaken his bloodline like his younger brother, his talent as a mage made him no less critical to the future of the clan. He wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it if anything happened to either of his boys. ¡°Dad, what do you think these are?¡± Linley asked as he withdrew a handful of deep green blades of grass that emanated a faint blue light and a large gourd. ¡°Isn¡¯t that blueheart grass?¡± Hogg asked in shock. His clan¡¯s records had written that those who couldn¡¯t awaken their bloodlines naturally could use blueheart grass to counteract the violent nature of the dragon blood. Using both together, a Baruch can successfully stimulate their bloodline. Though he was surprised by the blueheart grass and could faintly guess what Linley was thinking, as it was something that had crossed his mind several times over the years, he knew better than anyone how hard it was to get your hands on Dragonblood as virtually all dragons live in the dragon pit in the forest of darkness where there were even several saints. He was about to explain the problem to his son when suddenly he felt his slumbering bloodline thrum with excitement. Looking at Linley¡¯s other hand, he realised that he had just opened the gourd revealing a thick crimson liquid that emitted a slight azure hue. Though he didn¡¯t know which dragon it came from exactly, he knew that it must¡¯ve come from an extremely pure-blooded dragon to elicit such a reaction from his bloodline. ¡°Dad, this blood came from a genuine Divine Dragon,¡± Linley explained with a hint of excitement. ¡°And there should be enough for both of us to awak-¡± ¡°No!¡± Hogg stated directly, interrupting his son mid-sentence. ¡°Linley, you may not know this, but when awakening your bloodline, there are two factors that are important. First is the potency of the dragon¡¯s blood, and the second is the amount you¡¯re able to drink. Splitting that blood between both of us would be a waste of such an incredible treasure.¡± Linley looked down at the bottle unwillingly. Though he wanted to drink it and awaken his bloodline, the most important thing was avenging his mother. As his father was much stronger than him already, the best thing for their family would be if he took it, but when he heard his father¡¯s following statement, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. ¡°You need to take it all yourself!¡± Hogg stated unhesitantly. ¡°Linley, even though you weren¡¯t able to awaken your bloodline, your speed when training as a warrior isn¡¯t much slower than your brothers, and that¡¯s whilst balancing it with your mage training. Although my drinking it would make our clan more powerful in the short term, if we¡¯re going to get revenge for what happened to your mother, we need to be thinking more long-term. Not only do you have more potential as a warrior than your old man, the fact that you¡¯re such a talented mage as well makes this choice even easier. I can already see you ushering in a new era for our Baruch Clan!¡± ¡°Dad¡­¡± Linley replied, feeling a little choked up. After his time in the wilderness these last few months, he had seen how easy it was for humans to get corrupted by greed, but his father was able to decline something so precious with such ease. How could it not make him feel emotional? ¡°Enough of your snivelling,¡± Hogg scolded as he turned to head back into the manor. ¡°Follow me into the basement; you can do the awakening there. I¡¯ll stand guard for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve read the clan¡¯s records,¡± Hogg said as he stood opposite his son in the dimly lit basement. ¡°Begin whenever you¡¯re ready, and remember to drink every drop before using only this single blade of grass. The less blueheart grass you use, the less diluted your awakening will be. It¡¯ll be a painful process, but it¡¯ll be worth it in the long run.¡± ¡°Yes, father. I understand!¡± Linley said solemnly as he picked up the gourd and began downing the contents. As soon as the blood entered his throat, he was overwhelmed by an intense burning, but he forced himself to continue. The burning only got worse as the blood reached his intestines, the burning became almost unbearable, but when he thought about his mother, he was able to continue. But, unfortunately, the pain only got worse. Thankfully, he was able to finish it all, but that was just the beginning. He quickly bit down on the blueheart grass, but the alleviation of pain was minimal. Watching their son in so much pain would be hard on any father, but Hogg knew this was best for his son¡¯s future, so he clenched his teeth and watched patiently, praying it would come to an end sooner rather than later. Cowart, who had silently watched from inside the coiling dragon ring, was suddenly caught by surprise when he noticed the spiritual essence suddenly surge forth and enter Linley¡¯s body. Linley was in too much pain to realise that anything was amiss. Still, when the spiritual energy in the ring sensed the familiar blood entering the body of its host, it acted on instinct to make the fusion as thorough as possible. With the assistance of the coiling dragon ring, Linley¡¯s body continuously got stronger and stronger. It was only when he broke through from the fourth to the fifth rank that the pain of the awakening finally began to fade, only to be replaced by the pain of his skin being torn apart as glowing azure scales formed above his skin, tearing his clothes apart. Even though his son was screaming in pain, a tear of pure joy fell down Hogg¡¯s face as he understood that the awakening was coming to an end. As the pain finally receded, Linley released a bestial roar that caught the attention of just about every person in their little village, but Hogg didn¡¯t care one bit as he looked at his son¡¯s glorious transformation. Those who awakened their bloodline with external stimulus would adopt some of the characteristics of the dragon whose blood they used to awaken with, meaning their scales could be of just about colour, but only those who awakened naturally would have Azure scales, like his youngest son ¨C Wharton. But Linley¡¯s azure scales made his younger brothers look almost dull in comparison. Not only that, but instead of the singular horn protruding from the centre of their foreheads, Linley had two milky white curved horns sticking out from either side of his forehead, but the most shocking change was the difference in strength. Normally, those who had awakened unnaturally would only experience an increase of a single rank when transformed, whilst those who awakened naturally would experience an increase of two ranks after mastering their transformation. Linley had just experienced a breakthrough during the awakening entering the fifth rank, but after transforming, Cowart and Baruch could sense Linley had directly entered the eighth rank, giving him an increase of not two but three ranks! ¡°This power is incredible!¡± Linley muttered to himself as he clenched and unclenched his fist. ¡®With this, no one will be able to stop me from achieving everything I want to!¡¯ Book 3: Chapter 26 – Team Two ¡°How long will he take to wake up?¡± A fair-skinned girl with short dark brown hair styled in a bob cut who had a surprisingly sturdy frame for a female asked impatiently as she looked at the herculean dark-skinned youth lying peacefully on the floor beside her. ¡°He¡¯s been unconscious for over a day already.¡± ¡°If big sister Alissa was right, he should wake up any second now,¡± Replied a young but handsome brown-haired boy dressed in plain leather armour with a Liuyedao sheathed at his hip. The two youths speaking were Faye and Kannal, and the unconscious large teen on the ground before them was Killian. ¡°What was Alissa thinking, leaving at a time like this?!¡± Faye asked in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it seemed important,¡± Kannal answered back. ¡°I get that, but after awakening her Tigerstriped Warrior transformation, she¡¯s the strongest out of all of us!¡± Faye snapped back. ¡°Surely she could¡¯ve waited till Kil woke up to leave.¡± ¡°Everyone knows how she feels about Killian. She probably doubted she would be able to leave if he was awake.¡± Kannal shrugged helplessly. ¡°Plus, we¡¯re not exactly in the depths of the mountain range anymore. The strongest beasts around here are only in the third rank. Even I can deal with them.¡± ¡°Tch, you¡¯re such a suck-up.¡± Faye snorted before turning back to look at the long scar running along Killian¡¯s bare chest. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t believe everything that happened. Killian almost died protecting us, and Alissa awoke her Tigerstriped Warrior bloodline. I didn¡¯t even know she was a descendant of the Prey Clan.¡± . . . A few days ago, under Killian¡¯s lead, team two stumbled upon the den of a pack of Mud Wolves, the leader of which was at the peak of the fifth rank. On its own, that wouldn¡¯t have been a problem for the group. After these last few months, Killian was already at the late stages of the fourth rank as both a warrior and mage. He was already capable of challenging and beating many magical beasts of the fifth rank. With the help of Alissa and the others, a lone magical beast at the peak of the fifth rank didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to them, but it wasn¡¯t alone. It was the leader of a pack of six wolves, and aside from the alpha, there was still another at the fifth rank as well. The smart thing to do would¡¯ve been to go around the wolf pack, and that was what they initially planned to do until Alissa alerted them to the presence of an almost ripe Earth Root Fruit. The Earth Root Fruit was an incredible treasure that had the wondrous effect of reconstructing and strengthening the foundation of a warrior beneath the seventh rank, giving them the ability to naturally reach the seventh rank without cultivating battle qi. Just that alone made it coveted by virtually all budding warriors, but it also had the added ability to increase a mage¡¯s affinity to the earth element. It was virtually tailor-made for those like Killian and Faye. Still, even though he genuinely wanted to get his hands on it, he knew that the wolf pack before them was too powerful for them, and he wouldn¡¯t risk the lives of his team for his selfish desires, but before he could get another word out, Alissa said that she would get it and bring it back for him. Although Killian had managed to catch up with and even surpass her in terms of direct combat, aside from Ace and Amira, when it came to pure speed, Alissa ranked number one. Between her use of the spell [Supersonic] and her comprehension of [Soru], which had reached the 15th step, she was as fast as, if not faster than, the average magical beast of the sixth rank. As Mud Wolves weren¡¯t known for their speed, Alissa stood a pretty good chance of getting in and out unscathed, and she almost did it. She managed to grab the fruit just as it ripened, and she was so close to getting away, but Mud Wolves had the ability to turn solid ground around them into mud, and this pack was able to use their ability in unison to affect a much larger area. Stolen story; please report. Though Alissa was faster than them, their fused ability caught her off guard, allowing the enraged pack¡¯s alpha to catch up. Thankfully, the moment Alissa charged off on her own, Killian had shot off after her. Before the wolf¡¯s leader could sink its fangs into the young teen, Killian appeared before her, blocking its attack with his axe. Killian immediately ordered her to take the others and leave, knowing they still wouldn¡¯t stand a chance even if they all fought together. Alissa knew that Killian wanted to sacrifice himself for them, but she didn¡¯t want to leave him like that on his own, but when she saw the vicious glare in his eyes, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to oppose him, especially as she knew this was her fault to begin with. She reluctantly hurried away and took Kannal and Faye just far enough so that they could still watch the battle from a safe distance. Realising they couldn¡¯t catch up with Alissa any longer, the wolves redirected their anger towards Killian. The fight should¡¯ve been one-sided, but under the threat of death, Killian not only reached the peak of the fourth rank as a warrior but also comprehended ¡®wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯, allowing him to surpass the pack¡¯s alpha but with the support of the rest of the pack, Killian was still on the losing side of the battle. Still, he never faltered. Kannal and Faye watched their team leader fighting valiantly with tears welling up in their eyes and budding resentment towards Alissa for putting him in the situation in the first place. Faye was about to say something when she sensed a frightening killing intent explode from the young assassin, and that was when it happened. White fur with pale golden stripes suddenly enveloped Alissa as she awakened her bloodline for the first time. Like all the descendants of the four supreme warriors, the first transformation is excruciating, but Alissa didn¡¯t seem to flinch under the pain. The only thing on her mind was Killian! As she watched him fight on his own like that, she was reminded of the first time they met ¨C when she had attempted to assassinate him. Back then, Killian had no actual combat experience, but there was something about how he ignored all the wounds she inflicted as he continued to swing his axe that made her enthralled. Seeing him exhibiting that same indomitable spirit, Alissa knew that no matter how much he went on to hate her, she couldn¡¯t allow him to die. Her rank as a warrior in her transformed state increased by one, but her speed increased by two. When the wolves realised she had returned, she had already killed three of the six. The aura she emitted was so terrifying that the rest of them ¨C leader included ¨C tried to escape, but she was too fast. Her body flickered around the battlefield, moving from one wolf to the next, killing each canine with a single swipe of her dagger. Not even the alpha could resist. The injuries he accumulated in the battle were so severe that Killian had long since lost consciousness standing up. In fact, his injuries were so bad that if nothing were done, Killian would definitely die. Luckily, a side effect of the reconstruction of one¡¯s foundation was the healing of the body. Alissa moved like a flash, taking the fruit she had passed to Faye and force-fed the dying youth before carrying him and leading the others away before more beasts arrived. It took several hours, but when his condition stabilized, Alissa turned to leave. Faye and Kannal tried to stop her, but after her awakening, the difference between them had increased by too much. Before going, Alissa told them to tell everyone at the Pavilion to forget she existed, or they would end up bringing a disaster upon them. It sounded like an overreaction, but the look of fear and unwillingness on Alissa¡¯s face was too genuine. Back in the present, Killian had just awoken, only to find he had broken through to the fifth rank as both a mage and a warrior. He felt better than ever in ways he didn¡¯t know possible, but as he looked at the hesitant expressions on Faye and Kannal¡¯s faces, he frowned. ¡°Alissa?¡± Kannal didn¡¯t know what to say in response, but Faye decided to simply rip the bandage off. ¡°She left¡­¡± Killian calmly listened to what happened after he lost consciousness, but unlike what they had expected, when they finished, Killian simply nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Go? Go where?¡± Faye asked in shock at her team leader¡¯s reaction, or lack thereof in this case. ¡°We¡¯ve been here for almost five months,¡± Killian stated as he casually stood up, trying to acclimatise himself to what almost felt like an all-new body. ¡°It¡¯s time we start heading back to the meeting point.¡± ¡°But what about Alissa?¡± Kannal asked. ¡°What about her?¡± Killian asked back straightforwardly. ¡°She already made her choice; all we can do now is tell master when he comes to pick us up.¡± Though they were taken aback by how calm Killian was, they also knew he was right. Alissa was much faster than any of them, she had a day¡¯s head start, and none of them knew where she was going. All they could do was tell the instructors and let them decide how to move forward. Book 3: Chapter 27 – Team Three In the eastern region of the mountain range of magical beasts, a bear-like man donning an imposing set of crimson armour could be seen holding the arm of a handsome teen of the Aryan race behind his back. Right behind them was a young man around 16 wearing a set of red leather armour with the insignia of a pair of crossed swords going through a scarlet flame above his heart. Just in front of them was a pair of teens. The boy had long black hair tied in a ponytail and pitch-black eyes that radiated a faint killing intent as he glared at the crimson armoured man, and beside him was a charming girl no older than 15 with long brown hair and eyes as blue as the sea that looked at the brown haired teen being held against his will, worried for his safety. ¡°My junior here said you¡¯re from that same Yin-Yang Pavilion as that arrogant brat, Ace,¡± The crimson-armoured man said as he looked at the pair of teens in front of him with an evil grin. ¡°Now you¡¯re going to tell me exactly where to find this so-called Yin-Yang Pavilion, or I¡¯m going to make you watch as I kill this little brat in the most painful way imaginable.¡± The crimson-armoured man was Brutus, the representative from the War God¡¯s Academy. The same man who was publicly humiliated by Ace and Wukong almost six years ago now. Brutus didn¡¯t have a particularly high standing in the Academy, to begin with, but since word got out about what transpired on the day of the selection tests, his middling position dropped even further. As a result, instead of focusing on his training which most of his peers were doing, all he could do was dream of getting revenge. Unfortunately for him, Wukong was too strong for him to even think about getting revenge on. As a result, all of his anger fell on Ace instead. The day Wharton reached the fourth rank and publicised his challenge of Ace, he was the one who led the search party, but there was simply no information to be found about the Yin-Yang Pavilion, Wukong, or his supposed senior brother. But a little over a month ago, the young man stood just behind him; Manata, one of the students of the War-God Academy, returned from a training expedition in the Mountain range of magical beasts, where he was apparently saved by a group of teens who claimed they were students of the Yin-Yang Pavilion and classmates of Ace. As soon as Brutus found that out, he immediately dragged the youth back into the mountain range to find the group he met. It took two weeks of non-stop travelling, but when they eventually found them, Brutus let out an excited yet impatient laugh as he caught the boy, who appeared to be the leader of the group, using overwhelming strength to put him in an arm lock so he couldn¡¯t move. The teens in question were, of course, Joel, Yulana and Osiris, the members of team three. After these last four months, each of them had made impressive improvements, with Joel, the strongest of the group, having broken through to the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage without the use of any incredible treasures. Still, Brutus was a peak seventh-rank warrior. The difference between them was simply too large! Osiris glared at Manata with killing intent. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he knew it¡¯d only make things worse for Joel, he would¡¯ve used the bow he was tightly clutching in his right hand to put an arrow between the teen¡¯s brows. When Manata and his group were being encircled by a group of fire apes, he had wanted to just ignore them and carry on with their own training, but Joel had decided to go out of his way to save them. He didn¡¯t blame Joel as he knew that as arrogant as he came off at times, he ultimately had the biggest heart of their class of ten, but that didn¡¯t stop him from feeling pissed off by the snaky behaviour of the boy whose life they had saved. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Ooh, still don¡¯t want to talk?¡± Brutus smirked. ¡°How about now?¡± As he said that, the sound of bones breaking entered the ears of those present, followed by the pained screams of the young Joel. ¡°No, please stop! I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know!¡± Yulana cried out when she saw her young master¡¯s arm bend at an extremely unnatural angle. ¡°Our Yin-Yang Pavilion is based in a mountain in the Anarchic Lands¡­¡± ¡°Now, was that so hard?¡± Brutus laughed joyfully as he felt how close he was to finally getting his revenge. ¡°Wait, what are you doing?¡± Yulana yelled when she saw Brutus wrap his giant hands around Joel¡¯s neck as if he was about to snap it. ¡°I told you everything you wanted to know; you don¡¯t need to kill him.¡± ¡°Of course I do!¡± Brutus said viciously. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go and pass word back to Ace, just in case he tries to escape.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you,¡± Osiris said indifferently. ¡°The boy you¡¯ve got in your hands is Joel Dawson, a direct descendant of the Dawson family. The owners of the Dawson conglomerate, one of the leading trading companies on the continent. Something tells me it won¡¯t be very hard for them to deduce who was behind the disappearance of one of their most talented children after Wharton finds Yin-Yang mountain with intelligence provided by you.¡± Hearing that, Brutus looked down at the blonde-haired boy he had captured in shock and a hint of fear. The Dawson Conglomerate was a behemoth not much weaker than the big six. He knew if they wanted his head, his War God academy would do nothing to protect him. ¡°How do I know you¡¯re telling the truth?¡± Brutus asked suspiciously. Osiris wanted to roll his eyes at this point. It was clear the man was all brawn, no brain. It was public knowledge that all direct descendants of the Dawson family wore ¡®The Dawson Ring¡¯. A ring that had the Conglomerate¡¯s logo etched into it. Although it wasn¡¯t an interspatial ring, it was still a spiritual artefact that eased the burden when casting spells for the user by almost 50%. Even though it was an incredible treasure, virtually no one would try and steal it for themselves unless they had a death wish. Since it was a treasure bound by blood, the only way for a non-Dawson to use it would be to kill the Dawson it originally belonged to, which also meant antagonising the behemoth that was the Dawson Conglomerate. Still, Osiris kept his thoughts to himself as he pointed to Joel¡¯s ring finger reminding the tyrant of the family¡¯s identifying ring. When he saw the fear and hesitation on the man¡¯s face, a hopeless sigh escaped Osiris¡¯ lips before he continued. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about Ace running away. Call it arrogance or confidence, but there¡¯s no one in the same generation that could make him run away.¡± Hearing that, Brutus was inclined to believe him as he could vividly remember the overwhelming arrogance Ace displayed back at the selection. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Ace wasn¡¯t the type to back down from a challenge. Still, that wasn¡¯t what he was scared of at this point. ¡°If I let you go, do you promise not to say anything to the higher-ups of the conglomerate?¡± It was only when all three of them agreed that he reluctantly let Joel go before hurriedly leading Manata to escape. He knew this was far from a binding agreement, but his hands were tied. He couldn¡¯t afford to kill them, or when the Conglomerate found out, there would be no saving him. But this way, if they did come for him in the future, he would at least have some wiggle room. ¡°Joel!¡± Yulana called worriedly as she hurried to her young master¡¯s side to help him. Though water wasn¡¯t as good as the element of light when it came to healing, it still had a few decent healing spells. ¡°Looks like I should¡¯ve listened to you when you said to ignore that group from the Academy,¡± Joel said wryly as he looked up at Osiris, who had successfully negotiated his release, essentially saving his life. ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± Osiris replied, indifferent as ever. ¡°I just wish I could¡¯ve put an arrow through the skull of that ungrateful bastard.¡± ¡°Do you think Ace will be mad I told them where to find him?¡± Yulana asked hesitantly. After their first interaction, things were awkward between Yulana and Joel and Ace. Well, more uncomfortable for them than for Ace. In Ace¡¯s eyes, they were just children. He never took anything they said from back then to heart. Still, they didn¡¯t realise that until much later. It was only when Ace agreed to teach them [Soru] that their relationship improved. Since then, all ten students of the Pavilion became extremely close. Still, because of how their relationship started, Yulana couldn¡¯t help but feel worried about Ace thinking she betrayed his trust, but Osiris¡¯ answer definitely helped put her mind at ease. ¡°I doubt he¡¯d care one way or the other.¡± Osiris shrugged. ¡°If that Wharton guy actually comes, it¡¯s him I feel sorry for.¡± Yulana and Joel didn¡¯t say anything in response, but the smiles on their faces spoke volumes. Wharton may be a Dragonblood Warrior, but Ace was already capable of fighting those at the seventh rank before they left and knowing how talented he was, they didn¡¯t even dare to guess how strong he was now. Forget Wharton. As far as they were concerned, not even Brutus would be a match for Ace. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Joel said as he stood back up, ignoring the pain his arm was in. ¡°We¡¯ve been here long enough; it¡¯s time we start heading back to the meeting point.¡± Book 3: Chapter 28 – A Profound Bet (Finale) At the same time, Ace and the others had finally made it out of the territory of the Dark Alliance, travelling on Carter''s back. It was only after Carter returned to the depths of the mountain range that the saint-level lion finally came to a stop, confident they weren''t being followed. "Thank you for saving me," Ace said sincerely to everyone present. Even though it turned out that Ace was able to resist the Divine Boom without them, whether or not he would''ve been able to escape before the saints regained their bearings was a mystery Ace was glad he didn''t have to find out for himself. "Are you okay?" Amira asked as she worriedly scanned Ace for any injuries, only to find him without so much as a cut or bruise. Ironically, despite being the person captured, he was the only one of all of them to escape unscathed. The Divine Boon ended up being more of a blessing than a curse as it allowed him to not only break the barrier preventing him from sensing the natural laws but also allowed him to step straight into the peak of the third rank as a mage. Still, whilst under normal circumstances, such a development would''ve been something to celebrate, seeing the injuries on the bodies of his group Ace was anything but happy, especially when he saw the lacklustre light in Julius'' eyes. Though he wasn''t there to witness it, he could guess that Julius was forced to take a life when fighting to rescue him. Knowing how opposed to violence and understanding the reason why, how could Ace possibly still feel like celebrating? But Carter''s booming voice entered his ears before he could say anything. "Now that your little friend has been saved, Leonel, you can come with us." Leonel began roaring unwillingly as he turned to face his father. As humans, Amira and Julius weren''t able to understand what the black-furred lion was saying, but with their mental link, Ace was able to understand him perfectly. "Thank you for helping us, but I will be staying with Ace," Leonel roared. "Absolutely not!" Carter shouted. "Staying by the side of a human would only harm your future. You need to be surrounded by your own so that you can reach your full potential." "I''m not leaving Ace!" Leonel roared defiantly, having long since made up his mind. Carter stepped forward, preparing to take his son, even if it was against his will, but Ace suddenly appeared in his way. "What do you want, brat?!" Carter asked coldly. Though he was shocked that Ace was able to not only escape the clutches of the Dark Empress on his own but also take her hostage, he was 100% sure that it wasn''t with the use of his own strength, so he had no reason to see Ace as anything but a slightly talented human youth, but it was this human boy that caused his beloved son to put himself in harms way in the first place. In his eyes, Ace should be counting his blessings that he didn''t slap him to death, but instead, he was choosing to intervene in a matter that had nothing to do with him. "First, I wanted to say thank you for helping us," Ace said sincerely. Carter simply snorted in response, but his anger waned slightly. ''At least the boy knows to show appreciation.'' "Secondly, I wanted to say that you''re right. Leo should be around family to really maximise his potential." Ace''s words stunned everyone present, Leo included, who growled unwillingly. Ace was the first being he actually considered part of his family. He couldn''t bare to separate from him, even if it was to be with his biological family. "But, I don''t think it''s necessary for him to separate from me either. In fact, I think that would also do more harm than good," Ace explained calmly, despite the fact he was standing in front of a genuine saint-level beast that could kill him with virtually no effort. "What are you talking about?" Carter growled. "After the Cult of Darkness failed when trying to tamper with my soul, a slight mutation seemed to take place," Ace explained as he maintained eye contact with his partner''s biological father. "Not only did it grant me an affinity to the laws of fire, seeing as mine and Leo''s souls are linked, he also seems to have received my affinity." Although Leonel could feel that something had changed within him ever since Ace re-emerged, he didn''t know the meaning nor did he understand the reason why, but whilst they were escaping, Ace continued to spread his [Observation] to see if they were being followed. Whilst doing so, he noticed the fire essence in the world gathering around Leonel just as much as it gathered around him. "And?" Carter asked back. Though such a change was surprising, the saint-level magical beast didn''t understand why Leonel leaving Ace''s side would be detrimental to his future. After all, not only was he a saint, he specialised in the laws of fire. Who better to guide his son than Carter himself? If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "And, through our mutated mental link, I can share my insights into the laws of fire with Leo. Though it will still take some effort on his part, it''s faster than him training by himself." Ace explained casually. Hearing Ace''s words, not only was Carter taken aback, but so too was Amira. Everyone who knew about the bond of equals understood that although it created a magical link between both individuals, it didn''t allow them to share insights in the way that Ace described. But after getting over his initial shock, an enraged laugh escaped Carter''s mouth as his cold feline eyes fell on Ace, believing he was attempting to take advantage of his son. "Do you think I''m stupid? Don''t think I can''t see straight through you," Carter snarled threateningly. "If you and my son really are able to share insights as you said, then the only reason you want to stay by his side is to learn the insights he gets from being taught by me to speed your comprehension along. All of you humans are the same, greedy and selfish!" "First of all, one of the instructors of the faction I belong to is a saint of the fire element whose insights likely surpass yours," Ace said indifferently as he thought back to five years ago when Lauriella was able to use a forbidden spell of the fire element, meant only for saints, with ease, despite only being of the 9th rank. "But most importantly, my own insights into the laws of fire surpass yours." Carter stared at Ace in astonishment when he said that before bursting out in uncontrollable laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! Never in all my years have I met anyone as arrogant as you! You''re a mere mage of the third rank, yet you genuinely believe your insights into the natural laws can actually compare to mine?" It wasn''t just him. Even the despondent Julius looked at Ace as if he had lost his mind. Whilst Carter believed that he was just your average third-rank human mage, they knew that up until a few hours ago, Ace wasn''t a mage at all. It was incredible enough that he managed to step straight into the third rank, but now he was claiming his insights into the natural laws could compete with a saint. The only ones who still had faith in Ace were Leonel, who could sense the confidence Ace was and had already developed a profound confidence in his human partner and Amira, who, for reasons not even she understood, had an unwavering faith in Ace. "How about a bet," Ace suggested with a faint smile. "We''ll have a little competition using nothing but the laws of fire. If I win, Leo stays with me, and you have to lead your family to relocate near my Yin-Yang Pavilion. If you win, you can kill me so that Carter''s connection with me disappears, and he''s free to live the rest of his life without being bonded to a human." As he said that, there wasn''t a soul not caught off guard by the contents of the bet proposed by Ace, but the person who showed the biggest reaction was Julius. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU''RE DOING?!" Julius roared as he grabbed Ace by the collar of his t-shirt. "WE JUST RISKED OUR LIVES TO SAVE YOU, AND NOW YOU''RE THROWING YOUR LIFE AWAY?! DAMMIT, ACE! I TOOK A LIFE TO SAVE YOU. I ACTUALLY BROKE THE VOW I MADE TO MY DEAD MOTHER FOR YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU ACT?!" Ace''s heart ached as he watched the tears streaming down his friend''s face uncontrollably. "Fatty. No, Julius. Look at me," Ace commanded solemnly. "I''m not going to thank you for what you did for me as I know there are no words that are able to show just how thankful I am for what you did for me. But what I will say is that I now owe you my life, so you need to know, I would never risk my life like this if I weren''t absolutely certain¡­ Trust me!" As the most talented mage of the Pavilion, Julius knew better than anyone just how insane Ace''s proposal was. Still, as he looked into Ace''s big black eyes, he saw nothing but unwavering resolve, the type of resolve so infectious that he couldn''t help but believe in him, despite knowing how foolish it sounded. "So, how about it?" Ace asked confidently. "Do you dare accept this bet?" "Name the rules!" Carter snorted, his confidence not losing out to Ace''s in the slightest. "We''ll both attack once and defend once. The winner will be the one who demonstrates the higher comprehension of the laws of fire," Ace explained. "But of course, since I''m only at the third rank as a mage, you can''t use any more power than that of a 3rd rank." "Deal," Carter replied. "You can go first." "Happy to," Ace smirked as he clenched his right fist, coating it in flames. "[Fire Fist]!" Despite being affected by his confidence, the moment they saw the fist-shaped flames shooting towards Carter, there wasn''t a single person present who wasn''t shocked. All of them were capable of sensing the mage force used to create the spell was clearly of the third rank, yet it was so much more powerful than any spell of the third or even fourth rank. "You¡­ You really did it?!" Carter asked in shock as he watched the flame hit his golden mane. Though it did absolutely no damage to him, he was still shocked beyond words as he tried his best to wrap his head around what he was witnessing. It had to be remembered that in his last life, Ace had eaten the fire devil fruit. His strength may not have been able to compare to the powerhouses in this world, but when it came to his control of fire¡­ He was easily able to compare to that of a saint! "What do you think?" Ace asked with a teasing smile. "That''s my very own self-created technique." "Hmph! Don''t get ahead of yourself," Carter snorted after regaining his calm. "I''ll admit that I was shocked your comprehension has stepped into the profound realm'' it''s still a little lacking when compared to mine." Carter didn''t even realise it, but after Ace showed off his incredible comprehension, he, a mid-stage saint-level magical beast, stopped talking to Ace as if he were a boy and started viewing him as something of a peer. Still, even as he watched a long fiery spear take shape outside the mouth of the colossal lion, Ace didn''t seem too worried. Instead, much to the shock and worry of the rest of his group, he calmly watched as the fire spear tore through the air as if it wanted to pierce his heart. Even Amira and Carter, who held the most confidence in Ace, couldn''t help but feel their hearts stop as it successfully tore through Ace''s chest and out of his back. Ace could sense the lion''s insights into the laws of fire fused into its attack was faintly superior to his last attack, but the reason he was so confident could be explained in one word ¨C Logia! Whilst it was true that as a logia, the user learned to control their ''element'' with ease, the most fearsome ability of logias was their ability to turn their body into their respective element, allowing them to become intangible. The moment Ace had officially become a mage, he realised that not only could he use all his old techniques at the expense of his limited mage force, by using everything he''d learnt in his last life about fire in this life, it allowed him to step into a boundary of comprehension usually only reserved for saints. Amira, Leonel, Julius, and even Carter stared at Ace as his body turned back from fire into his ordinairy body in complete and utter disbelief. "You¡­ How¡­ What are you?" Carter asked in shock, unable to process what he had just witnessed. "Me? I''m your son''s partner," Ace said with a proud smirk. "But you call me Fire Fist Ace!" Whilst Carter could only speechlessly stare at his son''s partner, Amira and Leonel had proud smiles on their face as they stared at Ace''s back in awe. "He really is a freak," Julius muttered to himself with a relieved smile. "I give up," Carter announced helplessly, realising that Ace''s insights into the laws of fire really had surpassed his own. "I agree to follow your terms." Book 4: Chapter 1 – Little Monster In a clearing just outside the western entrance to the mountain range of magical beasts, Ace and his group were sat peacefully, waiting for Lauriella to arrive to pick them up. That in and of itself wouldn''t cause any disturbance as people entered and exited the mountain range on a near-daily basis, but beside them was a pride of over a dozen lions, the smallest of which was Leonel, who was no smaller than a horse, and the biggest, Carter, was bigger than most buildings. As soon as any passers-by saw the group of terrifying lions, they would immediately turn tail and run while counting their blessings that they weren''t being chased. They didn''t know Carter was a saint-level magical beast, but the aura he gave off was simply terrifying to all the mortals who saw him. As soon as Lauriella neared, she transformed into her phoenix form before erupting with her fastest speed, leading Jax ¨C the Hellfire Phoenix ¨C to protect team one, who she assumed were in danger. "Are you guys alright?" Lauriella asked as she suddenly appeared just in front of Ace, Amira, and Julius whilst cautiously eyeing the Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion before her. As a saint, she was able to sense that none of the disciples appeared to be injured, but she couldn''t wrap her head around why such a powerful beast was with them. Beasts of this level tended to live right in the depths of the mountain range. When she first entered the range of his spiritual sense, Carter felt her presence, but he wasn''t particularly threatened as she was still just an early-stage sense, but when she used her phoenix transformation, he couldn''t help but hurry to his feet and stare at the new arrival with caution and a hint of fear. Like Dragonblood Warriors, when those with the Violetflame bloodline reach the early stages of the saint level, their rank rises to the peak of the saint level when transformed. The only difference being that where the bloodlines of the other supreme warrior clans see an increase in their rank as a warrior, her family sees an increase in realm as a mage. "We''re fine," Ace replied. "You don''t need to be on guard with them; they''re with us." "With you?" Lauriella asked, thinking her ears were playing tricks on her. "What do you mean they''re with you?" "I mean, Leo over there is my new beast partner," Ace said, pointing to the black-furred lion whose mane seemed to be developing a reddish tint, standing behind Carter. "That saint in front of you is his father, and the other lions are the rest of their pride. They have agreed to migrate to the Pavilion''s domain so they can be near him in the future." Lauriella was stunned at that point. Ace was just a warrior of the fifth rank; she couldn''t imagine a world where Ace was able to convince a saint-level magical beast to not only allow one of its obviously more talented children to follow a human but also convince it to move, so it lived near them. But her shock only multiplied when she turned to look at the dark-haired teen. "You¡­ You''re a mage?! Of the third rank?! How?! What exactly happened over these last few months?!" Though the students didn''t know, as one of the Pavilion''s higher-ups, Lauriella was told about the barrier enveloping Ace''s soul. As far as she knew, Ace wouldn''t be able to interact with the laws of nature in any way, shape or form until that barrier was destroyed, meaning, for the foreseeable future, it would be impossible for him to become a mage and yet, she could clearly sense that he had somehow managed to reach the peak of the third realm in six months. Everyone knew Ace was unbelievably talented, but this was something else! Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "It''s a long story," Ace replied as he calmly hopped on Jax''s back. "I''ll explain everything on the way back." . . . Flying on Jax''s back were Lauriella and the members of team one. Beside them was Carter, who carried a pride of 15 lions on his back, including Leonel. Though he agreed to let his son follow Ace from now on, Carter and the rest of his pride wanted to spend as much time with their long-lost family member as possible. As a magical beast who''d spent the vast majority of its life alone, he wasn''t used to being the centre of attention of so many other creatures. Still, after everything Carter had done for him and Ace already, the least he could do was bear with it. Plus, he would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested in getting to know his family. Whilst Leonel spent his flight to the Yin-Yang interacting with his family, Ace explained in full everything that happened during their time in the wild. After hearing the narration of events from Ace, Lauriella felt like she was taken on an emotional rollercoaster, and that was just from listening to it ¨C she could only imagine how it felt for them experiencing it. Living through any one of team one''s major incidents would be worth celebrating, yet they overcame tribulation after tribulation, each one seemingly harder than the last. It was no wonder the auras of Amira and Julius seemed so much more mature than they had six months ago. Ace may have made the biggest improvement in strength, but as a reincarnated soul, who, in total, had experienced over 30 years of life, the trials he faced during these last six months hadn''t actually affected him mentally all that much. But the same couldn''t be said for Amira or Julius. Both of them had matured a lot over the last half a year. Especially Julius. His aura had an edge to it that didn''t exist six months ago. Though it wasn''t said in so many words, reading between the lines, Lauriella was able to deduce that during the incident with the Cult of Darkness, Julius was forced to take a life to help save Ace. She knew this day would come eventually, and whilst she was glad he was able to take a life instead of forfeiting his, she also hated the fact that Julius, who was usually the most cheerful and gentle of all ten of the disciples, had to forgo his innocence. The more she thought about the Cult''s actions, the more her fury grew. She had half a mind to slaughter a path right through the Dark Alliance''s territory into their capital. It had to be remembered that not only was she a warrior of the early stages of the saint realm, but after transforming, she was a peak saint-level mage. The number of saints in the Cult of Darkness that could stand against her could be counted on one hand. Still, she was fully aware that charging into the territory of one of the two most mysterious forces of the big six on her own was the definition of fool-hardy. But if the Cult thought this was the end of the matter, they were in for a rude awakening. Feeling the palpable killing intent coming from Lauriella, Ace could guess what she was thinking, and as strong as the Cult of Darkness was, he didn''t think for a second that, in terms of powerhouses, they were stronger than his Yin-Yang Pavilion. Still, after all the Cult put him and his friends through this time, he didn''t want to rely on the pavilion to avenge him. "Lauriella, I don''t want you and the other instructors getting revenge for us," Ace voiced, his tone calm but sombre. "In the future, when I become a saint, I want to crush the Cult of Darkness with my own two hands." With the evil deeds they''d committed over the years, there were many throughout the Yulan continent who dreamed of destroying the Cult of Darkness, but there were none with Ace''s level of talent. As she looked into Ace''s eyes, Lauriella could feel the rage he was suppressing. As angry as she was on their behalf, how could Lauriella''s anger compare to Ace''s? It was him who they kidnapped. It was he who was almost turned into a puppet. It was to rescue him that Leonel and Amira were forced to risk their lives. But most importantly, because of him, Julius, a youth he''d grown to deeply respect, was forced to break a vow that was of the utmost importance to him. "I give you my word," Ace declared as his forearm suddenly combusted in a blazing scarlet flame. "In the future, I will personally burn the Cult of Darkness out of existence." She already knew from Ace''s narration that after the barrier around his soul broke, he had somehow managed to comprehend part of the law of fires'' profound mysteries. Still, hearing about it is one thing; seeing it in the flesh is something else entirely. Initially, she believed that he had only barely taken that step, but just looking at him, she could sense the profound mysteries infused in Ace''s fiery arm were no weaker than her own ¨C a feat that should be impossible considering she was a genius talented enough to be taken as a disciple by Arianna and a Violetflame warrior with an incredibly high affinity to the laws of fire. All she could do was stare at him as if he were a literal freak of nature as Ace once again continued to defy all common sense proving exactly why it was that he was regarded as the number one talent in an establishment full of absolute geniuses. "You really are a little monster!" She muttered helplessly as her killing intent all but vanished. The anger she had felt for the Cult of Darkness was replaced by what almost felt like pity as she could all but see it now ¨C in the not-so-distant future, the Cult of Darkness would be no more! Book 4: Chapter 2 – Humanoid Divine Beast As Jax was the fastest of the flying magical beasts used to pick up the three separate teams, Lauriella and team one were the first to return. Seeing that familiar mountain range appear in the distance, Ace and the others subconsciously allowed their bodies to relax. Even though their last few weeks since escaping the Dark Alliance¡¯s territory had been peaceful, and that with Lauriella and Jax there, they didn¡¯t have to worry about their safety, due to everything that had happened to them over the last six months, they had conditioned themselves to always stay ready for everything. But Yin-Yang mountain was home to them. It was a place where from the very bottom of their hearts, they believed nothing would or even could happen to them. It was their safe place. Lauriella could only sigh at that reaction. As one of their instructors for over five years, she¡¯d had a front-row seat watching all of them grow and mature. She hated the fact that they had been through so much on their own, but she also knew that, unfortunately, this was just a part of growing up in such a cruel world, especially with talent like theirs. ¡°Dammit!¡± Ace grumbled to himself. ¡°What is it?¡± Amira asked curiously. ¡°I thought that with the increased power of my soul, I¡¯d finally be able to use my [Observation] without that shitty old fart sensing it, but both he and Aunty Arianna sensed it.¡± Ace snorted unwillingly. ¡°You used your [Observation Haki]?¡± Lauriella asked in disbelief. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a thing!¡± ¡°Yeah, my [Observation] can¡¯t be sensed by those with spiritual essence near or less than my own, and after the barrier broke, the power of my soul is about the same as a newly promoted saint,¡± Ace explained casually. ¡°But the souls of those two freaks are apparently still vastly superior to mine.¡± As he said that, the looks on the faces of Lauriella, Amira, and even Julius became weird as they looked at the dark-haired teen. The exact same thought running through each of their minds ¡®You¡¯re the freak!¡¯ But before any of them could respond, they were interrupted by the soft and enchanting voice of Arianna. ¡°Welcome home, children.¡± ¡°Master!¡± Amira shouted as she leapt off Jax¡¯s back into her master¡¯s doting arms. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve missed you too, Mira,¡± Arianna replied as she held her youngest disciple in her embrace so she didn¡¯t fall to the ground almost 100 meters below them. Floating in the air beside the reunited master and disciple, a dark-skinned man stood on the air as if it was solid ground holding a gourd of alcohol in his hand and a glaive strapped to his back. ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t waste these last six months after all, brat,¡± Aiden said, a telling smile suffusing his full lips as he stood leisurely in the air studying his disciple in great detail, casually taking a swig of his alcohol every few seconds. ¡°You have no idea,¡± Ace replied with a fiendish smirk as he flicked his wrist, summoning the glaive from his newly acquired interspatial ring before disappearing from his position, appearing directly in front of the alcoholic that was his master. ¡°Allow me to show you!¡± ¡°Mmh, not bad,¡± Aiden nodded when he saw Ace wield his glaive using the fused state of wielding. ¡°But you¡¯re gonna have to do *hiccup* much better than that if you want to force me to draw my glaive.¡± Ace watched as his master calmly blocked each of his strikes with his bare hands, a feat that would typically require one to be a saint-level warrior, but Ace was anything but surprised. He could clearly sense the imposing might of mother nature being infused into his master¡¯s hands, strengthening it. ¡°You didn¡¯t think that a simple increase in realm and the comprehension of the fused state of wielding was the limits of my improvement these last few months now, did you?¡± Ace asked with a smirk as he shocked all the adults as he was able to, somewhat similarly to Aiden, kick off the sky as if it were solid ground. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ooh?¡± Aiden murmured as he was forced to draw the glaive on his back to block his disciple¡¯s next attack. ¡°Impose?¡± Arianna said, stunned by Ace¡¯s display. ¡°That¡¯s nothing,¡± Amira replied with an enchanted smile as she watched Ace fight. ¡°Is that right?¡± Arianna asked with a teasing smile, making Amira bury her head in her master¡¯s side to hide from the embarrassment. ¡®Looks like their relationship has finally started to show some progress,¡¯ Arianna thought to herself as she smiled at her disciple¡¯s adorable reaction before turning back to Ace. ¡®Still, just what happened to him over the last few months.¡¯ Ace¡¯s comprehending ¡®Impose¡¯ is impressive, but more impressive was the fact that, despite not being anywhere near as skilled with it as Aiden, the strength Ace was able to bring out when using impose was far more than one would expect from someone who¡¯d just stepped into that boundary. But the most shocking thing to both Aiden and Arianna was that they could clearly sense that the barrier surrounding his soul had disappeared, and Ace was now a mage of the third rank. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Ace tried, the difference between him and Aiden was too big. Despite only using the physical ability of a warrior at the fourth rank, Aiden was able to dominate the fight. Thinking he¡¯d seen everything from his disciple by that point, Aiden decided to bring the fight to an end, thrusting his palm at his disciple¡¯s sternum. Despite his ability to now use foresight, Ace was unable to block or dodge this strike. Still, as his palm was about to make contact, Aiden was surprised to see the smirk on Ace¡¯s face, and that surprise turned into a sobering shock as he watched Ace¡¯s body become intangible as it turned into fire. Ace had expected Aiden to be surprised by that particular ability, and he was ready to take full advantage of it. ¡°[FIRE FIST]!¡± Ace roared as he sent a large fiery fist crashing into the chest of his master. ¡°HAHAHAHA, I FINALLY DID IT! I FINALLY LANDED A HIT ON YOU, OLD MAN!¡± Ace roared with laughter. He knew that even with his recent improvements, the difference between him and Aiden was like the difference between heaven and earth, so when he saw the only damage done was burning the upper half of his white robes, revealing his perfectly sculpted chest, he didn¡¯t care. The only thing that mattered to him was that after almost six years, he had finally landed an attack, even if it was technically a surprise attack. ¡°Congratulations,¡± Aiden replied after finally getting over his shock, a teasing smirk hanging on his face. ¡°I never expected this, but as your master, I¡¯d be remiss if I didn¡¯t remind you of the added dangers you now face without the barrier.¡± As his voice waned, Ace suddenly felt the world around him start to spin, and his consciousness begin to fade. Part of what made Aiden such a monster in the first place was the ridiculous power of his soul. The only ones whose souls surpassed his were the four deities on the continent. With the difference in spiritual essence, Aiden was capable of crushing Ace¡¯s soul with a mere thought, but as he was his disciple, Aiden just wanted to teach the dark-haired youth a little lesson for being so cocky. By the time Ace had regained his bearings, he was casually being held over the shoulder of his master, who was using his free hands to take consistent swigs of his alcohol. ¡°By the way,¡± Aiden asked as he turned to look at Carter and his pride of lions. ¡°Who are they?¡± The saint-level Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion could sense that Aiden was clearly only at the peak of the ninth rank. A human too weak to ordinarily spare a second thought over, but as their eyes met, the mid-ranked saint-level magical beast felt its fur stand on edge, warning him of danger. As something of an overlord in the mountain range of magical beasts, there were very few creatures capable of making him feel like that, but without a doubt, each and every one of them was a beast at the peak of the saint realm. Then there was the woman beside him who was simply unfathomable to him. He couldn¡¯t help but thank god he hadn¡¯t killed Ace in the end. If he had, there would¡¯ve been nowhere on the continent he would¡¯ve been able to hide. ¡°The black-furred lion over there is a Divine Beast, and also my beast partner ¨C Leonel,¡± Ace stated proudly as he rolled off Aiden¡¯s shoulder, not wanting to be carried like that in public. ¡°The big one is his father, Carter. And the others are the rest of their family. They agreed to relocate so that they could stay close to Leo.¡± Neither Aiden or Arianna was shocked when Ace said Leonel was a Divine Beast. In fact, with the power of their souls, it would be a wonder if they couldn¡¯t see it, but they were still surprised by the fact that this Carter fellow actually agreed to relocate willingly. It was no secret how little magical beasts thought of humans, and that disdain only became more intense the stronger they became. Still, it didn¡¯t take them long to figure out that Carter was likely betting the future of his pride on Ace, who may as well be considered a humanoid Divine Beast at this point. ¡°Ace, come with me,¡± Arianna said gently as she carried her disciple back towards the peak of the Yin-Yang Mountain, no longer paying Carter or his pride any attention. ¡°I have something for you.¡± Book 4: Chapter 3 – Profound Mysteries After splitting from the others, Ace followed Ariana into the Yin-Yang mountain, but instead of going up, Ariana used her Identity card to open up a secret passage underground. ¡°I had no idea this was down here,¡± Ace said as he followed the Pavilion¡¯s guardian all the way into the depths of the mountain. ¡°The library you saw near the top of the mountain holds all the techniques and teachings needed for mortals, but this library holds teachings for and about the various immortal realms,¡± Arianna explained calmly. ¡°Originally, we all believed Julius would be the first one to be taken down here as he¡¯s only a few years from stepping into the profound realm of comprehension himself, but since you managed to step into that realm on your own, it¡¯s best you learn the truth about cultivation after becoming immortals to make your path a little bit easier.¡± When they reached the bottom, Ace looked around in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Arianna asked when she saw her husband¡¯s disciple¡¯s reaction. ¡°Nothing,¡± Ace replied. ¡°I just thought it¡¯d be more¡­ showy than this.¡± In the main library, there were hundreds of bookshelves, each holding dozens of books on everything from spells and warrior techniques to the various types of fauna and plants that can be found in the Yulan Continent. Ace doubted whether the Ernst Institute or the War God¡¯s Academy had such information held in their library for their students to read, so when Arianna told him that this was the library detailing cultivation for immortals, he thought there¡¯d be more than a singular bookshelf with only a couple dozen books and scrolls. ¡°Haha, I guess it is a bit plain, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arianna chuckled as she walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a simple scroll. ¡°But cultivation after becoming an immortal is much simpler than you would likely believe. Plus, it¡¯s a lot more personal than cultivation as a mortal, so there¡¯s only so much you can teach others with books, but we¡¯re getting ahead of ourselves now. Here, things will become more apparent after you read this.¡± As Ace began to read the contents of the scroll, his eyes widened in surprise before being overwhelmed by understanding. The more he read, the more fascinated he became. Arianna watched as Ace entered a trance-like state of focus. Though it wasn¡¯t enlightenment as his comprehension didn¡¯t actually progress, but to Ace, it was no less helpful as it gave him a clear path on how to progress. The scroll simply explained that to become a saint, one must have started comprehending one of the seven laws of nature or one of the four edicts. Each of the seven laws of nature are composed of six profound mysteries: Profound Laws of Fire: 1. Essence of Fire 2. Profound Mystery of Heat 3. Profound Mystery of Explosions 4. Profound Mystery of Flamebody 5. Profound Mystery of Mirages 6. Profound Mystery of Spiritual Flames Profound Laws of Water: 1. Essence of Water 2. Profound Mystery of Ice 3. Profound Mystery of Illusory Fog 4. Profound Mystery of Circular Softness 5. Profound Mystery of Waves 6. Profound Mystery of Waterbody Profound Laws of Wind: 1. Essence of Wind 2. Profound Mystery of Velocity 3. Profound Mystery of Spatial Winds 4. Profound Mystery of Sound of the Wind 5. Profound Mystery of Doppelganger 6. Profound Mystery of Wind Walking Profound Laws of Earth: 1. Essence of Earth 2. Profound Mystery of Strength Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. 3. Profound Mystery of World Walking 4. Profound Mystery of Gravity 5. Profound Mystery of Vitality 6. Profound Mystery of the Throbbing Pulse Profound Laws of Lightning: 1. Essence of Lightning 2. Profound Mystery of Movement 3. Profound Mystery of Thunder 4. Profound Mystery of Lightning-Body 5. Profound Mystery of Bioelectricity 6. Profound Mystery of Judgement Profound Laws of Darkness: 1. Essence of Darkness 2. Profound Mystery of Devouring 3. Profound Mystery of Dark Clone 4. Profound Mystery of Shadows 5. Profound Mystery of Evil 6. Profound Mystery of Dark-Body Profound Laws of Light: 1. Essence of Light 2. Profound Mystery of Lightspeed 3. Profound Mystery of Light Doppelganger 4. Profound Mystery of Refraction 5. Profound Mystery of Purity 6. Profound Mystery of Light-Body Though he skimmed over all of the laws, he, of course, paid the closest attention to the Profound Laws of fire, and it was then that he thought back to the moments before he died in his last life. ¡®I¡¯m such an idiot!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as a helpless sigh escaped his lips. ¡®I was so focused on making my flames bigger and more powerful that I forgot to focus on the aspect of fire that made it so dangerous in the first place ¨C Heat!¡¯ Ace suddenly raised his right hand in front of him and created a small flame no bigger than his palm, but what caught Arianna¡¯s eyes was the fact that he was imbuing it with the power of a profound mystery she hadn¡¯t seen him use previously. His ability to turn his body intangible originated from the profound mystery of ¡®Flamebody¡¯, and his ability to create a large fist-shaped flame came from the profound mystery of the essence of fire, but this time she could feel the heat in the surrounding area start to rise from the small flame hovering above his palm. ¡®This boy really is the most talented child I¡¯ve ever seen!¡¯ She thought to herself while silently watching Ace meditate on the profundities of ¡®heat¡¯. An hour later, Ace finally opened his eyes, and a wry smile appeared on his face. ¡®If I had made this realisation earlier, I would¡¯ve been able to awaken my devil fruit, and that idiot, Akainu, never would¡¯ve been able to burn me. And to think I actually believed him when he said that lava was hotter than fire when the truth was that it was simply the lava from his awakened devil fruit that was hotter than my non-awakened one.¡¯ Ace seemed to forget that Arianna was still with him as he focused his attention back on the scroll to finish reading its contents. It was there that he learnt that cultivation wasn¡¯t as simple as just comprehending each of the six profound mysteries of your chosen law. The end goal was actually to fuse all six into a singular law. ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he began to think about what that would look like. ¡°Finished?¡± Arianna asked softly when she saw the teen in front of her lower the scroll onto the ground. ¡°I am,¡± Ace nodded as he returned the scroll to his master¡¯s wife. ¡°Thank you, that helped me a lot. But I did have a couple of questions. Why is it that each of the seven laws of nature has five individual profound mysteries but all share one? What does the essence of an element refer to?¡± ¡°I guess it is a bit vague, but I¡¯m surprised you have to ask as you¡¯ve already begun comprehending that specific mystery,¡± Arianna replied whilst placing the scroll back on the shelf. ¡°So the essence of an element really does just refer to one¡¯s ability to control its shape and size?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Pretty much,¡± The blonde-haired saint answered. ¡°The essence of a chosen element is by far the most simple of the profound mysteries; as such, it tends to be the one most choose to start on as it¡¯s the fastest way to become a deity, but therein lies the first and biggest mistake most make.¡± ¡°Mistake?¡± Ace asked, not following his martial aunt¡¯s logic. ¡°The first thing you need to understand is that although the increase in power after becoming a deity is like nothing you can imagine, the same is true for the increase in difficulty when comprehending the laws,¡± Arianna explained seriously. ¡°You see, there are many factors in play when comprehending the profound laws, but there are two that stand above the others: The first is the soul ¨C the more powerful one¡¯s soul, the better their perception. The second is that every time you make a breakthrough into a higher realm, it becomes significantly more challenging to comprehend each law.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Ace replied. ¡°The old man said that every time you breakthrough into a higher realm, your soul becomes that much stronger. Surely that increase in spiritual essence would become more pronounced after becoming a saint and as a deity, in which case, wouldn¡¯t your perception rise drastically as well?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand it much myself as I¡¯m still just a mere saint, but the way my grandfather explained it when I was just starting to comprehend the laws was that essentially there were two factors in play. First was the internal factor, I.e. your soul, and second was the external factor ¨C heaven. According to my grandfather, the universe was created in such a way that mortals have a much stronger connection to heaven than immortals. Still, because of their weak spiritual essence, they¡¯re unable to truly comprehend the profundities of the various laws. Still, as you grow stronger, though your soul is also getting more and more powerful, your connection with nature is waning at a higher rate. That¡¯s why rushing to a higher level is rarely the best way to progress. It''s also why I made sure each of my disciples put a larger emphasis on their comprehension than blindly racing through the ranks. And it¡¯s especially true for those like your mother and especially you. As a warrior of the fifth rank and mage of the third, your soul is already equal to a newly promoted saint. So the more you can comprehend as a mortal, the easier it¡¯ll make your time as a saint; likewise, the more you comprehend as a saint, the less you¡¯ll struggle as a deity. Do you understand?¡± Arianna asked, her tone unnaturally serious. Though he wasn¡¯t her disciple, he was still part of her martial lineage; she couldn¡¯t bear to see him waste his talent. ¡°I understand,¡± Ace replied seriously. Ace had dreams of standing at the very apex of this world, and he understood that the best and fastest way to do that would be to create the most solid of foundations as early as possible. ¡°Out of curiosity, how many laws have you comprehended so far?¡± Ace asked with a hint of anticipation. After reading that scroll, he was finally able to understand why it was Arianna; despite only being at the mid-stages of the saint realm as both a warrior and a mage seemed far more powerful than any of the other peak saints he¡¯d ever seen, including Shelia ¨C The Dark Empress. ¡°I¡¯ve comprehended three so far, but I¡¯m not going to make my breakthrough until I¡¯ve completely fused all three of them,¡± Arianna replied lightly, not seeming to take any pride in it. Ace, though, looked at her with wide eyes. He couldn¡¯t be sure as he had no idea how powerful deities were, but he believed that despite her only being a mid-staged saint was no weaker than the average deity. ¡°C¡¯mon, we should head back out,¡± Arianna voiced. ¡°The rest of your classmates have returned.¡± Book 4: Chapter 4 – The King of Killers ¡°Wooh, we¡¯re finally back,¡± Faye exclaimed as she hopped off the back of the Wildthunder Stormhawk. ¡°Took you guys long enough,¡± Julius exclaimed whilst lazing on the grass not far from where team two landed. By the time Killian¡¯s team returned, Joel¡¯s team had already been back for almost an hour. Other than Ace, the remainder of team one had spent that whole time catching up on everything that had happened over the last few months. Whether it was Yulana, Osiris, or even Joel, all of them were left speechless when they heard about the exploits of team one, especially when meeting Leonel and finding out he was a genuine Divine Beast. In the end, they couldn¡¯t help but sigh and admit that the teams really were picked fairly, as there was a good chance that if it had been them in Ace¡¯s group instead of Amira or Julius, there was a good chance they would¡¯ve lost their lives. Though not as ¡®exciting¡¯ as Ace and his team, team three experienced their fair share of life and death situations, but with their strength, they were able to handle almost everything that came their way, but when hearing about their run-in with Brutus and hearing that Linley¡¯s little brother would be coming here to challenge Ace, Julius couldn¡¯t help but explode with laughter ¨C even Amira could only chuckle. As the people who understood Ace¡¯s current strength best, how could they not find it funny that someone younger than him wanted to challenge him? ¡°Where¡¯s A¡­¡± Before Killian could finish his sentence, he suddenly sensed a threat coming from behind him. Though he was home now, these last few months had taught him to remain alert at all times, so without an ounce of panic, he drew his battle axe from his back and swung it with all his might creating a whistling sound as it tore through the air to meet the threat. Mathias smiled happily and nodded as he watched his disciple¡¯s flawless reactions. Unfortunately, though he did everything right, the difference between him and his sudden attacker was too vast. ¡°Aha, looks like I¡¯m still the big brother, Kil!¡± Ace declared as he stood over Killian¡¯s body. Other than Amira and Julius, all the other disciples looked at Ace in shock! Not only had Ace moved at a speed that most of them couldn¡¯t even keep track of, they watched Killian wield his heavy, twin-sided battle axe as though it were light moving at a speed that not even Joel would be able to deal with easily. Yet, Ace calmly slapped the flat side of the blade, sending it off course and Killian off balance, only to give the dark-skinned teen a gentle push on his shoulder, pushing him over. Though he had just been easily defeated in public, Killian smiled happily as he grabbed his brother¡¯s outstretched hand as he got back up and embraced the dark-haired youth in a giant bear hug. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, brother!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too,¡± Ace replied as he returned Killian¡¯s hug. Mathias smiled helplessly when he saw his disciple¡¯s reaction. When he went to pick Killian and the others up, though he appeared happy to see him, it was nothing like the way he reacted when he saw Ace. He could even sense that it was only after meeting up with Ace that Killian finally relaxed, allowing all the tension built up over the last six months to disperse. Still, after remembering what team two told him about Alissa, a sombre expression appeared on his face. ¡°You kids, stay here and catch up. All instructors follow me for a meeting.¡± ¡°I wonder what that¡¯s about,¡± Ace said curiously as he watched the adults disappear. ¡°Where¡¯s Alissa, by the way?¡± Julius asked, his brows furrowed as his mind went to the worst possible scenario. ¡°She left,¡± Killian replied indifferently. ¡°What do you mean she left?¡± Joel asked, voicing the confusion everyone else was feeling after hearing one of their classmates didn¡¯t return with the rest of her team. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°It¡¯s probably better if I explain,¡± Kannal said when he saw the confusion and concern on the faces of the rest of his peers. ¡°¡­ So when she left, Faye and I were unable to stop her.¡± ¡°So you didn¡¯t even go looking for her?¡± Joel asked with a frown. Even though a large part of Killian nearly dying was Alissa¡¯s fault, she was still a member of their family. So with Killian turning what should¡¯ve been a disaster into a blessing in disguise, it was hard to reconcile him not even looking for her after waking up, but when they heard Ace¡¯s following sentence, they all looked at him in disbelief. ¡°You did the right thing, Kil.¡± ¡°What the hell¡¯s wrong with you, Ace?!¡± Joel shouted. ¡°I know you and Killian are like brothers, but Alissa is still one of us. You could at least try to hide your bias.¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± Ace said slowly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not worried about Alissa, but when she told Kan-Kan and Faye that looking for her could bring a disaster to them, she wasn¡¯t lying.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Do you know something?¡± Faye asked, looking to Ace for answers, only to see him looking at Killian hesitantly. ¡°If it¡¯s about Alissa being part of the team of assassins sent by the Baruchs, I already know,¡± Killian said indifferently when he saw Ace¡¯s hesitancy. ¡°When did you figure it out?¡± Ace asked as he looked at his brother with a hint of surprise. ¡°I figured it out during the sparring session against her when Wukong took you to face the beast tide.¡± Killian shrugged. ¡°I might not have been able to see her face, but facing her daggers again, it was hard not to recognise her fighting style.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Since I could figure it out, I knew you would¡¯ve already put two and two together and seeing as you didn¡¯t seem to mind her presence, neither did I,¡± Killian replied. ¡°I see,¡± Ace sighed. Though he didn¡¯t say anything, something clicked in Ace as he was finally able to make sense of Killian¡¯s treatment of Alissa these last few years. Other than him, Alissa was the member of their cohort that Kil had known the longest, and although it couldn¡¯t be said that he had ever been cold to her, especially when Killian was so naturally antisocial anyway, Ace could still sense the walls his brother had up when interacting with the young assassin. Initially, Ace thought that Killian also had feelings for her, but due to his antisocial nature, he didn¡¯t know how to proceed, but now that he knew the truth, it all made sense. Though Killian said he didn¡¯t mind her presence, as someone who had been part of a group that had almost killed him and all those he cared most for, his inability to lower his guard was understandable. ¡°Anyone there?¡± Faye said when she saw Ace¡¯s absentminded expression. ¡°Can one of you tell us what you know about Alissa?¡± ¡°When we first met her, Alissa was a member of Sabre,¡± Ace explained. ¡°I don¡¯t know why she felt the need to go back so suddenly after awakening her bloodline, but had you successfully found her, there¡¯s a good chance that you could¡¯ve unknowingly gotten yourselves involved in the internal politics of the most powerful assassins organisation on the continent.¡± Hearing that, all the other disciples were shocked speechless. Their concern for their friend had skyrocketed, but they understood there really was nothing they could do for her. All they could do was leave it in the hands of the instructors. . . . At the same time, on the top of the mountain, Mathias had just finished explaining everything Killian had told him about Alissa¡¯s disappearance. ¡°¡­We already knew she was an assassin from Sabre. That on its own isn¡¯t a problem,¡± Lazerim said sombrely. ¡°The problem lies in that she¡¯s also a Tigerstriped warrior. If that madman Cesar gets his hands on her, who knows what he¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°That foolish girl,¡± Lauriella sighed. ¡°From the sounds of it, she already knows about Cesar¡¯s hatred of the Prey clan. She likely returned to keep the so-called ¡®King of Killers¡¯ away from us here at the Pavilion.¡± ¡°If she had come back here, we could¡¯ve protected her,¡± Kimika said helplessly. ¡°Not even Cesar would¡¯ve dared to try anything with Master around. Not after last time.¡± ¡°I thought we agreed not to talk about that again,¡± Wukong snorted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault; they were the ones who provoked me first.¡± A little over a decade ago, not long after Wukong had singlehandedly humiliated the War God¡¯s Academy, the academy¡¯s principal used sabre to put a hit out on the ape-like young man. Unfortunately for them, by the time they found him, Wukong had improved since his fight with Olivier Akerlund. Unlike most who would be interested in who put the hit out on them, Wukong simply attacked one of their bases, killing everyone inside it to send them a message, but that message was taken as more of an insult. They were going to send a saint out to kill the seemingly invincible mortal young man, but Cesar took an interest in the young staff-wielding warrior. Upon finding him, Cesar wanted to take him as a disciple, but Wukong obviously rejected him. Seeing how he was so adamantly against becoming his disciple, Cesar was about to kill him when he met Arianna, and like Ignus before him, he too was easily defeated. Not surprisingly, Cesar didn¡¯t spread word of his defeat, allowing Arianna to keep her identity a secret from the masses. ¡°She can¡¯t be blamed for her ignorance,¡± Lazerim replied. ¡°As a member of Sabre, it¡¯s likely that all she knows is the rumours of the king of killer¡¯s ¡®peerless¡¯ strength, even amongst saints. How could she know that Cesar¡¯s not master¡¯s match.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough reminiscing. I¡¯ll go try and track Cesar down,¡± Arianna said softly. ¡°Hopefully, he¡¯s still in seclusion somewhere in an attempt to become a deity.¡± ¡°Whilst you do that, I¡¯ll try and find Alissa,¡± Mathias added. ¡°Hopefully, she¡¯s hidden her Tigerstriped warrior bloodline in an attempt to look for answers about her family. As long as I can find her before that, everything else will be easily resolvable. Lauri, I¡¯ll leave you in charge whilst I''m away.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of everything here,¡± Lauriella replied. Book 4: Chapter 5 – See You Soon ¡°So what else happened to you guys whilst away?¡± Ace asked, seeing the solemn mood of his classmates. ¡°Joel, you must have a story to tell. What kind of opponent did that to your arm?¡± Although his arm had healed well with Yulana¡¯s assistance, with his [Observation], Ace had long since noticed the damage done. ¡°About that,¡± Joel smiled wryly. ¡°We ran into an old friend of yours.¡± ¡°Of mine?¡± Ace asked in confusion when he saw Julius and Amira struggling to hold back their laughter. ¡°Yeah. When we were travelling, we ran into a group from the War God¡¯s academy who looked to be in dire straits¡­¡± ¡°What a nuisance,¡± Ace sighed helplessly after hearing Joel¡¯s story. ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡± Yulana asked cautiously. ¡°Mad? With you?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Why would I be mad at you? I¡¯m more annoyed that another lizard is coming to bother me.¡± It was only when she saw Ace¡¯s nonchalance that Yulana¡¯s mind was finally put at ease. Even though Osiris had already told her Ace wasn¡¯t likely to care, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly worried. The rest of their group couldn¡¯t help but laugh at Ace¡¯s reaction. He may well be the only person who would refer to the Baruchs as lizards. But if anyone was qualified to look down on them, it was him. ¡°Since you have no interest in fighting Wharton, let me do it,¡± Killian said, his voice laced with killing intent. Aside from Ace, he was the only one who still had a bone to pick with the Baruch clan after they tried to have them assassinated. A sigh escaped Ace¡¯s mouth when he felt Killian¡¯s killing intent. ¡°Fine, you can fight him but don¡¯t kill him. I promised his brother I wouldn¡¯t go looking for revenge in the future as long as they do nothing to provoke us¡­¡± Ace then went on to explain what happened when they ran into Linley in the mountain range and the truth about Lina¡¯s change in disposition. ¡°¡­ After you defeat Wharton, I guess I¡¯ll have some fun with that idiot Brutus,¡± Ace smirked. ¡°We can¡¯t have him think that the disciples of the Yin-Yang Pavilion are so easy to bully.¡± Killian and the others all felt a hint of sympathy for the representative of the War God¡¯s Academy when they saw the fiendish grin on Ace¡¯s face. Still, for messing with one of their own, the punishment coming his way was well deserved. Before anyone could say anything else, Ace¡¯s head snapped to the south as he sensed a powerful presence rapidly flying in their direction. With his master and the other adults present, he didn¡¯t feel worried, but he was still curious as the person coming was actually a mid-staged saint-level warrior. ¡°What is it?¡± Amira asked upon seeing Ace¡¯s actions, but before he could reply, she and the others felt the warrior¡¯s domineering presence as well. Like Ace, they all looked up at the man in the sky, no one exhibiting any fear, just curiosity. The warrior was a handsome dark-skinned man wearing a tight-fitted white robe, not too dissimilar to Aiden¡¯s. In fact, when looking closely, Ace realised the man actually faintly resembled his master. ¡°Uncle Brandell?¡± Amira asked upon recognising the slowly descending saint. ¡°What are you doing here? Are mother and father okay?¡± ¡°Mmh, your parents are fine,¡± Brandell nodded with a doting smile as he landed in front of his niece. ¡°I came here to pick you up as your mother got pregnant whilst you were away on your training exercise. Your master told us when you would be back so that you could return to meet your soon-to-be siblings.¡± ¡°Siblings?¡± Amira asked with wide eyes. ¡°You mean mother¡¯s having twins?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s right, child,¡± Brandell said before looking over the other children, stopping on Ace, a brief look of shock flashing across his eyes before turning back to his niece. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to introduce me to your classmates?¡± ¡°Aah, right, sorry,¡± Amira said as she introduced each of the disciples of the Pavilion, who, whilst remaining polite, felt no sense of reverence towards the man despite being a saint. ¡°¡­ And this is Ace, and his beast partner, Leonel.¡± As a saint, he could sense the strangely powerful fluctuations emanating from the dark-furred lion. Still, as his spiritual essence wasn¡¯t as powerful as Aiden¡¯s or Arianna¡¯s, he couldn¡¯t tell its exact quality, so he just assumed it was a mutated mystic beast he¡¯d never heard of, especially after seeing the Crimson-Eyed Mane Lion not far away. Though surprising that one would willingly bond with a human, it paled in comparison to the shock he felt as he looked at Ace. It needed to be understood that not only was Amira the princess of the Rohault Empire, she was almost the greatest talent their Empire had ever produced. After entering the Pavilion, the upper echelons of the Rohault Empire were given reports on her classmates to make sure there was no chance of any mishaps occurring. Thankfully, it appeared that none of the children was a descendant of any of their enemies, but there was still one child that grabbed the attention of each and every one of them. One of the reasons why Amira was allowed to go to the Pavilion in the first place was because of Aiden. Ace¡¯s master was the current emperor¡¯s brother, and despite not officially being a saint, due to his strength, he was also a member of the Empire¡¯s council, so when they learnt that he took a disciple, it naturally caused quite the stir. Upon doing some more research, they found that, like their Grand Elder, Ace was unable to sense the natural laws meaning that he should have no mage force. As a member of the Empire¡¯s council himself, he was naturally given the reports on Ace, which was how he was able to recognise the dark-haired youth at a glance, but it was only when he realised that Ace had begun to cultivate mage-force that he became shocked. You need to understand how special Aiden¡¯s position in the Rohault Empire was. Despite being of the ninth rank, he had power surpassing most peak saints, so it could be imagined how desperate the Rohault Empire were for Aiden to become a true saint. At that point, his power would more than likely be peerless amongst saints, and the Empire¡¯s currently precarious position would be a lot more stable. When he realised that Ace ¨C a child the council believed to have a similar condition to Aiden ¨C could now cultivate mage-force, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of excitement well up inside him. Ace simply raised an eyebrow upon sensing the man¡¯s growing excitement, but a familiar lazy voice rang through the air before he could say anything. ¡°Little Brandy,¡± Aiden called out as he suddenly appeared in the air above the children with a gourd of alcohol in his hands. ¡°What are you doing¡­ Ahh, that¡¯s right, I almost forgot. Little Mira, your mother¡¯s pregnant.¡± Brandell typically would¡¯ve been embarrassed and frustrated by Aiden calling him ¡°little Brandell¡± in such a public setting, but he was way too distracted to care at that moment in time. ¡°Uncle, your disciple can cultivate mage-force now? Does that mean you¡¯ve found a cure for your condition?¡± Aiden looked at his nephew as if he were looking at an idiot. ¡°What does that brat becoming a mage have to do with my condition?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you both have the same condition?¡± Brandell asked back as the hope he had felt began to dwindle. ¡°Which idiot told you that?¡± Aiden asked. ¡°My foolish disciple¡¯s condition was something he was born with, you should know full well that mine wasn¡¯t.¡± Although he knew his uncle¡¯s condition came as a result of a certain incident from when he was a child, he and the rest of the council believed the same thing had happened to Ace, and that was the reason Aiden chose to take him as a disciple because, in the last few centuries, many very talented youths in of their Rohault Empire had requested to become a disciple of the emperor¡¯s brother. Still, he had always unhesitantly rejected, saying he had no interest in teaching disciples. ¡°I see,¡± Brandell sighed helplessly. Ace rolled his eyes at his wannabe drunkard of a master, referring to him as his foolish disciple, but his eyes narrowed when he heard Aiden speak of his condition. He had asked Aiden why he was unable to sense nature¡¯s essence several times over the last few years, but Aiden would never give him a proper answer. This was the first clue he¡¯d been given into his master¡¯s mysterious condition, and he couldn¡¯t help but frown as he ruminated over the implications. It was only when he heard Amira¡¯s angelic voice that he awoke from his thoughts. ¡°Okay, uncle, just let me say goodbye to my friends, and then we can go,¡± Ace suddenly felt a knot in his stomach as he watched Amira say goodbye to each of their classmates. This would be the first time in over five and a half years that Ace and Amira would be apart. It wasn¡¯t something he was looking forward to, and judging by the look in Amira¡¯s eyes when she stopped in front of him; she felt exactly the same. Seeing the way they stared longingly into each other¡¯s eyes, all the other disciples couldn¡¯t help but look away in a futile attempt at giving them their space. Brandell on the other hand, couldn¡¯t help but stare wide-eyed at his niece before turning to his uncle, who merely winked back at him before taking another gulp of his alcohol. ¡°I guess this is goodbye for n-¡± Amira didn¡¯t even get the chance to finish her sentence before gasping in surprise at Ace suddenly taking her in his arms. ¡°Take care of yourself,¡± Ace said softly. ¡°And I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Amira nodded as she returned his hug. ¡°See you soon.¡± Book 4: Chapter 6 – It’s You?! Over the next week, Ace spent a lot of his time catching up with his mother, who was ecstatic to see her son in one piece. The remainder of his time was spent with Aiden, who was helping to refine his use of ''Impose'' and meditating in an attempt to further his comprehension of the laws of fire. Early one morning, all the remaining disciples of the Pavilion were sat around a large table outside Milianna and Lance''s cabin eating what could only be described as a feast prepared by Julius and Milianna. "Fatty, you really outdid yourself," Faye exclaimed as she sat back in her seat, her belly puffed out in front of her, unable to eat another bite. "I almost wish I went on the training exercise with your team if this is how you guys were eating every day," Yulana added. "If you had gone with them, you would''ve died." Faye snorted disdainfully. "I said almost, you wench!" Yulana snapped back. Even though the relationship between all ten disciples was good, Yulana and Faye bickered non-stop whenever they were together. Fortunately, before their squabbling could ruin the mood of the others, Wukong''s voice rang out from behind them. "Oii brats, it''s time to stop lazing around," the ape-like man voiced. "Lauriella has summoned you all." "I thought after becoming inner disciples, we didn''t have any more enforced lessons," Julius said as he reluctantly got up from his seat to go back to the Pavilion with the others. "This isn''t a lesson," Wukong replied. "It''s to talk to you all about the future of the Pavilion." "Future?" Joel asked. "Does that mean we''re going to be accepting a new batch of disciples?" "Why are you asking now? Won''t you find out when you get there?" Wukong lazily asked back. "Ahh, right. Sixth sister. Aiden told me to bring you as well. Master apparently left you something for your training before she left." "Ahh, okay. I guess we''ll come too then," Milianna gently replied as she took Lance''s hand, following after her fifth martial brother and the other kids. As they neared the Yin-Yang mountain, Ace and Wukong''s heads suddenly turned to the west. "Looks like I''ll get to enjoy a little show this morning," Wukong said with an amused smile as he turned to Ace, who merely rolled his eyes. "How troublesome," Ace sighed as he came to a stop as if he was expecting company. "What is it?" Killian asked as he and the others all turned their heads to search for whatever Ace and Wukong''s senses had discovered. However, before Ace could respond, the powerful presence of several individuals appeared in the distance. Though their senses weren''t as strong as Wukong or Ace''s, they could guess who the newcomers were from Ace''s reaction. It wasn''t long before they could see the ''visitors''. In the sky, flying towards them, was a giant Silver Tailed Hawk of the eighth rank. From that distance, they weren''t able to see if there was anyone sitting on the beast''s back, but they could see two humanoid black dots flying leisurely beside it. "Looks like we''ve attracted quite the welcoming committee," A middle-aged man with greying temples dressed in a long blue robe chuckled as he looked down at the group on the floor whilst calmly flying beside the hawk. "It looks like you''re gonna have quite the audience for your battle today after all, little Wharton," A burly man dressed in a simple and unadorned grey robe and an earth-coloured heavy sword strapped to his back said whilst also looking at the group below. Wharton, the burly brown-haired youth wearing a pair of baggy white bottoms with no top, opened his eyes as a wicked smirk suffused his lips. "Good," Wharton said coldly as the grip around the large war blade lying across his lap tightened. "If it weren''t for the fact that I was worried he would''ve escaped, I would''ve invited all my peers to come and watch me humiliate that little rat." "Son, remember to crush him in the most domineering way possible," The brown-haired woman said from behind him. "The pride of our Baruch Clan can''t be allowed to be tarnished by the likes of him." "Yes, Mother, I know," Wharton replied calmly. "That arrogant brat won''t stand a chance against you, young master Wharton," Brutus added fawningly from the back of the eagle as he looked down towards the ground, unable to hide his excitement. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Wharton glanced at the man behind him lightly before disregarding him entirely. There was a time when Wharton looked up at the representative behind him who had recruited him, but now, with his meteoric rise at the academy, he wouldn''t usually pay a man like that a second glance. The only reasons he was even allowed to come at all was firstly because he had promised him all those years ago that he could witness as he crushed Ace in the future, and secondly, Brutus was the one who had found where Ace had been ''hiding'' after all this time. The burly saint dressed in grey looked at Wharton helplessly. He was Haydson, the man acknowledged by the masses to be the most powerful saint on the Yulan plane. He had taken the young Dragonblood warrior as his disciple almost three years ago now after being thoroughly impressed by the youngster''s incredible talent and even more impressive work ethic. It was only after that that he learnt that the biggest factor behind his disciple''s drive to improve was avenging the loss he had suffered a couple of years prior. At first, he just assumed Wharton''s need for revenge would dissipate over time as he improved and was introduced to a wider world, but the shadow this boy Ace cast over the heart of his disciple was too strong. It also didn''t help that Lina would continuously whisper thoughts of revenge in Wharton''s ears. All things considered, Haydson couldn''t really care less about Ace or this challenge; he just wanted to help his disciple overcome this shadow before it ate him alive. "I finally found you," Wharton laughed evilly, glaring at Ace as his group landed on the ground before the group from the Pavilion. "You can''t run or hide anymore. Today I''ll finally avenge my loss from back then and show you the invincible might of the four supreme warriors." "No thanks," Ace replied casually before turning his attention back to Haydson, thinking about the enigmatic steps the man took to move through the air. It wasn''t just him. Each of the students was staring at the man in shock and a hint of awe. To them, each step he took made it look as though he was teleporting, a feat that should have been impossible. ''That must be the effects of the profound mystery of World Walking.'' Ace noted to himself. Though he hadn''t actually made any breakthroughs as a result of reading up on the profound mysteries of the various laws, it allowed him to widen his horizons, meaning he was better prepared to deal with anything that might come his way in the future. Seeing the way he was still being looked down on after all this time did wonders in igniting Wharton''s fury; it took all his willpower not to attack directly. Ace''s arrogance was simply too infuriating. "Hmm, I remember you," Kenyon, the middle-aged man on the left of the hawk, said lightly as his eyes fell on Wukong. "You''re that brat who arrogantly camped outside the Academy a decade ago and challenged all the students." "Challenged?" Wukong smirked. "You mean defeated. If it weren''t for that Olivier, who had already graduated, returning to fight on behalf of his alma mater, no one would''ve been the match of this king. The shamelessness of you idiots from the O''Brien Empire really knows no bounds." If Ace was a professional when it came to infuriating people, then Wukong was a grandmaster. Kenyon wasn''t only a saint, he was also the disciple of one of the four deities on the continent. There was no mortal who didn''t dare show him the utmost respect wherever he went. So being on the receiving end of Wukong''s clear disdain angered him in ways not even he himself knew possible. He had only come today out of boredom, having already been visiting Haydson when Wharton got the news of Ace''s location. He never expected to be treated in such a manner. If it weren''t for the sound of Haydson''s voice cutting through the rising tension, there was a good chance Kenyon would''ve made a move there and then. "That''s enough," Haydson said indifferently. "We''re here to make a formal challenge. Do you accept or not?" "If that little lizard wishes to challenge our top student, he''ll have to beat me first," Killian announced as he stepped forward fearlessly, glaring at the brown-haired youth gritting his teeth in an attempt to suppress his anger. "You? In what world are you qualified to even challenge me?" Wharton sneered. "This so-called Yin-Yang Pavilion is full of arrogant fools who don''t seem to know their place," Kenyon said indifferently. "One''s a piece of trash who''ll never reach the saint realm because of a soul defect, one''s an arrogant mutant hybrid who doesn''t know when to bow his head, and one foolishly decides to challenge a Dragonblood warrior who''s obviously superior in every way." Hearing his words, other than Ace, who saw this whole ordeal as nothing but a farce and Killian, who was glaring daggers at Wharton, all the other disciples were trying their best not to laugh after hearing Kenyon''s ''assessment''. Forget now; Wukong was able to defeat a beast of the Early saint rank back when he was at the eighth rank. They had no idea how much stronger he''d become after breaking through to the ninth rank, but no one doubted he was stronger than Kenyon. As for Killian, other than Ace, Amira, and Julius, he was definitely the strongest student in their cohort after his recent breakthroughs. He was more than qualified to challenge Wharton, who was merely a warrior in the middle stages of the fourth rank. But the comment that made them laugh the most was his assessment of Ace. As his classmates, they all knew what had happened to him after being captured by the Dark Alliance. Won''t reach the saint realm? His insights into the natural laws had already surpassed most saints! Still, he couldn''t be blamed for his ignorance. Last, the public had heard, Ace really had no affinities. Although it was true that as a saint, he should''ve been more than capable of sensing Ace''s mage-force, Aiden had taught Ace that one of the ingenious uses of ''Impose'' he''d created, which allowed those who''d reached the impose realm to hide their cultivation levels. According to Aiden, because of the power of Ace''s soul and the level his comprehension of the laws of fire had reached, the only ones able to sense Ace''s cultivation when he was hiding it were those at the prime saint levels and above, or those with souls as powerful as Aiden himself. It wasn''t a technique Ace had much interest in originally, but it came in handy in this situation. After hearing what Brutus had done to Joel, he wanted to teach the representative a lesson he would never forget. "What are you brats laughing at?" Kenyon snapped as his eyes scanned the group coldly before falling on Milianna. "It''s you!" Book 4: Chapter 7 – Guests From The O’Brien Empire "Master was disappointed when you escaped 14 years ago," Kenyon exclaimed excitedly as he reached forward as if to grab Milianna, only to be stopped by Wukong. "What do you think you''re doing?" Wukong said, his tone icy as he grabbed Kenyon''s wrist. It wasn''t just Wukong who made a move. As soon as Kenyon stepped forward, without even thinking, Ace, Lance, and Killian all stepped in front of Milianna, glaring at Kenyon threateningly. Milianna simply stood there trembling in terror as if she''d seen a ghost, all colour having faded from her face. "I¡­ I can''t go back! Please, don''t take me back!" "Mom?" Ace said worriedly when he saw his mother''s reaction. "Mom?" Kenyon said in shock as he stared at the dark-haired boy. "She''s your mother? That would make you ma-" "This king doesn''t give a fuck about anything you have to say," Wukong said as he flicked his wrist, summoning his crystalline bo-staff. "Anyone who dares make a move on this king''s junior sister deserves death!" As he said that, bolts of lightning suddenly flickered around his body as he erupted at a speed that shocked not only Kenyon but even Haydson. As a saint, even if he wasn''t expecting it, Kenyon should''ve been fast enough to easily resolve anything that a rank nine warrior through at him, especially as a saint-level warrior who specialised in the laws of wind, but Wukong''s staff was genuinely like a bolt of lightning as it tore through the air aiming right for his head. Thankfully, even if Wukong was much faster than he anticipated, he was no slouch himself. He was able to summon his straight sword from his storage ring and raise it just in time to barely block Wukong''s strike. The moment the staff and sword made contact, Kenyon''s eyes widened in disbelief. Kenyon was sent skidding back over 20 meters before coming to a stop. Wharton, Lina, Brutus, and even Haydson watched Kenyon slide straight past them in shock. He may have only been in the early stages of the saint realm, but Kenyon was also a direct disciple of O''Brien, a genuine deity, he ranked near the top of those at the early stages of sainthood, yet he was still forced to retreat by a mere mortal. But Wukong was far from done. He flashed passed Wharton and the others appearing directly in front of the stunned Kenyon, his staff descending with unbridled fury aiming to crush his opponent''s head. "Fuck off!" Kenyon roared in humiliation and anger as he waved his sword to meet his ape-like opponent''s staff. Despite being surprised about Wukong being able to attack with the speed and strength of a saint, he assumed that was the limits of Wukong''s power, and although impressive, it wasn''t at a level he had to be worried about. As far as he was concerned, when he started using his full strength, he''d be able to finish Wukong in at most five moves. But, unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. As hard as it was to believe, it appeared that Wukong hadn''t gone all out with his first strike. Kenyon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he felt the unparalleled momentum of Wukong''s descending staff. ''I can''t block this one,'' Kenyon noted as he immediately went from attempting to block to parrying with the aim of using the force behind his opponent''s attack to put some distance between them. Kenyon realised he couldn''t afford to treat Wukong as if he were a mortal. If he wanted to win this, he had to treat Wukong as if he was one of his peers. Unfortunately, things just went from bad to worse for him. ''Kenyon''s realm may be superior, but this Wukong fellow''s insights into the natural laws aren''t much worse than my own.'' Haydson analysed as he dumbfoundedly watched Wukong dominate the battle. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Whilst the others were watching Wukong''s battle with Kenyon, Ace and Lance were focused on Milianna. They both remembered the day when they all met ten or so years ago. Back then, after Ace had been rude to Lance, Milianna had been so scared that she actually raised her voice, forcing Ace to apologise out of fear of what Lance would do to them. Then there was the time she told them about her origins. When she mentioned the O''Brien empire, she was able to forcibly hold back her emotions, but Ace and Lance could see the fear and distress in her eyes. Between all of that and what Kenyon just said, how could they not understand what happened to Milianna in the past? Ordinarily, Ace wouldn''t have been able to control himself. He wouldn''t be able to quench the anger in his heart until he burned the whole O''Brien empire down to the ground, but he could literally feel his mother''s emotions. The excruciating pain, the overwhelming terror, the profound despair. He could feel it all. In that moment, all he wanted was to take his mother as far away from Kenyon as possible. "Mom," Ace whispered gently as he took her clammy palms into his own. "Mom, it''s Ace." "Ace?" Milianna stammered as her tear-filled eyes fell on her son. "Ace, I can''t let him find you. I can''t let him." "It''s okay, Mom. We''re safe." Ace said as he pulled her into his arms to try and calm her down. "We''re at the Pavilion. We''re safe!" "Ace," Lance called softly. "We need to get her inside." "I know," Ace nodded as he gently lifted his mother''s trembling body into his arms before making his way towards the entrance to the Yin-Yang mountain with Lance, Killian, and Leonel following behind him. "Where do you think you''re going?!" Brutus roared when he saw Ace walking away. Even though there was a saint-level battle taking place right behind him, Brutus was more interested in making sure Ace didn''t escape. Whilst it was true that Ace had left a shadow looming over Wharton''s heart, it was nothing compared to the one he had cast on Brutus. He was just about to dash in Ace''s direction when he felt his spine chill. The moment Brutus looked like he wanted to stand in Ace''s way, Joel and the other disciples of the Pavilion locked onto him. The killing intent each of them had developed over the last six months focused solely on him. But as much as they had improved, Brutus was still a warrior at the peak of the seventh rank. The killing intent they radiated could, at most, be called disturbing. The true sense of danger that he felt came from Leonel. Not only was Leonel a Divine Beast, he was also a beast that grew up in the mountain range of magical beasts where he had to kill on a near daily basis just to survive. He was already frustrated over his inability to help his human partner in his time of need, so when he saw Brutus about to try and get in Ace''s way, the aura he radiated made Brutus feel like he was a little mouse being stared at by an apex predator. "Enough!" Haydson said, using his battle-qi to protect his voice into the ears of everyone present as he used his magical movement technique to appear between Kenyon and Wukong, calmly stopping Wukong''s staff from crashing into Kenyon''s side and forcing him to retreat dozens of meters. "Haydson," Kenyon said between deep breaths. "You have to capture that woman and her son. I promise, if you do, my master will reward you handsomely." When he heard that, Haydson would''ve been lying if he said he wasn''t tempted. As powerful as he was, he knew he was nothing in front of O''Brien, a genuine deity, but before he could say anything, a woman bathed in violet flames appeared in the sky above Ace, looking down at the intruders coldly. As soon as his eyes met Lauriella''s, Haydson had to forcibly suppress the shock he was feeling. One of the things he prided himself on was how accurate his instincts were, and right now, his instincts were screaming at him that this woman was dangerous. When he first agreed to take Wharton on this trip, he thought this would be a quick trip to a weak little school in the middle of nowhere that he could crush if he wanted to, but never could he have imagined that he would''ve been so wrong. First, there was Wukong, whom even he had to admit was without a doubt the most talented person he''d personally ever seen, including him and his disciple, and now there was a descendant of one of the four supreme warriors that he''d never heard of that seemed to be no weaker than him. ''What kind of institution is run by powerhouses of this level?'' Haydson wondered as he slowly rose in the air to face the enchanting saint-level Violetflame Warrior. . . . At the same time, Ace had just arrived at the peak of the mountain still carrying Milianna, where he found his master, as well as Lazerim and Kimika waiting. "What happened out there?" Kimika asked as she looked at Ace and his group. "Why did little Kong pick a fight all of a sudden?" Though they heard Kimika''s question, Ace, Killian, and Lance were still too focused on Milianna to think about responding. Aiden frowned when he saw Milianna''s condition. Before any of the others could react, he appeared directly in front of Ace and his mother, placing his hand on the top of her head without warning. If it were anyone else, Ace would never let them do as they wished with the woman who brought him into this world, but after five years, the level of trust Ace had in his master couldn''t be put into words. "I''m guessing our guests outside are from the O''Brien Empire," Aiden sighed as he looked into the near-emotionless eyes of his disciple. Book 4: Chapter 8 – The Reason Behind Ace’s Talent ¡°You know?¡± Ace asked as he emotionlessly met his master¡¯s gaze. To Kimika and Lazerim, it sounded like Ace was surprised that Aiden knew the intruders were from the O¡¯Brien Empire, and even they were surprised he was able to tell as he had been with them the whole time, but Aiden knew what Ace was really asking. ¡°Your mother told Arianna and I the truth a couple of years ago,¡± Aiden replied honestly. ¡°You¡¯ve known for a couple of years?¡± Ace asked back, his tone void of any emotion. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± To the others, Ace sounded cold and detached, but the truth was his emotions were so turbulent and chaotic that the only way he could keep himself from doing something rash and impulsive was by completely suppressing all of his emotions. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my secret to tell,¡± Aiden shrugged. ¡°Your mother¡¯s situation is more delicate than you know,¡± ¡°Because she had a pure soul?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Exactly,¡± Aiden nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s not that simple. As you now well know, those with pure souls are most likely to experience severe behavioural changes after suffering a traumatic experience, but your mother¡¯s an extremely rare exception to that rule.¡± Killian and the others didn¡¯t understand everything that was being said, but with how serious the situation appeared to be, they just listened quietly. ¡°After O¡¯Brien forced himself on Milianna 14 years ago, your mother should¡¯ve spiralled, her personality becoming more dark and warped by the day, but when she realised she was pregnant, you became the beacon of light in her world that allowed her to retain her pure, albeit slightly tainted soul. As you learnt from that Doehring Cowart fellow, by creating a certain potion, it¡¯s possible to heal a tainted pure soul, but what he didn¡¯t say was that if you use it, although the individual¡¯s personality will revert back to normal, they will lose their natural talent. The only way for said person to truly recover from a tainted pure soul is for them to overcome their heart demon. If it weren¡¯t for that, my wife would¡¯ve already taken O¡¯Brien¡¯s head for daring to touch one of her beloved disciples. It took a lot of effort on my part to stop that crazy wife of mine, you know.¡± Each bit of information that Aiden revealed was more shocking than the last, but the thing that Killian, Lazerim, and Kimika were most shocked about was the fact that if everything Aiden said were true, then that would mean O¡¯Brien, one of the four deities of the Yulan Plane, was Ace¡¯s biological father. The only ones who weren¡¯t surprised were Lance and Ace himself, who had figured it out the moment Kenyon recognised Milianna. What surprised Lance, though, was that if Aiden was right, Arianna was actually stronger than the War God. But for those that knew she had already comprehended three of the six profound mysteries of the laws of light and was on the verge of completely fusing them understood that she was more than able to fight and defeat the average low-ranking deity, but none of that mattered to Ace. The only thing he cared about was helping his mother. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Ace asked. ¡°You,¡± Aiden responded. ¡°To put it simply, if O¡¯Brien¡¯s the darkness in her heart and you¡¯re her light, you just need to defeat O¡¯Brien.¡± His plan would sound absolutely insane if an outsider were to hear, but everyone present understood just how insane Ace¡¯s talent was, and now it finally made sense as to where he inherited his talent. Between his maternal bloodline ¨C Haki ¨C and his biological father being a genuine deity, his being so freakishly talented made perfect sense. All things considered, even though O¡¯Brien was a deity, it wasn¡¯t a question of if but when Ace would surpass his biological father. Ace was also confident in his ability to surpass the man referred to as the God of War, but the problem was that he knew it wouldn¡¯t happen overnight, and his mother¡¯s condition was clearly anything but stable. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much,¡± Aiden said calmly. ¡°As long as you¡¯re able to truly convince her that you¡¯ll be able to defeat O¡¯Brien in the future, and I mean so that she believes it from the very bottom of her heart, her soul should remain stable. Ooh right, and we also need to convince her that we here at the pavilion are able to provide a safe enough space for you to reach your full potential. ¡°And how do you suppose he does that?¡± Lance asked, the frustration he felt from his inability to help shining through. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Aiden replied casually as he retrieved a fresh gourd of wine from his storage ring. ¡°We just use those clowns from the O¡¯Brien to show off a bit.¡± ¡°So, what do you say?¡± Aiden asked as he lowered his gourd from his mouth to look into Ace¡¯s eyes as the corners of his lips curled up, forming an almost fiendish grin. ¡°How about we, master and disciple, use the rats from the O¡¯Brien Empire to put on a show?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be my pleasure,¡± Ace said, a cold smile suffusing his lips, making him look like a little demon. . . . Things had been pretty tense at the base of the mountain when Lauriella arrived, especially as the killing intent she was radiating was so palpable, it had Lina, Wharton, and Brutus quaking in their boots. She didn¡¯t know what happened, but the fact that Milianna, one of her junior sisters, was unconscious in Ace¡¯s arms was enough to set her off. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Aiden¡¯s voice just appeared in her mind, she would¡¯ve already attacked directly. Still, although she was in left in charge by Mathias, she still had to listen to Aiden. ¡°You wish to challenge Ace?¡± Lauriella asked coldly as she looked at the vigilant Haydson. ¡°My disciple does, yes,¡± Haydson, the Monolithic Sword Saint, replied calmly. ¡°Bring him and follow me,¡± Lauriella replied before turning to make her way back to the peak of the mountain. ¡°Ooh, and if any of you act out, I give you my word, none of you will be leaving with your lives.¡± A helpless sigh left Haydson¡¯s mouth at that point. He was beginning to think this was a bad idea. He hadn¡¯t been paying much attention before, but when Lauriella appeared, he spread his perception only to discover two more saint-level magical beasts in the vicinity. With how territorial beasts were, he knew there was no way that beasts of that level could live so close to a force like this unless they were allied with them in some way. If that really were the case, Lauriella¡¯s threat wasn¡¯t a bluff. She really did have the ability to kill them. Even if he were alone, it would be hard to escape. Still, although this was a terrifying force, as long as they didn¡¯t do anything else to overstep, he didn¡¯t believe they would genuinely dare to go overboard with their actions. After all, they were all important members of the O¡¯Brien Empire, and Kenyon was even a direct disciple of the War God. ¡°Kenyon,¡± the sword saint called as he turned back to his middle-aged friend. ¡°Don¡¯t cause any more trouble. Let¡¯s just finish this challenge and leave.¡± Even though he was unwilling, Kenyon knew Haydson was right. He had also sensed the saint-level beasts in the vicinity. Seeing Kenyon agree, Haydson gave a whistle telling the Silver-Tailed Hawk to follow it. With the way things progressed, Wharton wasn¡¯t as arrogant as he had been when they first arrived. Seeing so many powerful experts standing behind Ace, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to be as wilful as usual, but he had the utmost faith in his master ¨C the man he seriously believed to be the most powerful saint in the world. As such, he wasn¡¯t too worried about his safety. All he was concerned about was whether they¡¯d still be able to force Ace to accept his challenge. So when he saw his master signal that they¡¯d be able to proceed, he couldn¡¯t hide his relieved expression. ¡°That man¡­¡± Joel said as he looked at the middle-aged saint flying beside Haydson. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s Kenyon, the War God¡¯s last disciple.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Faye snorted, clearly still pissed off by their overbearingness. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what he said when he looked at Aunt Milli?¡± Joel asked. ¡°His master was disappointed when she escaped 14 years ago.¡± As he said that, a light went off in the heads of all the disciples. ¡°You don¡¯t think that the War God is Ace¡¯s¡­¡± Though he didn¡¯t finish his sentence, the others all knew what Kannal was implying as they were all thinking the same thing. ¡°If it¡¯s true, it would explain Aunt Milli¡¯s reaction,¡± Yulana sighed. ¡°It would also explain Ace¡¯s talent,¡± Faye added. ¡°If we¡¯re right, things definitely won¡¯t end peacefully today,¡± Osiris added as he made his way to the mountain¡¯s entrance, followed by his peers, each of whom had already come to the same conclusion ¨C no matter what happens, they would stand behind Ace, even if it meant standing against one of the most powerful factions on the continent! At the mountain peak, Milianna woke up just as Lauriella and Wukong arrived. ¡°Ace,¡± She called out fearfully. ¡°We have to leave. We have to leave right now, or he¡¯ll find us!¡± ¡°Mom, calm down,¡± Ace commanded in a gentle yet strangely forceful tone. ¡°We¡¯re at the Pavilion, we¡¯re safe here.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand!¡± Milianna said, tears streaming down her face as the face of her worst nightmare appeared in her mind. ¡°If that man finds us, no one can stop-¡± ¡°Milianna,¡± Aiden suddenly interjected, interrupting his wife¡¯s disciple mid-sentence. ¡°You need to calm down.¡± Though there was nothing strange with his words or even the tone, Ace and the other experts among the group all felt an odd spiritual resonance as Aiden spoke. They didn¡¯t know how or what Aiden did exactly, but it had the effect of calming the panicked woman, albeit only temporarily. Still, it was long enough for Ace to say what he needed to. ¡°Mom, I know about O¡¯Brien,¡± Ace said calmly, his words eliciting a look of shock and fear from his dark-haired mother, who, despite being forcibly calmed by Aiden¡¯s weird spiritual technique, still paled in fright. ¡°Mom, I need you to listen to me,¡± Ace said, remaining perfectly calm. ¡°Can you do that?¡± Even though she was petrified and desperately wanted to do nothing more than take her son and run as far and as fast as she possibly could, Ace¡¯s composure was weirdly infectious. ¡°I know you¡¯re scared, but I promise, as long as I¡¯m alive, no further harm will ever come to you,¡± Ace said gently as he stroked his mother¡¯s pale, clammy cheeks. ¡°All you need to do is have faith in me. In time I¡¯ll surpass O¡¯Brien and make him pay for what he did to you, but until then, we have the instructors to protect us.¡± Her mind was telling her how crazy everything Ace said was, but as she looked into Ace¡¯s eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but be affected by the pure, unwavering resolve they radiated. ¡°Your son¡¯s right,¡± Aiden added, deciding to strike whilst the iron was hot. ¡°It may be hard to believe, but as powerful as the O¡¯Brien Empire is, they mean nothing to us here at the Pavilion.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll prove it to you,¡± Aiden said as Haydson¡¯s group floated up in the sky to his rear. ¡°Just sit back, relax, and watch the show.¡± Book 4: Chapter 9 – Killian Vs Wharton As Haydson led his group to the peak of the mountain, they saw Ace standing behind Lauriella and three other experts of the ninth rank. Normally, mortals like them would be all but ignored by saints like Haydson and Kenyon, but after experiencing Wukong¡¯s power, they refused to underestimate anyone else from this secluded faction, especially as two of them, similar to Wukong, were in the ninth rank as both a warrior and a mage ¨C a feat only achieved by the most talented of experts. ¡°Ace,¡± Wharton shouted as he jumped off the back of the hawk that brought him here. ¡°Do you intend to just hide like a turtle behind your instructors?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not my match,¡± Ace said indifferently as he glanced lightly at the young Dragonblood Warrior. Looking at those dark eyes filled with nothing but disdain, Wharton couldn¡¯t help but think back to the last time he saw those eyes. It was on the day of their assessment. It was just revealed that Ace didn¡¯t have an affinity to any of the elements, news that made Wharton ecstatic. As a Dragonblood Warrior, becoming a saint was all but guaranteed for the young scion of the Baruch clan. In his head, it didn¡¯t matter that Ace was stronger than him at the moment. In the future, he would be a lofty saint that all mortals had to look up to, and Ace would be nothing but a distant memory. But as their eyes met, the joy he felt was instantly doused. Instead of seeing the unwillingness he expected, the only thing he saw was disdain. It was as if Ace genuinely believed that no matter how hard Wharton tried, he would never surpass him. It was those same eyes that had haunted him every day for the last six years. It was those same eyes that drove him to drive his body to its limits every single day and then get up and do the same thing the next day. He was only 11 now, but he was already nearing the peak of the fourth rank. That alone put him near the top of his peers in the War God¡¯s Academy, but when you added his bloodline ability and everything he¡¯d learnt from Haydson over the last few years, he was practically unrivalled in the academy. And still, Ace looked at him with those same contemptuous eyes. But before Wharton could reply, Killian stepped forward. ¡°If you want to fight Ace, you have to beat me first,¡± the dark-skinned youth declared whilst glaring at Wharton, unable to suppress his roiling killing intent. Ace and Lance weren¡¯t the only ones angered after finding out the truth about Milianna¡¯s past. Ever since they met back in Wushan town, Milianna had been the closest thing to a mother Killian had ever had. Even though he promised not to kill Wharton due to the promise Ace had made to Linley, he would still use the little dragon warrior to vent his pent-up emotions. ¡°We came here for Wharton to challenge Ace,¡± Haydson said coolly as he looked at Lauriella. ¡°Not some ignorant no named brat.¡± Even though they were in ¡®hostile territory¡¯, Haydson still had his pride. He was Haydson, the monolithic sword saint, and Wharton was his disciple. They came so Wharton could challenge Ace, not a random unknown youth. Though it was extremely impressive that Killian was at the fifth rank as both a mage and a warrior, he could sense that the boy was a few years older than his disciple. Plus, as far as he was concerned, the only way he believed Killian could reach such a level at his age was if he focused all of his time on cultivation and none on gaining experience. ¡°Who invited you?¡± Lauriella replied, her voice ice cold as she stared the man referred to as the strongest saint in the world dead in the eye. ¡°Either have your disciple fight Killian or scram!¡± He knew there were saints out there more powerful than him, but there was still a reason Haydson received the title of the strongest. His strength was the real deal. He¡¯d had many fights since becoming a saint all those centuries ago, many of which he had come close to losing his life, but not once had anyone he¡¯d gone up against treated him in such a manner. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He had half a mind to reach for the sword on his back, but he was under no delusions. Between Lauriella, Wukong and those two saint-level magical beasts, if he tried, it would mean the deaths of all of his party, potentially even himself. ¡°Wharton, go and defeat that boy,¡± Haydson commanded, ignoring the look of unwillingness on his disciple¡¯s face. ¡°The sooner you beat him, the sooner you can fight that Ace boy.¡± ¡°Yes, master. I understand,¡± Wharton said as he stepped forward to meet the axe-wielding teen as his muscles began to expand, and azure scales began to protrude from his body. ¡°Remember, it was you who asked for this.¡± ¡°Destroy him,¡± Lina snarled from the rear of her group as she watched her approach his first opponent. At the same time, Joel and the others arrived just in time to watch the show. ¡°The bloodlines of the descendants of the four supreme warriors are the real deal,¡± Yulana sighed as she looked at the war blade wielding azure dragon warrior who had jumped straight from the fourth to the sixth rank after transforming. ¡°He¡¯s still not Killian¡¯s match,¡± Faye snorted. After their time in the wild, she knew better than anyone just how strong Killian had become. In her eyes, other than Ace, Amira, and Julius, there was no one stronger than him in their class, and that included Alissa. Killian watched calmly as Wharton charged in his direction like a bloodthirsty demon. All though he could defeat most beasts and warriors at the sixth rank, he could tell at a glance that Wharton had comprehended one with his sword, putting him well above your average sixth-rank warrior. Ordinarily, Wharton would definitely be able to give Killian a decent fight, but if Aiden¡¯s plan was to work, they needed to win every fight in the most domineering fashion. As such, not only could he not afford to hold back, but he also had to use his brains. To Brutus and Lina, it looked as though Killian had frozen in fright with Wharton rushing towards him, which put a smile on each of their faces. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t have been further from the truth. As soon as Wharton reached a distance of two meters away, his opponent¡¯s cold, calm voice entered his ears. ¡°[Earth Wall]!¡± Killian said calmly. Wharton snorted disdainfully when he saw a wall of stone was erected between him and his opponent. With a casual wave of his blade, the stone wall was chopped in two, but by the time he reached the other side, his opponent had disappeared. ¡®Movement Technique? Without battle-qi?¡¯ Haydson thought to himself as he calmly watched Killian skilfully enter his disciple¡¯s blind spot. Between his Insta-casting of a fairly powerful spell and the skilful use of a movement technique to put himself in the best possible position to counter his disciple¡¯s attack, Haydson had to admit he underestimated Killian; he definitely had more experience than he originally believed. Still, he wasn¡¯t worried. If, after all his training, his disciple could be caught off guard and defeated so easily, all the training over the last few years would¡¯ve been for nought, or at least that¡¯s what he believed until he watched Killian make his move. ¡°[Supergravity Field],¡± Killian called out as gravity seemed to double for Wharton catching the young Dragonblood warrior off guard. Whilst Lina could barely keep up with what was going on, Brutus being a warrior of the seventh rank, had no difficulty following, which was why he was so shocked to see Wharton suddenly being put on the back foot. Still, his shock paled in comparison to Kenyon and Haydson. Both saints of the O¡¯Brien Empire knew how talented one had to be to insta-cast a spell of the same rank with such skill, but the thing that really took them by surprise was that as Killian¡¯s axe descended, they could clearly see he was ¡®wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯. Wharton was barely able to react, being caught off guard by Killian¡¯s sudden burst of power. Still, after his hellish training with his master, if there was one thing he knew, it was that he couldn¡¯t afford to lose his composure. Killian¡¯s axe moved like a blur, but he was still able to raise his sword to block just in time, and as he was a warrior of the sixth rank when transformed, he was able to hold his own in a clash of strength even with all the disadvantages his opponent put him under. Unfortunately, Killian wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°[Destructo-Pulse]!¡± Killian roared as a spherical wave of grey mage force exploded out of him, sending Wharton skidding back with both the blade of his sword and the scales covering his forearm cracked. This was one of the best parts of having Mathias as a master. As a saint, his insights into the laws of destruction were so profound that despite being an edict that those of the Yulan Plane didn¡¯t understand much about, he was able to create a multitude of different spells for the mortal ranks from scratch. Although just a spell of the fourth rank, after breaking through to the fifth rank, Killian was able to successfully increase the power of the spell to the fifth rank, and as the element with by far the most destructive force, its power wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. The fact that Wharton escaped with such minor injuries spoke volumes about the defensive capabilities of a Dragonblood Warrior. Wharton had just looked up, only to find Killian having appeared directly in front of him with his twin-sided battle axe resting by his neck, looking at him just as disdainfully as Ace had. Killian was fully aware that if they were to fight again now, he would never be able to win as easily as he had. Still, since Aiden¡¯s plan required them to inspire shock and awe, Killian had to take full advantage of the fact that Wharton was underestimating him and used that momentum to crush him, and thankfully he was successful in his mission. ¡°Is this the quality of the ¡®War God¡¯s¡¯ Academy?¡± Killian asked as he turned to Brutus. ¡°I guess it¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t listen to you back at the assessment after all, seeing as all of you at the academy are nothing but trash.¡± Book 4: Chapter 10 – Ace Vs Brutus Killian had never been one for trash talk, so when the rest of his classmates heard his provocative words, they couldn''t help but be taken aback. But whilst they were surprised, Brutus felt humiliated. Even though he wasn''t even the one fighting, feeling the eyes of Killian and virtually every member of the pavilion on him, it was hard to stay calm, but before he could reply, Haydson''s ice-cold voice rang through the air. "Is this how the Yin-Yang Pavilion teaches their disciples to behave?" the monolithic sword saint asked as his emotionless eyes went from his disciple, who was stood with an almost vacant look in his eyes, back to Lauriella, the person he believed to be the strongest person present. "Is this how those of the O''Brien Empire behave?" Ace asked back as he took a step forward to stand beside his sworn ''little'' brother. "Arriving at the home of another and behaving as though it''s their own backyard?" "Who do you think you''re talking to?" Haydson asked as he released some of his spiritual essences in an attempt to pressure Ace to try and remind him of his place. Had he used his battle-qi, it may have had the desired effect, but he tried to put pressure on Ace''s soul as spiritual essence was the easiest form of energy to use discreetly. Unfortunately for him, Ace''s soul had already reached the level of a saint. Haydson''s spiritual pressure was more like a spring breeze to the dark-haired teen. "Even now, you still resort to petty tactics. I guess I shouldn''t expect anything more from those from the O''Brien," Ace sighed lightly. Haydson looked at Ace in shock. The amount of spiritual essence he was using to apply pressure on the boy''s soul should be enough for a ninth-rank mage to feel light-headed, and yet Ace wasn''t phased in the slightest. But as he heard Ace''s statement, his eyebrows twitched. In fact, it wasn''t just him. Whether it was Haydson, Kenyon or Brutus, they were all born and raised in the O''Brien Empire, so Ace''s words struck a chord with each of them. As an actual direct disciple, Ace''s words should''ve angered Kenyon the most, but since the boy was likely his master''s son, he was able to remain composed. Brutus on the other hand¡­ His mental state was already anything but stable, so when he heard the primary cause of his heart demon talk about the empire he thought so highly of, he snapped. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TALK ABOUT THE EMPIRE?!" The crimson-armoured warrior snarled. "MY O''BRIEN EMPIRE IS THE GREATEST!" "Ooh, is that right? How about I give you a chance to prove just how great your little O''Brien Empire is?" Ace smirked teasingly. "Since this little lizard isn''t even worthy of being a warm-up for me, how about you, a fully grown adult warrior at the peak of the seventh rank who''s closer to 100 years of age than to mine, fights me?" "Trust your son," Aiden whispered gently when he saw Milianna''s body tense up from watching Ace provoking a powerful warrior of the O''Brien Empire. "Nothing bad will happen to him, I promise." Milianna was facing a difficult inner battle as she stared at her son''s back. She wanted nothing more than to believe in her son, and most of the time, she did, but the person he was indirectly provoking with his actions today was a man she had been taught from a very young age was one of the most powerful men on the whole continent. As much as she wanted to believe in her son''s potential and the ability of her master and the rest of her martial family to keep Ace safe, it was far from easy. Still, whenever Aiden spoke, it was magically able to somewhat stabilise her turbulent emotions. "Hahahaha! You really are the most arrogant boy I''ve ever seen in my life!" Brutus exclaimed as a savage and crazed light flashed across his eyes. "If you wish to be embarrassed by me, then so be it!" "Wait!" Haydson commanded Brutus before he could take another step, turning back to Lauriella and the other instructors. "Do you intend on getting involved if the boy loses?" Haydson didn''t particularly care if Brutus lived or died, but since he was effectively the leader of this trip, if he were to allow Brutus to die on his watch, it would be a slap in the face. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Do we look as shameless as you lot from the O''Brien Empire?" Wukong snorted. "If that idiot is capable of beating Ace, then so be it. Even if Ace were to die at Brutus'' hands, we would say nothing." Hearing the freakishly strong ape-man''s words, Haydson turned to Lauriella for confirmation. It was only when he saw her nod that he allowed Brutus to go forward. At the same time, Wharton had just returned to his master''s side, still in a semi-dazed state. Today was supposed to be the day he finally avenged his loss, but instead, he lost to an opponent whose name he wouldn''t even have been able to remember until today. "Wharton," Haydson called out, his tone more sombre than what Wharton was used to. "All of us lose at some point. What separates great warriors from average ones is how they respond in the face of defeat. Do you understand?" "Yes, master," Wharton replied half-heartedly. "Wharton, my baby," Lina hurriedly took her youngest son in her arms. "Don''t worry, son. Your master is right, this isn''t important. You''re two years younger than those boys, you will definitely surpass them in the future. Just wait. When you become saints in the future, and they''re still mortals, you can crush them and make them grovel at your feet." Haydson glanced lightly at Lina before looking back to his disciple, his brows narrowing slightly but ultimately saying nothing. What was going through his mind at that moment was a mystery to everyone but him. "Pay attention, child. If you want to defeat Ace in the future, now''s your chance to learn about his current strength and how big the gap is between you," The sword saint said as he focused his attention on the impending battle. He didn''t believe that Ace could defeat someone two and a half ranks superior. Still, with the confidence everyone on the side of the Pavilion was exhibiting as they watched Ace, it was clear that, at the very least, he really was the strongest of all the disciples present, meaning he was stronger than Killian, meaning he was stronger than Wharton. "Hahaha, did you hear that, boy?" Brutus asked with an evil grin as he drew the broadsword strapped to his back. "Even if I kill you today, no one will bother to avenge you!" "Joel, which arm did he use to break yours?" Ace asked lightly as he flicked his wrist, summoning the glaive Lauriella forged for him, paying absolutely no attention to his opponent''s threats. "His right," Joel replied helplessly when he guessed what Ace was about to do. "Awwh, how adorable," Brutus chuckled maliciously. "Do you want to get reve¡­ ARRGHHH! MY ARM!" "The disciples of my Yin-Yang Pavilion aren''t so easy to bully," Ace said softly as he watched his opponent''s arm fall to the floor. "That''s¡­ What¡­ How?!" Wharton stared at Ace in complete and utter disbelief. All he saw was Brutus take a single step in Ace''s direction before his right arm was chopped clean off by a man-sized blue crescent blade. Wharton may not have been able to understand what just happened, but Haydson and Kenyon were both saints with a profound wealth of experience. They were able to understand exactly what Ace did, not that it did anything to lessen the shock. In fact, it was because they understood what Ace did that made them so shocked. "Was that Impose?" Kenyon asked, unable to believe his eyes. "It wasn''t just impose," Haydson replied as he looked at Ace, finally understanding the confidence that his peers and instructors had in him, and more importantly, the reason behind his pride. "First, he used impose to compress the air around his glaive before using the fusion of both states of wielding to slash out with enough speed and power to create what was effectively a crescent-shaped blade of highly compressed air." "He can''t be any older than 15, and yet he''s already reached the fifth rank, fused both states of wielding, comprehended Impose and able to use it with such skill?" Kenyon muttered to himself as his eyes shone with excitement. ''That level of talent¡­ He really is master''s son!'' Ace didn''t care for the shock of their ''guests'' as he calmly strode towards his wailing opponent. "Stay away¡­ Stay away from me. You demon!" Brutus shouted as he gradually backed away. "Do you remember what you said to me last time I saw you?" Ace asked calmly. "That I would never become a saint because of my apparent lack of affinity. Since then, you haven''t improved in the slightest, but me¡­" "You¡­ That''s impossible!" Brutus stammered, thinking his eyes must be deceiving him. "How''s that possible?!" Wharton muttered in disbelief as he saw the crimson flames coating Ace''s left arm. "I was there¡­ I was there when they confirmed he didn''t have an affinity to any of the elements." Once again, Kenyon and Haydson were no less shocked than Wharton and Brutus, but whilst the latter was shocked by Ace''s ability to generate fire as if he were a fire mage, the two saints were stunned because they could clearly sense that those flames were at the profound level, a level that was usually only reserved for saints and deities. Wukong reaching the profound level was surprising enough, but this¡­ this was something else. Wukong was over twice his age and over four ranks higher. "Please¡­ Please don''t kill me," Brutus begged with a mixture of tears and snot falling from his eyes and nose, respectively. Originally Ace just intended to beat Brutus up a bit and send him on his way, but as he looked at his opponent, all he could think about was how much his mother had suffered in silence all these years after O''Brien dared to force himself on her. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the fire coating his arm seemed to react to his rage by burning hotter and hotter till the point where even the temperature in the surrounding area was affected. "DIE!" Ace roared as he thrust his fist forth, sending a giant fist-shaped flame into Brutus, instantly incinerating the whole of his upper body. ''Now''s my chance!'' Kenyon roared in his mind as his body moved like the wind in Ace''s direction. Book 4: Chapter 11 – Conclusion "KENYON! COME BACK!" Haydson roared, worried about how Lauriella and the others would react if Kenyon were able to successfully kidnap the boy. The middle-aged looking saint could hear his friend, and he understood that he was basically putting the lives of himself, Haydson and the rest of their group in danger with his actions, but he couldn''t leave here today without Ace. As far as he was concerned, there were likely only two people present who were capable of stopping him, one was Wukong, who proved that his speed was no less than his own, but as he could fly, as long as he grabbed Ace and escaped into the clouds, he would be safe. The only other person he had to worry about was Lauriella, but as he glanced in her direction, he realised she hadn''t even moved. Even though he was a saint who specialised in the laws of wind, he knew he wasn''t so fast that he could act before she was able to react, so when he saw her do nothing to stop him, a bad feeling began to well up inside him, but it was too late to turn back now. He had already committed. "As long as I grab the boy and get passed Haydson, I should be able to¡­'' Kenyon had an arm outstretched, only inches away from Ace''s shoulder, when he felt his soul shudder and his consciousness tremble. "AHHHH!" Kenyon roared as he grabbed the top of his shoulder. "What do you think, brat?" Aiden said leisurely as he stood over the one-armed Kenyon, holding a gourd of wine in one hand and a glaive dripping with fresh blood in the other. "Not bad for an old man, aye?" Haydson, who was just about to charge in after his ''friend'' to try and stop him from making a mistake that could cost them their lives, suddenly came to a halt as he looked at Kenyon''s severed arm on the ground before looking back up at Aiden in disbelief, unable to wrap his mind around what just happened. In his eyes, Kenyon was inches away from grabbing Ace when he suddenly seemed to trip. Of course, such a thing should be impossible for a saint-level warrior with near-perfect control of his body. And if that wasn''t shocking enough, a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank moved with speed that was no slower than his own to appear between Ace and Kenyon and cut off his arm. The only thing that made sense was if some sort of spiritual attack had hit Kenyon''s soul, but as the only natural peak saint present, he should have the most powerful soul, meaning he should''ve been able to sense the spiritual attacks of anyone else around, but he didn''t feel a single thing. ''Just who are these people?'' Haydson asked himself as he looked up at Aiden, who was smiling without a care in the world, still drinking alcohol as if he hadn''t done anything special. "Wait!" Haydson commanded when he noticed Aiden preparing to finish the job. Although it was true that Kenyon was the one to act first, he was still the disciple of the War God. If he were to die in front of him, it would likely bring all sorts of trouble his way. He knew full well that although people referred to him as the most powerful saint in the world, it was far from true. Ignoring the War God himself, there were still several of his disciples that were at least his strength, and that didn''t include the monster that was Kenyon''s first brother. "I said stay your hand!" Haydson bellowed when he saw Aiden completely disregard his command. Using the profound mystery of world walking, Haydson''s body flashed, appearing directly in front of Aiden just in time for him to block Aiden''s Glaive from piercing Kenyon''s head with his sword. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Calm down," Haydson voiced sombrely as he met Aiden''s gaze. "I know Kenyon acted impulsively, but he''s still a direct disciple of the War God O''Brien. Killing him will do you more harm than good." "I''ve already offended the War God by taking the arm of his idiot disciple," Aiden said as the corners of his mouth curled upwards, forming a fiendish grin. "The only way to keep this a secret is to kill him." "I can''t let you do that," Haydson declared. "Then I guess I''ll just have to kill you as well," Aiden casually replied. As he said that, Haydson''s eyes suddenly bulged as he sensed the power behind Aiden''s glaive pressing against his sword multiply. Ace''s eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw the glistening silver battle-qi coating his master''s body and weapon. In all their time together, this was the first time he''d ever seen his master use battle-qi. As surprised as Ace was, though, how could his surprise even begin to compare to Haydson''s? He, a powerful peak-stage saint, was being forced back by a mere mortal. Although it was true that he wasn''t trying particularly hard, unless you were a saint yourself, you should forget about forcing him back. "How are you, a mere mortal, able to use the strength of a mid-stage saint just by using ''impose'' and battle-qi?" Haydson asked in disbelief as he slid back, holding his sword in one hand and dragging the one-armed Kenyon with his other. "Who knows?" Aiden replied with a teasing smile before moving like a flash in Haydson''s direction. This was the first time Ace had ever seen his master take action seriously, and although at his level, his perception could barely keep up, what he could tell was that Aiden was winning. "Who are you?" Haydson asked as both men continued to clash in mid-air. It was true that Haydson was having to fight with only one hand as he had to keep hold of Kenyon for fear of what Aiden would do if he didn''t, but still. Aiden was at the peak of the ninth stage, and he was at the peak of the saint stage. "The master of the boy your friend attempted to kidnap," Aiden replied as he suddenly upped the tempo. Before, whether it was speed or power, Haydson was superior, albeit only slightly, but Aiden''s masterful combat style allowed him to hold his own, but now¡­ As a saint, Haydson obviously understood that the power that one was able to channel when using ''impose'' depended on two things. First, the level of the user''s comprehension of their chosen law(s). But it was extremely rare for those who''d begun to comprehend the laws to still use impose in a genuine battle, which was why Haydson believed that his opponent hadn''t begun to comprehend the laws as yet, but that meant that there was only one possible explanation, but that explanation was even harder to believe. "Just how powerful is your soul?!" Haydson asked as the weapons of the two men clashed once again. The concept of ''impose'' was to use your soul to become one with nature, which in turn meant that the more powerful your soul, the more powerful your use of ''impose'', but as far as Haydson was concerned, forget mortals, the only ones with a soul powerful enough to see this much of an improvement when using impose were deities. The moment Haydson voiced his question, Aiden gave him the answer to his question. His spiritual essence surged forth like a boundless tide bombarding the soul of the Monolithic Sword Saint. Aiden''s soul had yet to reach the levels of a deity, but it was definitely more powerful than any saint. Still, as someone at the peak of the saint level, Haydson''s soul was far from weak. As such, he was able to shrug off the soul attack just in time to dodge the glaive arcing towards his neck. Unfortunately for him, though Haydson''s consciousness only blurred for a split second, a split second at their level may as well have been ten for an ordinairy person. "What have you done?!" Haydson growled after looking down, only to find that Kenyon had been decapitated. "Did you really think I''d allow someone threatening the safety of my disciple to go free?" Aiden asked leisurely as he went back to sipping on his wine. "What is it?" Aiden asked when he saw Haydson floating in mid-air, glaring at him. "Did you wish to continue?" "I hope you can bear the consequences of your actions here today," Haydson snorted as he took one final look at all the members of the pavilion as if to etch each of their faces into his memory before dropping Kenyon''s body so it landed in the middle of the mountain top and flying to Wharton and Lina. "C''mon, we''re going!" Ace emotionlessly watched them fly away as his master landed beside him. "Are you sure it was okay to let him go?" "Haydson isn''t stupid," Aiden explained. "He knows O''Brien and his other disciples would have his head if he was to go back and tell them the truth. The fact that he left Kenyon''s body here instead of taking it back with him says it all. It means he wants as little to do with all of this as possible." Book 4: Chapter 12 – Certain Circumstances For the whole flight home, neither Lina nor Wharton made so much as a sound. They could both sense that Haydson wasn¡¯t in a good mood, and neither wanted to be the one to make it worse. Plus, Wharton¡¯s mind was still reeling from everything that had happened at Yin-Yang Mountain. He¡¯d gone there so full of confidence, and he had a right to be. He was a fully-fledged Dragonblood Warrior, he had a powerful saint for a master who had spared no expense training him to the point where he had even comprehended one with the sword at the age of 12, which was beyond impressive by normal standards. The number of students that could fight him in the War God¡¯s Academy or even the Ernst Institute could be counted on one hand. All things considered, this should¡¯ve been a relatively straightforward trip where he finally got to recover his pride, and yet the target of his challenge refused to fight him as he didn¡¯t put him in his eyes, the person he fought, a youth who five years ago would¡¯ve been lucky to last two strikes against him, was able to all but trounce him. Whilst he acknowledged he likely could¡¯ve done better if he hadn¡¯t underestimated him at the beginning and knew what his opponent was capable of, it didn¡¯t matter. If he was being honest, he knew he still would¡¯ve lost one way or another. As though that wasn¡¯t embarrassing enough, the person he went there to challenge in the first place challenged and defeated a peak rank seven warrior, someone he knew he wasn¡¯t a match for, and not only did he show that he now had an affinity to one of the laws of nature allowing him to become a mage, his comprehension into said element had actually reached the profound level. And to top it off, Wharton watched his master, the man publicly referred to as the strongest saint, get defeated by Ace¡¯s master, who, according to Haydson, was still a mortal. Ace had essentially shown him that he was better than him in every possible way. It took a few hours, but eventually, the trio returned to their accommodation in the O¡¯Brien Empire. Considering his status in the empire, one would expect Haydson to live in extremely lavish housing, but that couldn¡¯t have been any further from the truth. It was just two simple wooden cottages in the middle of a beautiful prairie. ¡°Both of you are to forget most of what you saw during the trip,¡± Haydson commanded indifferently as he scanned the mother and son duo pausing on Lina. ¡°If anyone asks, we went to the Yin-Yang Pavilion so Wharton could challenge Ace, only to be defeated by another of the students.¡± Wharton¡¯s body trembled when he heard his master¡¯s words, and his mother¡¯s eyes narrowed. Haydson knew that neither would be happy about that, but that wasn¡¯t his concern. ¡°As for Ace defeating Brutus, that never happened. And if anyone asks about Kenyon, you¡¯re to send them my way.¡± Haydson continued, his face becoming unnaturally solemn. ¡°Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes, Master (milord).¡± The two Baruchs agreed, not daring to oppose a saint. ¡°Good,¡± Haydson nodded before turning to make his way towards the smaller of the two cabins. ¡°Wharton, follow me.¡± The inside of Haydson¡¯s cabin was just as simplistic as the outside. Other than a plain rug in the centre of the room, there wasn¡¯t a single piece of furniture or decoration to note, but that was exactly how he liked it. ¡°Are you disappointed?¡± Haydson said softly as he sat cross-legged in mid-air above his rug. ¡°You¡¯re an all-powerful Dragonblood Warrior who¡¯d trained relentlessly for over five years to defeat the person you set as your rival, only to find out said person never saw you as a rival in the first place.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Wharton didn¡¯t say anything, but it was clear from how tight he had clenched his fists that disappointment was an understatement. ¡°There are some people that it¡¯s best just not to compare yourself to, and that boy Ace is precisely one of those people,¡± Haydson sighed helplessly. ¡°Even if it were the original four supreme warriors themselves, they¡¯d likely be hard-pressed not to be overshadowed if they grew up in the same generation as him. But that¡¯s not to say you should give up all together. You might not be able to rank first in your generation, but there¡¯s no reason you shouldn¡¯t be aspiring to take second place. I¡¯ll be honest, as it stands, even with your bloodline, you¡¯re not that boy Killian¡¯s match, but as long as you don¡¯t go wallowing in your self-pity, you could still surpass him in the future, but it all depends on whether you¡¯re willing to put in the work or not.¡± Wharton knew his master was right, but after finding out the person he¡¯d been chasing after for all these years had completely left him behind, it was all but impossible for him to snap out of his funk just like that. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve said everything I needed to,¡± Haydson said calmly as he closed his eyes to enter meditation. ¡°You can leave now.¡± As disheartened as Wharton was, Haydson was no less so. He was a peak saint and much stronger than your average peak saint, yet he was defeated by a mortal. The only difference between him and his disciple was that he had the strength of character to turn this embarrassment into fuel for his motivation. . . . At the same time, back in the Yin-Yang Pavilion, Ace was standing at the edge of the mountain, looking out into the distance in the direction of the O¡¯Brien Empire. He¡¯d been stood in the same spot ever since Haydson escaped with Wharton and Lina. Things had suddenly become way more complicated than he ever could¡¯ve imagined, and as it stood, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Part of him wanted to get his master to use the concoction to heal his mother¡¯s soul to put her out of her misery, but selfishly, he also wanted her to keep her talent so that she could become a saint in the future and live a life of immortality with him, but the thing he wanted most was to take O¡¯Brien¡¯s head and make him suffer for all the pain he¡¯d caused the only mother he had ever truly known. The only ones still there were Killian and Leonel. Both wanted to be there for him. Unfortunately, they both understood that there was nothing they could say or do to help fix things at that moment. ¡°What¡¯s with all the doom and gloom?¡± Wukong asked casually as he suddenly appeared beside Ace taking a seat at the edge of the mountain, allowing his feet to swing off the side. Ace had a lot of people in his life whom he cared about, but his relationship with Wukong was special. Whether it was Luffy, Sabo, Killian or even Leonel, Ace had always taken on the position of the older brother, which meant that although he knew he could rely on each and every one of them to watch his back, ultimately, he felt it was his responsibility to look after them, but Wukong was different. Ever since they met, it was always Wukong looking out for him. Be it recruiting him during their selection, teaching him the correct way to wield the glaive or risking his life to fight two saints instead of escaping just so that they wouldn¡¯t target him, Wukong was always the one looking out for him. There has been a multitude of different adults over the span of both his lives that have also looked out for him, but the difference was in the tone of their relationship. Whether it was Garp, Whitebeard or Aiden, Ace was extremely close to them all, but they all acted like seniors looking after a child, but Wukong felt more like a peer than a senior in that sense. It was only through Wukong that he realised how it felt to have an older brother, and although he wouldn¡¯t change his relationship with any of the people he called a little brother, it still felt nice to have someone like that, someone whom he could rely on. So when Wukong appeared beside him, Ace was completely honest with his response. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m supposed to do.¡± Between his maturity, ridiculous talent, and overwhelming confidence, it was easy to forget that Ace was just a thirteen-year-old boy. Honestly, as bad as it sounded, it was a bit reassuring for Wukong to finally see such a vulnerable side to him. Still, he knew now wasn¡¯t the time to be focusing on such things. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know what to do?¡± Wukong asked back. ¡°Didn¡¯t your master tell you that you just need to defeat O¡¯Brien?¡± ¡°You know better than I do that it¡¯s not that simple,¡± Ace retorted. ¡°Plus, who knows how strong he¡¯ll be by the time I get to his current level.¡± ¡°Maybe not for others,¡± Wukong shrugged. ¡°But for you, it¡¯s precisely that simple, and this king will give you some good news. Due to certain circumstances, it¡¯s impossible for O¡¯Brien to improve past his current level.¡± ¡°Certain circumstances?¡± Ace asked. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about the specifics; it¡¯s too advanced for the current you,¡± Wukong waved dismissively. ¡°All you need to focus on is attaining the strength of a deity. As for what you¡¯re supposed to do now, that¡¯s simple. Go to the Rohault Empire.¡± Book 4: Chapter 13 – Trip To The Rohault Empire "The Rohault Empire?" Ace asked as his mind drifted to a certain caramel-skinned teenage girl. "To find Amira?" "If you want to go find your girlfriend, then that''s up to you," Wukong smirked knowingly. "But no, that wasn''t what this king meant." "Then what did you mean?" Ace asked, ignoring the teasing grin plastered on Wukong''s face. "I meant that by going to the Rohault Empire, you''d be able to train and vent at the same time," Kong replied. "With how close Fatty said you guys became over the last six months, I''m surprised Mira never mentioned anything about the current state of affairs of her homeland." "What are you talking about?" Ace asked with a slight frown. "The Rohault and O''Brien Empires are neighbours, and as such, they''ve always been at odds. The reason the Rohault Empire is known for its ferocious martial spirit is because they''re constantly at war against the O''Brien Empire," Wukong explained. "If these last six months have proved anything, it''s that you train best by experiencing real-life situations rather than training behind closed doors. So the best thing for you right now would be to support our allies, the Rohault Empire, in fighting against your enemies, the O''Brien Empire." As he said that, Wukong could literally feel the battle intent oozing out of Ace''s pores. "And you helping the Rohault''s with their border war would probably be the perfect gift to give Amira''s parents for them to accept you as their future son-in-law," Wukong teased. As tempted as he was, Ace sighed helplessly as he forcibly suppressed his desires. "I can''t go now; my mother needs me here." "Your mother needs you, yes, but it isn''t here," Wukong replied. "She needs you to hurry up and defeat that O''Brien bastard as soon as possible so she can fix her pure soul. Don''t worry about anything else, this king''s already cleared things with Aiden and Lauri. They both agree that this is the best course of action for you, but it''s probably best you don''t let your mother know where you''re going or what you''re planning to do. Instead, just tell her you plan to go hunting for a few months in the Forest of Darkness to clear your head. As for your mother''s safety, leave that to us. This king won''t let any harm come to sixth sister." "I''m going too!" Killian stated unhesitantly. "Roar (Me too)!" Leonel voiced not wanting to be left behind. "Do what you want," Wukong waved dismissively. Later that evening, Leonel returned to the space his father had turned into their pride''s new home to tell inform him of his decision that he''d be leaving for a few months whilst Ace and Killian made their way to Milianna and Lance''s cabin, where they found Lance tenderly caring for Milianna, who, whilst more stable than before, still seemed to be in a fragile state. "Mom¡­" Ace called out when he got close enough for them to see him. "Ace," Milianna responded softly. "I''m so sorry, it''s all my fau¡­" "It''s not your fault," Ace said, interrupting Milianna mid-sentence. "You did nothing wrong." "Don''t you blame me?" Milianna asked cautiously, her voice getting softer and softer with each word. "Blame you? Why would I blame you?" Ace asked incredulously. "For hiding the truth about your father for all these years and keeping you from him," Milianna said apprehensively. "If I hadn''t run away back then, you would''ve grown up as a member of royalty instead of a commoner in the middle of nowhere." "I could never blame you," Ace replied as he took his mother''s trembling hands in his own. "And I wouldn''t trade a single moment of my upbringing, especially if it meant being raised near a man who dared harm you." "Thank goodness," Milianna said in relief. "As long as we have each other, everything else will be okay." "Mom¡­" Ace said hesitantly, knowing how fragile she still was. "Kil, Leo, and I are going back out to train." "You''re leaving?" Milianna asked unwillingly. "But you only just got back." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "I know, but after everything that''s happened, I can''t afford not to take every possible opportunity I can to get stronger," Ace explained slowly. "We won''t truly be safe until I have the strength to protect us even in the face of ''him''." "Ace is right," Lance added from the side upon seeing Milianna''s face drop. "Until he''s strong enough to stand against that man using his own two feet, neither you nor Ace will be truly safe." Milianna knew Lance was right, but the thought of being apart for Ace for another extended period wasn''t something she could just accept so easily. "Plus, it might be a good idea for Ace to be away from the Pavilion until Arianna returns," Lance added. "Although Aiden said no one from the O''Brien Empire should be returning any time soon, on the off chance they do, if Ace isn''t here, the chances of them being able to figure out the truth about who he is will be greatly reduced." As soon as she heard that, Milianna''s heart wavered. Although she wanted Ace to stay with her, her biggest concern has always been and will forever be Ace''s safety. Still, it appeared she was willing to do anything to stay with her son. "So let''s all go together then," she suggested. "We''re not strong enough to go with them," Lance replied. "Whether it''s Ace, Leonel, or Killian, all of them are too much stronger than us. The kind of opponents they''d need to go up against to get any kind of benefit are beasts who could kill us with a thought. We''d only end up getting in their way if something happened." Milianna''s eyes dimmed, but she didn''t argue any more. She understood that everything Lance said was the truth. But, unfortunately, it didn''t make the impending separation any easier to bear. ''Thank you,'' Ace mouthed to the former Baruch family guard. He couldn''t help but be thankful that his mother had Lance standing by her side. Lance had proved himself time and time again, and now, even after finding out that the person he was pitting himself against this time was one of the four most powerful beings on the continent, he didn''t even bat an eyelid. The only thing he seemed to care about was Milianna''s well-being. Ace spent the next few hours accompanying his mother, and although the mood was anything but as cheerful as it had been that morning, Ace knew it was what his mother needed and quite frankly, so too did he. The trio had already decided they would leave that night after parting with Lance and Milianna, not wanting to waste a single moment, but whilst at his mother''s cabin, an idea popped into his head. "Before we go, I just need to run something by Lauriella," Ace said after leading Killian to meet back up with Leo. "Give me five minutes; I won''t be long." Killian and Leo glanced at each other, but it appeared neither had any idea of what Ace was planning, but before they could say anything, Ace had already disappeared into the distance. Spreading his [Observation], Ace found Lauriella floating cross-legged at the peak of the Yin-Yang Mountain, meditating under the moonlight, beautiful violet flames flickering around her body, giving her an otherworldly aura. Although she couldn''t sense his [Observation] passing over her, she could still feel his presence as he neared. "Ace? Is something wrong?" Lauriella asked as Ace used his [Geppo] Technique to reach the mountain top in a hurry. "I thought you would''ve left already." "We were just about to leave, but I had a request," Ace said as he flicked his wrist, summoning a giant skeleton and a beautiful head-sized Azure crystal. "Is that the skeleton and magicite core of the Divine Azure Dragon?" Lauriella asked with a raised brow. As a saint, the corpse of a mere beast at the fifth rank wasn''t enough to startle her, even if it was a top-tier Divine Beast, but she would be lying if she wasn''t a bit impressed. Just looking at its magicite core, she could feel that it should''ve been no weaker than the average eighth-rank magical beast. Still, she didn''t understand why Ace was taking it out now. Unless¡­ "Did you want me to use the materials to upgrade your current weapon?" Lauriella asked. "Not mine," Ace replied. "I was hoping you''d be able to use these as the core materials to forge into a new spear for Lance." Ace knew that as willing as Lance was to be there for Milianna in any way he could, he also hated how weak and untalented he was in comparison to everyone around him. Since leaving Wushan Town six years ago, the progress he had made could be considered incredible for the average warrior, having reached the early stages of the sixth rank, comprehended ''One with the Spear'', cultivated his Water elemental battle qi, and even learnt how to use [Soru]. If he were to go back to Wushan Town now, other than Hogg, no one else, including Hillman ¨C the head guard of the Baruch clan ¨C would be his match. Still, with his horizons having been expanded, so too had his desires for himself. Forget Ace and the other students in the Pavilion, even his partner, Milianna, was likely to surpass him in the next decade or so if she carries on improving at the rate she had previously, and she had only started cultivating in the last five or so years. As good a man as he was, it was impossible for Lance to be completely unaffected. Previously there had been nothing Ace could do, but now¡­ "Also, I have a total of six more warrior-based techniques that I''d like to sell to the Pavilion. They''re part of the same collection as [Soru], and it includes the technique that allows me to use the air as a foothold, though that technique can only be used by those at the fifth rank or higher," Ace explained. Lauriella had already seen Ace use [Geppo] several times since he had returned, so whilst she was surprised there were so many techniques, she didn''t doubt their authenticity. Still, it was Ace''s following statement that really caught her by surprise. "I''d then like to spend all my contribution points on buying anything you think would help improve Lance''s strength," Ace said unhesitantly. It might seem like a foolish decision to others, but to Ace, there was nothing more important than family. After everything they''d gone through together, although it wasn''t so much of a father-son relationship, Ace definitely saw Lance as a member of his family. The other thing one needed to bear in mind was that at his current level, contribution points didn''t actually do much for him. Ace''s primary focus when improving his strength right now was gaining insights into the laws of fire, and unfortunately, the Pavilion didn''t have anything for sale that could help him. "If you insist," Lauriella sighed. Book 4: Chapter 14 – You’re Really Here It took the trio a little over two weeks to travel by foot to the Rohault Empire. Although they could¡¯ve easily taken one of the flying beasts of the Pavilion or even Carter ¨C Leo¡¯s dad ¨C they decided to cut through the outer regions of the forest darkness, using their journey to continue their training. The other good thing about travelling by foot was that it did wonders for clearing his head. Although his anger over what happened hadn¡¯t disappeared, his emotions were no longer as chaotic as they had been previously. When they finally arrived, both Ace and Killian couldn¡¯t help but feel taken aback by what they saw. Actually, it wasn¡¯t so much the what as much as the who. The city itself was just as lavish as one would expect from the capital of one of the six major powers of the continent, but unlike in Fenlai city, where its residents were filled with wealthy nobles dressed in lavish robes who seemed to have their noses in the clouds, the residents here in the Rohault Empire were all dressed in armour as if they were ready for battle at any moment and both boys and even Leo could clearly sense the overbearing martial spirit of everyone they passed. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference in quality as far as the average level of the experts in the city, but everyone they passed seemed to embody the spirit of a true warrior who had seen bloodshed. ¡°Where should we go first?¡± Killian asked after they paid the entrance fee to enter the city. ¡°Let¡¯s go and find Amira first,¡± Ace said. ¡°She¡¯d kill us if we weren¡¯t her first stop after coming to her hometown.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just admit you want to see her,¡± Killian sighed helplessly. ¡°Anyway, how do you intend to find her in this massive maze of a city?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Ace grinned, ignoring Killian¡¯s first sentence. ¡°Since she¡¯s the princess of the Empire, she¡¯ll more than likely be in the biggest castle.¡± Following Ace¡¯s line of sight, Killian saw an enormous stone castle towards the centre of the city, towering over all the other buildings. Ace could only sigh in amazement as they approached the front gates of the castle. The warriors standing guard outside were all at the sixth rank, with the man who appeared to be the guard commander in the seventh. With strength like that, any of them would¡¯ve been strong enough to be a general back in Silverlight City, but here they were mere guards. The difference between the two was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. ¡°Halt!¡± The guard captain said as the trio approached. ¡°State your business.¡± Normally he would¡¯ve shoed any uninvited visitors away, but although there was nothing special about they were dressed, Kyris, the Rohault guard captain, could sense that despite their obvious young age, not only were both boys in the fifth rank, neither seemed to be the inexperienced type. Just like how Ace, Killian, and Leo could sense the experience of the citizens of the Rohault Empire, Kyris could sense the wealth of experience of the two boys, and that wasn¡¯t even including the threatening presence of the lion-type magical beast they were travelling with. ¡°My name¡¯s Ace, and this is Killian and Leo. We¡¯re classmates of Amira Rohault,¡± Ace stated calmly, taking no offence to the almost hostile reactions of the guards who were staring at them with their hands hovering over their weapons. ¡°Please could you let her know we¡¯ve come to visit.¡± ¡°Classmates?¡± Kyris wondered aloud. Although he knew the princess had joined a school a few years back, he didn¡¯t know much about it other than it was supposedly a new institution for elites. Still, if they were classmates of the princess, it made sense for them to be so powerful at such a young age. ¡°Joru,¡± Kyris called out to one of his subordinates. ¡°Head inside and inform his majesty that a couple of Princess Amira¡¯s classmates have arrived. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Young master, please bear with me. It shouldn¡¯t take long now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ace smiled amiably, understanding the guard was just doing his job. Even though he agreed to wait outside, he had already spread his [Observation] over the castle to locate their fellow classmate, and it only took a split second for him to find her. ¡®Looks like she¡¯s improved even more since I last saw her,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as a gentle smile suffused his lips. At the rear of the castle, a light-skinned teenage girl could be seen practising her twin swordsmanship by a large but incredibly clear natural reservoir. Both swords seemed to move with the grace of the wind, but whilst one focused on blistering speed, the other was focused on overwhelming force. Last time Ace had seen Amira, although she was able to use both states of ¡®wielding¡¯, she could only use one at a time. Even though she still hadn¡¯t comprehended the fused state of ¡®wielding¡¯, the way she was able to both states, one for each sword, was a remarkable achievement in and of itself. Suddenly though, Amira came to a halt, mid-swing, having sensed something. ¡°Is that¡­ No, that should be impossible,¡± Amira mumbled to herself as she subconsciously turned towards the front of the castle. ¡°Do I really miss him that much?¡± Aiden already said that unless one had the spiritual essence of a Prime Saint, it should be impossible to sense Ace¡¯s [Observation], but there were two exceptions to that rule. The first was Leonel due to their bond, and the second was Amira, for reasons unknown to all of them. Still, even though she knew she was capable of sensing Ace¡¯s [Observation], she also knew that Ace should still be at the Pavilion. At first, she thought she was just imagining things. After all, she had thought about him a lot since her return, but the feeling refused to go away no matter how long she waited. ¡°You¡¯re really here, aren¡¯t you?¡± Amira said aloud as she suddenly took off in his direction. Back at the front gate, Joru had just returned from inside the palace, following behind three apparent VIPs. In the centre was a large valiant bald, dark-skinned man with round dark brown eyes and sharp eyebrows dressed in black and silver armour who, impressively enough, was at the very peak of the ninth rank as both a warrior and a mage. To his left was a dark-skinned youth in his late teens. The young man¡¯s name was Chukaya, and he was the Rohault Empire¡¯s current strongest youth, being a seventh-rank warrior and a fifth-rank mage. He had a relatively slim but still very athletic build and a long sword strapped to his back. And on the opposite side was a youth not much older than Killian that looked like a carbon copy of the man in the centre, minus the distinct lack of hair and much younger. His name was Ebeze. ¡°Duke Kaymin, these are the Princess¡¯s classmates, young master¡¯s Ace, and Killian,¡± Kyris announced respectfully when he saw who had come out to greet their guests. ¡°Mmh,¡± The duke nodded as his eyes scanned over the trio, a slight glint of appreciation flashing through his eyes as he silently evaluated each of them before stopping on Ace. ¡°You must be Elder Aiden¡¯s disciple. My name¡¯s Duke Kay-¡± Before he could finish introducing himself, he was interrupted by the shout of the boy Ace guessed must be his son. ¡°YOU¡¯RE ACE?¡± Ebeze bellowed as he jumped past his father, charging straight at Ace as he drew the glaive from his back. ¡°HAHAHA, LET¡¯S FIGHT!¡± Killian stepped forward, about to draw for his battle axe when he felt Ace¡¯s hand on his shoulder stopping him. Normally Ace wouldn¡¯t bother with challenges from those from his generation, but when he saw the pure-hearted battle intent radiating from the boy¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t find it in him to ignore him. A smile of acknowledgement appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he summoned his glaive from his storage ring. ¡®So he¡¯s comprehended ¡®Wielding Heavy as though it were light¡¯. Not bad¡­¡¯ In the Pavilion, only half of them had comprehended at least one state of Wielding, so although Ebeze wasn¡¯t a mage and likely focused all his attention on his warrior training, it was still impressive for someone so young to have come so far. Still, ¡°not bad¡± isn¡¯t good enough when going up against someone like Ace. Just because he admired his attacker¡¯s battle intent, it didn¡¯t mean Ace would go easy on him. In fact, it was because he admired it that he refused to hold back. Anything less than his best would be disrespectful. Ace''s glaive sprang to life as soon as his opponent entered his range. The jaws of Duke Kaymin and Chukaya dropped when they saw Ebeze, who, alongside Chukaya and Amira, were the three most talented youths of this generation in the Rohault Empire, frozen in mid-air. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Impose!¡± The duke said, finishing Chukaya¡¯s sentence, still in just as much shock as the teen to his left. As this wasn¡¯t a real battle, Ace wasn¡¯t out for blood. As such, he only used the butt of his glaive to strike Ebeze. Still, it was enough to knock the wind out of him as he was sent flying back, crashing into the ground in front of his father. Ebeze was known for challenging everyone at his rank or higher, so all the guards present were well aware of his strength. Other than the guard captain, none of them were young master Ebeze¡¯s match. So when they saw their young master devastated so simply, it was hard for any of them to believe what they were witnessing. ¡°Ugh, dammit. That really hurt!¡± Ebeze groaned as he shakily got to his feet. ¡°No wonder Elder Aiden chose you to be his disciple; you¡¯re a freak!¡± Ace didn¡¯t even seem to register Ebeze¡¯s words. At that moment, all of his attention was focused on the enchanting girl that had appeared not far behind him. ¡°I really wasn¡¯t imagining things,¡± Amira smiled delightedly. ¡°You¡¯re really here!¡± Book 4: Chapter 15 – O’Brien Battlefield ¡°I¡¯m really here,¡± Ace nodded. Of the three top talents of the Rohault Empire, Amira was the youngest, but she was also, without a doubt, the most talented. It was the combination of her looks and her talent that made her so desirable to virtually every teenage boy residing in the empire, but she had never shown the slightest interest in any of them. So seeing her smiling so sweetly at another boy¡­ The shock it caused was no less than the shock of Ebeze being defeated in one strike. Whilst everyone else was in shock, there was one person who didn¡¯t seem too pleased by this sudden development. Chukaya¡¯s brows furrowed as he looked at the way Ace and Amira looked into each other¡¯s eyes as though no one else existed. As the strongest of the Empire¡¯s current generation and the personal disciple of one of their Empire¡¯s most powerful saints, only he was qualified to marry Amira in the future. Still, although he was displeased, he quickly buried his negative emotions. ¡°Princess, you didn¡¯t have to come out in person. We would¡¯ve brought your little friends here to see you.¡± The words little seemed to rub Killian and Leonel up the wrong way as they both turned to glare at Chukaya, almost as if they were daring him to say it again. Ace, though, wasn¡¯t phased by Chukaya¡¯s blatant attempts to belittle him. He was far too focused on taking in all of Amira¡¯s beauty. They¡¯d only been apart for a few weeks, and with everything else that¡¯d been going on, to say that Ace had been distracted would¡¯ve been an understatement. Still, it was only when their eyes met that Ace realised just how much he¡¯d missed her presence. How could the ramblings of an insignificant teen still matter to him? As unphased as Ace was, Amira was a different story. Amira¡¯s warm golden iris turned frighteningly cold as she turned her indifferent gaze to the young Chukaya. ¡°Since when do I need you to do anything for me? I¡¯ll take my ¡®little¡¯ friends inside on my own; you can disappear now.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like th¡­¡± Chukaya could only stop mid-sentence when he noticed how he had been wholly disregarded as Amira took Ace and the others inside. ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s got to hurt,¡± Ebeze said with a chuckle as he looked at the humiliated face of Chukaya. Chukaya glared at the glaive-wielding youth, but Ebeze glared straight back, not intimidated in the slightest. Chukaya may have been the strongest of the two, but as far as Ebeze was concerned, that was only because he was older. In time he¡¯d go on to surpass him and wipe that arrogant smile he usually wore off his face. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave then,¡± Chukaya snorted, addressing the Duke. He was humiliated enough as it was; he didn¡¯t need Ebeze bringing any more focus to the situation. ¡°Mmh,¡± Kaymin nodded indifferently before looking helplessly at his son, who seemed to get off on provoking Chukaya whenever possible. ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± ¡°Who told him to go around acting as if he¡¯s better than everyone just because he has a saint for a master,¡± Ebeze snorted. Truth be told, even he found Chukaya¡¯s attitude a little too overbearing at times, but with his talent, he had the right to be proud. If he was being honest, he knew that as far as pure talent was concerned, even his son was inferior. That wasn¡¯t to say that his son wasn¡¯t talented. In fact, Ebeze would be considered a top-tier elite in just about every warrior institution on the continent, but Chukaya¡¯s warrior talent was no worse than his sons; the difference was that Chukaya had a high affinity for the element of lightning, making his talent as a mage was just as impressive. Still, he also knew that talent wasn¡¯t the be-all and end-all. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. What Ebeze lacked in talent, he more than made up for with hard work. When he found out that his highest affinity was only an average-level affinity to the laws of fire, he unhesitatingly gave up on the path of a mage, choosing to focus all his attention on the path of the warrior, just like his idol, the strongest mortal ¨C Aiden Rohault. Still, as proud of his son as he was, he also understood that, ultimately, his son wasn¡¯t Aiden. That man¡¯s talent as a warrior was simply unmatched, or at least it was. ¡°What do you think of that Ace boy?¡± Kaymin asked his son. ¡°Beyond comparison,¡± Ebeze admitted directly. Their fight may have lasted only a second, but that was enough for the Duke¡¯s son to understand that Ace was without a peer in this generation. He knew that as it stood, both Chukaya and Amira were both stronger than him, but there was no way that either would be able to defeat him in one move, and yet that was precisely what Ace did, but the scariest part about it was that Ebeze got the feeling that Ace was still holding back. He may not have fought all the strongest youths of this generation, but he didn¡¯t believe that there were any on the level of Ace. ¡°I see,¡± Kaymin replied with a hint of a smile as he turned to head back inside. As the father and son duo made their way back inside the palace, Amira led Ace, Killian, and Leonel to the royal garden, which she had effectively turned into her own personal training quarters. ¡°Why are you smirking like that?¡± Amira asked when she noticed Ace was wearing the same smile on his face since she led them inside. ¡°I just haven¡¯t seen you act like that before,¡± Ace teased. ¡°It was almost as if you were being protective.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s being protective?¡± Amira snorted. ¡°I wonder,¡± Ace chuckled. ¡°Whatever,¡± Amira rolled her eyes, too lazy to indulge Ace¡¯s teasing. ¡°What are you guys doing here anyway?¡± ¡°Why does that sound like we¡¯re not welcome,¡± Ace replied, feigning being hurt. ¡°You¡¯re not!¡± Amira snorted. ¡°I only allowed you inside since you¡¯re with Kil and Leo.¡± ¡°Wukong told us to come here to use your Empire¡¯s battlefield against the O¡¯Brien Empire to train,¡± Killian stated directly, not wanting to watch the two of them continue to flirt like they were. When she heard that, Amira¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement. Because of her age and status, she had never been allowed on the battlefield previously, but now, with Ace and Killian being sent by the Pavilion, she might just be able to gain permission. ¡°Come with me,¡± Amira said as she suddenly changed direction. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to my father so we can get permission.¡± ¡°Your father?¡± Ace asked with his brows raised. ¡°You mean the Emperor?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Amira said with a teasing smile. ¡°You scared?¡± ¡°Why would I be scared?¡± Ace rolled his eyes. Even though he said that he knew he was just putting on an act. When Amira mentioned meeting her father, his heart started to race slightly. But he knew it had nothing to do with him being an emperor and everything to do with him being her father. He could be a cobbler and still feel just as nervous. ¡°Father,¡± Amira called out as she knocked on the doors to the throne room. ¡°Come in,¡± A gentle but deep voice called back. Inside the throne room, Duke Kaymin and his son were standing respectfully at the bottom of the stairs leading up to a pair of extravagant thrones, one of which was empty, but the other was being sat on by a handsome middle-aged man whom Ace noted looked remarkably like Aiden. ¡°Little Mira, you arrived right on time,¡± Amira¡¯s father said softly as he looked at his daughter with a gentle, doting smile. ¡°Duke Kaymin was just briefing me on the arrival of your friends from the Pavilion.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Jordon Rohault. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet each of you,¡± Emperor Jordon said amiably before focusing on Ace. ¡°How is my little brother getting on these days?¡± ¡°Huh, oh. The old man¡¯s alright,¡± Ace answered absentmindedly as he stared at the Emperor. It was hard to believe that two men could look so similar physically but project such differing auras. Aiden¡¯s was unfettered and lazy, but Jordon¡¯s was gentle, stable, and faintly nurturing. He was so distracted that he didn¡¯t even realise the odd looks he was receiving from Ebeze and his father. As citizens of the Rohault Empire, like everyone else, they venerated Aiden. The stories of his deeds and monstrous strength made him a legend, so hearing him being called an old man so casually wasn¡¯t something either of them was used to, and for a boy to say it in front of Aiden¡¯s brother ¨C the current Emperor¡­ Both father and son subconsciously held their breaths as they awaited their Emperor¡¯s reaction, but instead of feeling offended, Jordon laughed as he studied the child his brother chose to take as his first and last disciple. ¡°You remind me a lot of that brother of mine, minus the smell of booze, of course,¡± Jordon stated. ¡°So what brings you to my Empire anyway?¡± ¡°Dad, they were sent by the instructors at the Pavilion to join the O¡¯Brien battlefield to continue their training,¡± Amira explained. ¡°And I want to join them.¡± Book 4: Chapter 16 – What Happened Jordon didn¡¯t respond immediately. He simply studied his daughter¡¯s expression. As Aiden¡¯s younger brother, he understood full well how insane all the instructors at the pavilion were, so them sending two of their students into a warzone didn¡¯t actually come as much of a surprise, and to some extent, he actually agreed with their idea. Due to the fact that they shared a border with one of the most overbearing factions on the continent, their ¡®skirmishes¡¯ with the O¡¯Brien Empire were particularly cruel and bloodthirsty. For many, the battlefield was a death sentence, but for geniuses on the level of the students of the Pavilion, it was the perfect place to hone their skills. Unfortunately, whilst that was the case for the other students, that same logic couldn¡¯t be applied to Amira. Amira was currently the only princess of the Rohault Empire, and whilst the specifics had always been kept under wraps, it was still fairly well known that her talent was incredible. When added together, those two facts made her a prime target for assassinations and/or kidnapping. It was the reason why, when she was home, wherever she went, she was always escorted by a saint. ¡°Dad,¡± Amira called out, having guessed what was going through her father¡¯s head. ¡°The battlefield is only for mortals, so between Ace, Kil, Leo and I, we should be able to protect ourselves from any threat that comes our way.¡± Although he didn¡¯t understand the specifics of his strength, Jordon had already learnt from his nephew, Brandell ¨C who went to pick up his daughter from the pavilion a few weeks prior ¨C that Ace had somehow managed to break the curse preventing him from becoming a mage. When he asked Amira, although she seemed cagey with the details, she still admitted that Ace was by far the strongest and most talented student in the Pavilion, something that greatly shocked both he and his wife. They could see that their daughter seemed to have developed feelings for the boy, but they were well aware of how proud Amira was when it came to her cultivation. Regardless of her feelings, she would never admit to being inferior to anyone unless it was absolutely true. In terms of talent, Amira was no inferior to Aiden, who was publicly recognised as the most outstanding talent in the Rohault Empire¡¯s history. So Jordon¡¯s shock hearing about Ace¡¯s talent could be understood. But after hearing about Ace¡¯s battle against the young Ebeze from Duke Kaymin, he understood just how correct his daughter had been. For a 14-year-old warrior at the fifth rank to have comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯ was nothing short of inconceivable. Still, as talented as he was, he was still just a child himself. Jordon couldn¡¯t bring himself to entrust his only daughter¡¯s safety to another child, especially when it was this very daughter whom he planned on entrusting with the future of his Empire in the future. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried about my safety,¡± Amira continued upon seeing her father¡¯s hesitation. ¡°But if I¡¯m to live up to my full potential, then I can¡¯t shy away from danger. It was by facing those dangers head-on that allowed you and Uncle Aiden to reach your current strength and bring the Rohault Empire to its current state.¡± Emperor Jordan was left speechless in the face of his daughter¡¯s argument; after all, everything she said was right. A couple of thousands of years ago, back when he and Aiden were growing up, the Rohault territory wasn¡¯t the empire it was today. In fact, it was just a small town that their parents ruled over. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It was only through the hard work of the Rohault Brothers that they were able to expand and conquer, transforming their territory from a small town into a duchy to a kingdom and finally into the Empire it is today. In that time, the Rohault brothers faced more than their fair share of life and death experiences and like Amira said, each of those experiences was what tempered the brothers allowing them to reach their current heights. Still, as true as all of that was, Jordon was willing to go through everything he had so that his future children wouldn¡¯t have to. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to your mother about it and give you an answer by morning,¡± Emperor Jordon said with a sigh. ¡°For now, just take our guests and show them to their quarters.¡± ¡®Now I just need to find a way to convince that wife of mine,¡¯ Jordon thought to himself as he watched everyone leave the throne room. . . . ¡°Absolutely not!¡± An exceedingly beautiful woman who looked a lot like a darker-skinned and more mature version of Amira, with an extremely round belly, shouted from her large and extremely comfortable bed at Jordon, the reigning ruler of the Rohault Empire. ¡°There is no way I¡¯m allowing my little girl to risk her life on the front lines like that.¡± She was Sharanthia, Jordon¡¯s wife and the current Empress of Rohault. ¡°Thia, At the end of the day, this is your decision to make, and I¡¯ll support you whatever you decide,¡± Jordon said softly as he took his wife¡¯s hands in his own. ¡°But you know better than anyone that if she¡¯s going to make the most of all her potential, she needs to learn how to deal with the adversities life¡¯s going to throw at her without you or anyone else being there to hold the sky up for her. After all, with her potential, there will undoubtedly come a time when she surpasses both of us, and at that point, neither you nor I will be able to protect her.¡± Hearing that, a vacant expression on the face of the Rohault Empress. For the first time in a long time, she was at a loss for how to proceed. Many would be shocked if they were there to watch the interaction between the married couple. It was public knowledge that it was Jordon and Aiden who essentially built the empire from the ground up, whilst he only married Sharanthia around 12 or so years ago, and yet, it almost seemed as though Sharanthia was the one in control. ¡°Bring that Ace boy here, and make sure he comes alone,¡± Sharanthia snorted with a disdainful light flashing across her light brown eyes. ¡°I want to see what all the fuss is about.¡± Jordon didn¡¯t say anything as he took his leave, but a knowing smile suffused his lips as he understood that this was his wife¡¯s way of saying she was willing to consider it. . . . On the other side of the palace, Ace and the others were all sitting catching up in Amira¡¯s training garden when Ace suddenly turned to face the figure of Amira¡¯s father floating towards them in the skies above them. ¡®Ooh, he can sense my presence?¡¯ Jordon discovered as he looked down at the dark-haired youth in surprise. ¡®Just how strong is his soul exactly?¡¯ Even though he wasn¡¯t exactly hiding his presence, only those with souls at or around the saint rank should be able to sense his presence from that kind of difference. But when he remembered that it was his brother who was his master, all he could do was sigh helplessly. ¡°Dad, your back?¡± Amira asked, a glimmer of hope and anticipation flickering in her eyes. ¡°Did you speak to mom?¡± ¡°I did. She said she wants to speak to Ace,¡± Jordon explained. ¡°Alone,¡± The emperor added when he saw his daughter standing up as if she was about to follow along. ¡°Why alone?¡± Amira asked back anxiously. ¡°What are you so scared of?¡± Jordon asked teasingly. ¡°I promise your mother¡¯s not going to devour your ¡®friend¡¯.¡± Hearing the way her father said the word ¡°friend¡±, a furious blush appeared on Amira¡¯s cheeks, but before she could respond, Ace¡¯s voice rang in all of their ears. ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± ¡°Ace¡­¡± ¡°No need to worry,¡± Ace smiled reassuringly at Amira to put her mind at ease. ¡°I¡¯m sure everything will be fine.¡± Even though he said that Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of nerves threaten to overwhelm him. It was clear from the way Amira was acting that as important as her father was, it was her mother¡¯s opinion that truly mattered to her. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Ace asked, turning his attention back to the emperor. ¡°This way,¡± Jordon smiled softly as the earth beneath Ace¡¯s feet began to tremble slightly. Before Killian and Leo could understand what was happening, Ace was floating on a small mound of earth, following behind Emperor Jordon. ¡°You really don¡¯t need to be worried,¡± Jordon chuckled when he saw Ace¡¯s nervous expression. ¡°I promise no harm will come to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Ace replied. ¡°It¡¯s just there¡¯s been something that¡¯s been bothering me these last few weeks since Amira¡¯s uncle came to pick her up.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Jordon asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s about the old man,¡± Ace admitted. ¡°He mentioned that, unlike me, his inability to sense the laws of nature wasn¡¯t a condition he was born with. I was wondering what happened¡­¡± Book 4: Chapter 17 – Aiden’s Past Hearing the question of his brother¡¯s disciple, Jordon and the mound of earth-carrying Ace came to a sudden halt. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised he never told you anything,¡± Jordon sighed. ¡°He hasn¡¯t spoken about it much at all since it happened, even with me.¡± A myriad of emotions flickered through Jordon¡¯s eyes, but using his [Observation], the ones that appeared to be the strongest were rage, unwillingness, and regret. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you know about my Rohault Empire, but when Aiden and I were still children, the Rohault territory started and stopped with a small village located here in the capital. Our parents were the village leaders at the time and were beloved by all of their citizens. Our childhood was great, we were showered with love by our parents and everyone else in the village, and that love only improved when Aiden began to show his incredible talents as a warrior. He quickly became unrivalled within our generation inside the village and even challenged and defeated the kids of other neighbouring villages. When our parents paid to have his talents as a mage tested, they were once again over the moon when he was shown to have an exceptional affinity to the laws of the wind and spiritual essence 90x stronger than average. Though they didn¡¯t exactly have the money, they still invested in hiring a wind elemental mage of the eighth rank to personally train him in the ways of a mage, and as you can imagine, with his talent Aiden shot through the ranks showing remarkable progress. Unfortunately, those good times couldn¡¯t last forever. When Aiden was only a little older than you, he had reached the peak of the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage, a feat which was virtually unheard of, especially for a country bumpkin. His tutor, proud to be the instructor of such a talent, started showing off the feats of his student to all his peers, many of whom didn¡¯t believe him. As a result, Aiden started receiving challenge after challenge from the students of his instructor¡¯s peers. Aiden remained undefeated, and word of his talent and strength really started to spread at that point, and eventually, it reached the youths of the O¡¯Brien Empire. Still, Aiden was too strong for anyone of our generation to beat him. Eventually, he was challenged by the crowned prince at the time. Byrius O¡¯Brien was nicknamed the little War God because of his overwhelming talent. It was said that he had inherited his talent directly from his ancestor ¨C the War God ¨C and to be fair, the rumours of his talent weren¡¯t exaggerated. At 16, he had reached the seventh rank as a warrior. Unfortunately for him, my brother was even more monstrous. Though only 15, he had just broken through to the sixth rank as a mage and a warrior and had comprehended the fused states of wielding. The fight was close, incredibly close in fact, but with the support of his magic, Aiden was just able to top his opponent. But as you can probably imagine, a noble like Byrius O¡¯Brien losing to a country bumpkin like my brother was unacceptable. From the looks the prince¡¯s entourage gave us before leaving, my family understood that things wouldn¡¯t end so simply, so they paid a hefty sum to have my brother and I protected by elite guards, two of whom were ninth-rank mercenaries. Unfortunately, I was only ten, so I didn¡¯t really understand what was going on; all I knew was that I was no longer to go out to play anymore and had to spend my days locked at home. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. When it became too much for the me of back then, I begged Aiden to sneak me out so we could play. Aiden had always doted on me, so when I asked, he naturally agreed.¡± As he said to there, the feelings of guilt and regret Jordon radiated only became stronger. ¡°Whilst playing in the empty fields near the back of our residence, we were approached by Aiden¡¯s tutor, a man for whom Aiden had the utmost trust and respect. When he first approached, nothing seemed to be wrong, but as soon as Aiden dropped his guard, the man took action, trying to assassinate him, but Aiden was able to react quickly enough to barely keep his life. He was severely injured, up against a mage of the eighth rank, and had to protect me, but still, Aiden has always been one to thrive under pressure. It was a bitter battle, but Aiden still managed to win in the end; but as I said, his tutor was a man he had the utmost trust and respect in. He couldn¡¯t bear to kill him without knowing why. Why he would betray him after all their time together. Apparently, the crowned prince threatened to kill his family if he didn¡¯t kill Aiden. Aiden was so distraught when he heard that, that he didn¡¯t notice his former tutor draw for the poison-covered knife by his side until it was too late. Seeing that, Aiden also went for the kill. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Although the knife only managed to pierce the fleshy part of his thigh, the poison it was coated in was something called Hadean Spirit juice. It¡¯s a very potent poison which aims to destroy the soul of all infected. By all intents and purposes, Aiden should¡¯ve been a goner, but Aiden being Aiden, managed to turn disaster into fortune, or as close to fortune as possible, all things considered. He made another breakthrough in his warrior comprehension comprehending impose. His soul merging with nature at that moment allowed his soul to effectively mutate. It basically multiplied in strength, but unfortunately, it also lost its connection to nature. After that, everyone believed Aiden¡¯s future was over. Everyone but Aiden himself. He focused purely on his soul and the path of the warrior till he became the monster he is now.¡± ¡°So it was the O¡¯Briens again?¡± Ace murmured, a dense killing intent seeping out with him. It really seemed that he was destined to be mortal enemies with the O¡¯Brien Empire. First, finding out what his ¡®biological father¡¯ had done to the only real parent he had ever known, and now finding out the truth about what happened to his master. A man he had grown to respect and care for just as deeply as Whitebeard. ¡°That Byrius¡­¡± Ace said, his voice ice cold. ¡°Is he still alive?¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to guess what was going through Ace¡¯s mind. He had just found out that his master had his future all but ruined because of the jealous actions of an entitled noble. Still, Jordon had no intention of lying to Ace. ¡°He is,¡± Jordon replied. ¡°When Byrius reached 20 and was just about to inherit the throne, O¡¯Brien personally descended to recruit him as his fifth disciple.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace voiced indifferently. ¡°Before you decide to set your sights on him, you should know that although he¡¯s the fifth-ranked disciple in terms of seniority, in terms of strength, he ranks second of all O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples,¡± Jordon explained solemnly. It was weird for a man of Jordon¡¯s stature to say so much to a boy who¡¯d barely entered his teens, but whenever he looked at Ace, Jordon couldn¡¯t help but see the shadow of his invincible older brother before his poisoning. Till now, Byrius had always been something of a heart demon for him, for him even more than Aiden. In his mind, his older brother wouldn¡¯t have been poisoned that day if it weren¡¯t for him getting him to agree to take him out to play. Over the last millennia, Jordon had pushed himself to the limits hoping to avenge his brother. Unfortunately, though he was quite the talent himself, unlike Aiden and his daughter, his talent had limitations. If it weren¡¯t for Aiden training him and getting him the best resources available, forget the peak of the saint rank; just reaching the saint rank might¡¯ve proved impossible, but Ace was different. Ace appeared to be even more talented than Amira and Aiden. If anyone could get revenge for his brother, it may well be him. Still, that was just a dream for the future. The Ace of today was nowhere near ready for that. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough of that,¡± Jordon stated after clearing his head of all distracting thoughts. ¡°My wife¡¯s never been the patient type. If we keep my wife waiting much longer, neither one of us will be safe from her fury.¡± As he said that, he flew them back to his and his wife¡¯s private residence. Even as they landed, Ace was still distracted. His mind was focused on suppressing his wrath. Even though both incidents were before he was reborn into this world, the O¡¯Brien Empire had now crossed his bottom line on two occasions. At that moment, he felt like the only way to quell his anger was to watch the whole of the O¡¯Brien Empire and everyone in it burn until there was nothing left. Book 4: Chapter 18 – Amira’s Parents It was only when he heard Jordon knocking on the door in front of them that Ace was able to calm down. "Thia, we''re coming in," Jordon announced as he opened the door. Upon entering the room, Ace''s eyebrows couldn''t help but rise as his eyes fell on the woman sitting on the chair beside the bed. ''She really looks a lot like Mira,'' Ace noted as he studied her facial features. Whilst Ace was studying the pregnant empress, Sharanthia was also studying him, and she''d be lying if she said she wasn''t surprised. Even though Jordon was a Warrior at the peak of the saint rank, he was only an eighth-rank mage, but his wife was a mid-stage saint as both a warrior and mage, so the power of her soul was substantially stronger than that of her husband. As Jordon''s only brother, Sharanthia had met Aiden several times over the years, so she knew how freakish his soul was. For the simple fact that Ace was his disciple, she expected Ace''s soul to be impressive, but when she spread her spirit over him, she was shocked to find that the boy''s soul appeared to be just as strong, if not a tiny bit superior to the average early-stage saint-level warrior. It had to be remembered that although mages had stronger souls than warriors, upon breaking through to the saint rank, one''s soul would see a drastic increase in power. Even mages at the peak of the 9th rank had souls far weaker than the average early-stage saint-level warrior, so for a boy who hadn''t even broken through to the sixth rank to have such a powerful soul was nothing short of monstrous, no less monstrous than his freak of a master. Still, though he was fairly impressive, she was extremely protective of her daughter. After seeing the way Amira reacted whenever he was mentioned, she felt she needed to meet the boy who somehow managed to find a place in her heart. "So you''re Ace?" Empress Sharanthia asked indifferently. "It''s a pleasure to meet you," Ace replied respectfully. "My husband tells me that you and your classmate plan on visiting the O''Brien battlefield, and my daughter wants to join you," "That''s correct," Ace nodded. "A war zone isn''t a playground. It''s a cruel and unforgiving place where soldiers of all ranks die on a daily basis. It''s not something a kid like you could possibly understand," Sharanthia said coolly. "What makes you think I''d ever entrust my daughter''s safety to you in an environment like that?!" "I understand the implications of war better than you know," Ace said solemnly as his mind went back to the day of his death in his previous life. "And for as long as I''m alive, I would never let any harm come to Mira!" Sharanthia didn''t say anything in response to that; she simply stared deeply into Ace''s eyes. Even though his heart had been pounding with nerves leading up to that meeting when he said that last sentence, his heart had never been so sure of anything. The empress stared into the eyes of the dark-haired youth before her, but no matter how long she stared into them, she never found so much as a ripple. As she continued to stare into them, without even realising it, her mind began to wander to thoughts of her past. It was only when she heard the sound of her husband clearing his throat that she snapped out of her daze. "Okay, you may leave," Sharanthia stated, clearly still not wholly present. Ace didn''t know what had Amira''s mother so distracted all of a sudden, but he knew it wasn''t his place to ask, so he respectfully said goodbye before following Jordon back outside. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Did I say something wrong?" Ace asked when he was back on the mound of earth, flying just behind Amira''s father. "It wasn''t you," Jordon shook his head. "The pregnancy has just been hard on my wife." Thinking back to the expression on Sharanthia''s face, Ace knew it was more than just that. Still, it wasn''t his place to pry, so he didn''t say anything further. Jordon promptly dropped Ace back at Amira''s training garden before returning to his wife, not saying much to his daughter in response to what happened. Seeing her father in such a hurry to leave, Amira turned her attention to Ace. "Did something happen with my mother?" "I don''t know," Ace replied, not much less confused than Amira. Ace went on to explain precisely what happened in the meeting with her mother, making sure to neither embellish nor hide anything, hoping Amira would be able to shed some light on what happened. When she heard what Ace had said in response to his mother''s final question, her heart began to race, and a furious blush appeared on her caramel-coloured cheeks. Still, not even she understood what caused her mother''s apparent dejection. Whilst Ace and the others were talking, Jordon arrived back at their imperial bedroom. "What happened?" Jordon asked worriedly when he saw his wife''s longing expression as she stared vacantly out the window. "Are you okay?" "His eyes¡­" Sharanthia muttered softly. "They''re just like his." "Who''s?" Jordon asked, not following what his wife was saying. "Amira''s father," Sharanthia answered absentmindedly. "The look in that Ace boy''s eyes when he spoke about protecting Mira was identical to the way Mira''s father would look at her mother." When she said that, the look of longing that appeared on Thia''s face became understandable. The reason why Jordon felt the need to leave the decision as to whether Mira was allowed to join the battlefield with her classmates or not solely in his wife''s hands was because Mira wasn''t his child at all. It simply wasn''t his place to make decisions like that on her behalf. Taking a knee by his wife''s side, Jordon gently took Thia''s hands in his own. "I''m sure your brother and sister-in-law would be so proud and thankful for how you''ve raised their daughter." "I just miss them," Sharanthia voiced softly as tears began to well up in her eyes. "I know you do," Jordon replied as he took his wife in his arms, laying her head on his shoulder. Thia spent the next few minutes softly crying into her husband''s shoulders. "Tell Mira that she can follow Ace onto the battlefield," Sharanthia said as she slowly stood up. "Don''t you want to tell her yourself?" Jordon asked back. "It''s probably best I don''t see Mira right now," Sharanthia admitted. Even though she didn''t say it in so many words, Jordon understood that his wife''s mood was quite fragile. Her brother had always been a sensitive subject for her, and as Mira still didn''t know the truth about her parents, Thia didn''t want to put herself in a situation where she could give anything away by mistake. "I understand," Jordon replied. "Also, make sure they''re all wearing shadow robes. I don''t want anyone to be able to recognise Mira or her classmates." Thia said thoughtfully as she slowly made her way to the door. "And I want Kaymin to act as their guard from the shadows. He shouldn''t need to act, but if their group ends up being targeted by someone they can''t handle, I want him there to deal with it." Not only was Duke Kaymin a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, but he was also the strongest mortal in the Rohault empire. Excluding Aiden, of course. "That''s all well and good," Jordon said as he hurriedly got in the way of his wilful wife. "But where do you think you''re going?" "I need to take a trip to the Pavilion," Sharanthia explained. "There''s something I need to check with your brother." "Whatever you need to ask him can wait," Jordon commanded as he ushered his wife to bed. "You may be a saint, but you''re still pregnant. I''m not having you endanger our children''s lives because of your impulsiveness. You stay in bed, and I''ll send a message to Aiden asking him to come back. He should return sometime in the next week or two at the latest." Sharanthia may be in charge when it came to Amira, but Jordon definitely wore the pants in the relationship the other 99% of the time. After putting his wife back to bed, Jordon took a trip to Kaymin''s residence to pass on his wife''s commands. Since the order came straight from the Emperor himself, the Duke obviously had no complaints. In fact, he was actually all for it. His son was the same age as Amira. As such, he too hadn''t spent any time on any of their Empire''s battlefields as yet, and like Amira, Ebeze had been itching for the chance for some time now. Of all the forces on the Yulan continent, the Rohault Empire was by far the most militant. As such, most of the children saw spending some time in the army as something of a rite of passage. Kaymin had initially planned to wait till his son had reached the sixth rank before letting him go. At that point, he should have the strength to protect himself from most threats that could come his way. Still, with Amira and her classmates all going together and him protecting them from the shadows, this was the perfect opportunity for his overzealous son to experience war. Book 4: Chapter 19 – I’m Trusting You The following day Amira hurriedly made her way to the accommodation of Ace and the others to tell them that her father had summoned them. She could barely get any sleep last night thinking about what her parent''s answer would be. And now that their whole group had been summoned together, she couldn''t help but feel a glimmer of anticipation and excitement as she hoped that she would be allowed to enter the battlefield with Ace. When they finally arrived back at the throne room, Ace and his group found an almost identical set-up to the day before, with Duke Kaymin and his son, Ebeze, standing respectfully before Emperor Jordon. The only difference was that alongside the father-son duo was Chukaya, the older teen who appeared to have a thing for Amira, and standing respectfully beside the emperor was a 7-foot middle-aged dark-skinned man with long curly black hair tied in a ponytail and a long sword similar to Chukaya''s sheathed on his back. With a quick scan of his [Observation], Ace could sense that the man was a warrior at the peak of the saint rank. "Good, you''re all here," Jordon nodded as his ''daughter'' and her friends entered, focusing his attention primarily on Amira. "You all should know Ebeze, Chukaya, and Duke Kaymin, but this here is a member of my Empire''s council and Chukaya''s master ¨C Saint Ejiro." Most youths would be in awe in the face of an ''all-powerful'' saint, but after the number of saints both Ace and Killian had met since joining the Pavilion, neither of the duo was particularly phased by the man''s presence. Still, they remained respectful as they nodded. "Nice to meet you," Ace and Killian greeted in unison. Ejiro nodded indifferently at the youths before turning back to Jordon. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll take my leave. Chukaya, don''t let me down." "Yes, master," Chukaya bowed respectfully to the middle-aged man. "Mmh," The saint-level warrior grunted before indifferently making his way to the exit of the throne room. "On to the next thing," Emperor stated after Ejiro exited. "I have good news. Your mother agreed to allow you to enter the battlefield on the condition that you and your friends wear these." As he said that, he withdrew a jet-black full-body robe. Ace looked curiously at the robe as he found that when his spirit passed over it, it appeared to be a void spot in his perception. "They''re called shadow robes," Jordon explained when he saw Ace''s expression. "It allows the wearer to hide their identity from the spiritual perception of all those beneath the deity realm. As the princess of our empire, if word gets out that you''re on the battlefield, you''ll definitely be the target of ambushes and assassination attempts." "As for the two of you," Jordon said, turning his attention to Ace and Killian. "Even though the Pavilion is still relatively unknown, with the O''Brien Empire''s intelligence-gathering capabilities, there''s a chance that they know who you both are and may be able to figure out Amira''s identity from your presence." Hearing that put things into perspective for him, and he couldn''t help but feel like an idiot for not thinking about it sooner. Amira''s the exceedingly talented princess of one of their rival nations. Wukong all but humiliated them by defeating all of their most talented and powerful students at the time of his challenge. And although the incident at his selection wasn''t too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, considering the level of talent he, Killian, and Alissa showed back then, they would''ve definitely spent time gathering as much intelligence on the pavilion as possible. Still, as long as they didn''t know the truth about his identity, and more specifically, his mother''s, then as far as he was concerned, it didn''t really matter what they knew, but there was one more thing that came to mind as he looked at the robes in Jordon''s hand. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Won''t wearing those only bring us more attention?" Ace asked. "Maybe a bit, but not as much as if they knew my daughter was on the frontlines," Jordon replied. "Anyway, your whole reason for wanting to enter the war was to hone yourselves; just think of it as a way to improve the quality of your training. Plus, this will be a good chance to vent." Amira looked at Ace in confusion, not understanding why Ace would need to vent, but Ace knew that the emperor was referring to the news of the assassination attempt on his master that essentially ruined his master''s chances of becoming a deity in the future. ''You have no idea how right you are.'' Ace thought to himself. What they did to his master in the past was only one part of the reason for his anger, and whilst substantial, it still paled in comparison to the anger he felt for their empire because of what their spiritual leader had done to his mother. "I understand," Ace said as he stepped forward to grab their robes and passing one to Killian and Amira. "You two will also need a shadow robe if you truly intend on following Amira and her friends onto the battlefield," Jordon said as he looked at Chukaya and Ebeze, respectively. "Yes, your majesty," both boys answered as they too, stepped forward to collect their robes. "And you don''t need to worry, your majesty," Chukaya added. "With me there, I assure you, no harm will come to princess Amira." Even though he had no intentions of getting involved, Jordon knew how Chukaya and many of the young boys of his Empire felt about his daughter, but he also knew how Ace and Amira felt about each other. He couldn''t help but glance at Ace in amusement when he heard Chukaya''s words; that amusement only seemed to grow when he saw Ace roll his eyes at Chukaya''s antics. Still, he kept his amusement to himself as he replied. "I thank you in advance." Hearing that, Chukaya couldn''t help but feel proud of himself for taking that opportunity to put himself in a better standing. He knew that with Amira and Ace having gone to school together for the last five years, Ace would''ve had a lot longer to build his relationship with the princess. Still, in his mind, if he could win over her father and display his worth, then he could potentially get Emperor Jordon to agree to marry his daughter to him. Unfortunately, he couldn''t help but feel his mood sour as he turned his head and saw that Amira was more focused on laughing and joking with Ace as she collected her robe. Still, as frustrated as he was, he knew this battle was his opportunity to show off to Amira and prove that he was better than his apparent love rival ¨C Ace. He had to admit that Ace was more talented than him as a warrior. After all, not only was he younger than him, he was already at the fifth rank, and most incredibly, he had already comprehended ''Impose'', but he refused to believe that as he was a warrior of the seventh rank and a mage of the fifth rank that Ace was as strong as he was. Ace had no idea what Chukaya was thinking, not that he''d care even if he did. Chukaya was just an irrelevant teen to him. His most pressing thoughts at the moment were all focused on the battlefield. Quite frankly, he couldn''t wait to get going. "When do you all want to leave for the battlefield?" Jordon asked as though he could feel Ace''s growing anticipation. "As soon as possible," Ace and Amira voiced at the same time before turning to each other and giving the other a telling smile. Jordon glanced at the two battle-hungry youths before shaking his head helplessly. Still, he knew better than anyone the harsh realities of war, so as he scanned the group of youngsters about to set off, his expression became especially sombre. "I need all of you to remember that the battlefield isn''t a playground. Many brave men and women give their lives on a daily basis to protect our homeland, and I hope all of you uphold those same high standards." Jordon stated. "And most importantly, each and every one of you has an extremely bright future ahead of you, so remember to take care of each other." "We understand," All the youths stated simultaneously. "Good," Jordon nodded upon making sure that each of them had taken his words seriously. "There''s a carriage out front that will take you to the battlefield. Ace, stay behind for a moment. The rest of you may go now." Although curious about what the Emperor wanted to say, they all did as they were told, including Duke Kaymin. "I have already informed my commanders on the O''Brien battlefield of your upcoming arrival," Jordon explained. "Normally, it''s customary for all youths to join one of the regiments and follow the commands of the higher-ranking soldiers, but you kids are a bit of a special case. As such, I''ve decided to give you all a free role where you can almost act as you like, provided you don''t get in the way of the rest of the army. And I''m putting you in charge of the team. Any questions?" "None," Ace shook his head calmly. "I know after what I told you yesterday that you''ll likely want to slaughter every one of their soldiers, but as a leader, you need to remember that the safety of your subordinates is your responsibility. Do you understand what I''m trying to say?" Jordon asked. "I understand," Ace replied. "Don''t worry; I won''t do anything to endanger their lives." "Good," Jordon nodded. "Now get going." Ace nodded respectfully before taking his leave when he heard Jordon''s voice. "Ooh and Ace," Amira''s father called out as Ace reached the door. "Take care of my daughter; I''m trusting you!" Book 4: Chapter 20 – Team Leader When Ace arrived back outside, he found his Killian and Leonel having a stare-off against their new teammate ¨C Chukaya ¨C with Amira standing in the middle, trying to act as a peacemaker. "Little Mira, you don''t need to protect your friends," Chukaya voiced, believing that Amira knew that he was strong enough to handle both Killian and Leo. "As long as your classmates stop being pointlessly stubborn and agree to make me team leader, I won''t treat them unfairly." Whilst Chukaya believed that Amira was stopping her classmates from embarrassing themselves, the truth was that she was stopping Leonel from tearing Chukaya limb from limb. Since arriving at the Pavilion, Leonel hadn''t made a move, so there weren''t many, even in the Pavilion, that understood precisely how monstrous of a beast he was, but Amira didn''t fall into that category. When she arrived back home from the pavilion, she told her ''mother'' about Leo, Bebe, and the divine Azure Dragon they met in the wilderness half a year ago. Even her mother, who in her eyes, whilst not the most powerful saint she''d met, was without a doubt the most experienced and knowledgeable ¨C even in comparison to Arianna ¨C was rendered speechless when she heard there were three divine beasts of such stature in the Yulan Continent, let alone the fact that Amira ran into all of them in the space of a couple of months. She explained that although they too were Divine Beasts like the Suanni Lion and the Ba Serpent, Divine Beasts that could jump across three realms to fight as mortals relying on nothing but their natural abilities are referred to as Apex Divine Beasts, and they''re considered to be invincible to all other creatures at the same level. Whilst it was true that Chukaya was a realm above and an elite-level talent who could challenge those above his realm, the difference between him and Leo was too big. It wouldn''t be a big deal if Ace were here because, as a Lion type beast, Leo had an innate pride (pack) mentality, and as the leader of their ''pride'' Leo would always do exactly as Ace instructed, but because he was the second strongest of their group, Leo saw himself as the second in command of the group when Ace wasn''t around. Not only would he do anything to protect the rest of those he saw as part of his pride, but he also would hesitate to kill anyone who dared to insult the dignity of his leader. "You? Lead us?" Killian snorted disdainfully. "You''re not qualified." "What did you say?" Chukaya asked coldly as he took a step forward as if he was prepared to make a move. "I agree with Killian," Ebeze added from the side. "You''re not qualified to lead this team." "And who is?" Chukaya asked, his frosty eyes falling on his fellow countryman as if he were daring him to continue to oppose him. "Ace," Ebeze, Amira, and Killian all voiced at once without a moment''s hesitation. "What, just because he''s comprehended Impose?" Chukaya asked disdainfully, his attention focused on Amira and Ebeze, believing they would be the easiest to reason with as his compatriots. "The leader of our team should be the strongest, the one who''s able to protect us best from all potential threats, and whilst it''s truly impressive that he was able to comprehend impose at his age and cultivation, he''s still not a match for me. I am the only one who''s qualified." "Look, even his beast partner agrees with me," Chukaya stated when he noticed that Leonel, who had previously been growling threateningly, had calmed down all of a sudden. At the same time, Amira also no longer bothered with Chukaya, having seemed to have figured something out from Leo''s passive state. Ebeze was just about to respond to Chukaya''s boastful claims when a calm yet imposing voice cut through the tension in the air. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "Enough," Ace voiced as he calmly strode towards them from the palace gates. "Everyone get on board now. We''re leaving." As soon as his words came out, both Ebeze and Killian got on the carriage as instructed. Amira gave Ace a sweet smile and a nod, but she too got on board, leaving Leo, who was too big to fit inside the carriage, and Chukaya, who was too busy glaring at Ace, who didn''t seem to even register his presence as he made his way to the carriage. Chukaya had already felt on edge around Ace since he arrived as he saw his desired future slowly slipping out from under him, then for the emperor to have him stay behind to have a private conversation ¨C something that had never happened to him in all his time as a citizen of the Rohault Empire ¨C Chukaya felt his grasp over the situation slipping further and further away from him. As far as he was concerned, if he wanted to begin to rectify the situation, he had to take leadership of the team. That way, if they were to perform well enough on the battlefield, he would be able to impress Emperor Jordon and Amira in one fell swoop. But how could he have imagined that not only would every single member of the team outright oppose him, but they would obey Ace''s instruction as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His eyes reddened with rage and unwillingness, and the popping of his knuckles rang in the air as he glared at the dark-haired youth who continued to ignore him entirely, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, the inviolable voice of Emperor Jordon rang through the air, making him swallow his words. "Ace is the leader of the team, and that''s final!" Looking up in the sky, Chukaya saw his Emperor casually floating, looking down at them from above. By the time he regained his composure enough to look away from his leader, Chukaya had found that Ace had already passed him by and entered the carriage. "As you wish, my lord," Chukaya bowed respectfully as he forcibly suppressed his anger before he too entered the carriage. He couldn''t help but feel awkward as he entered, but as if to make matters worse, whether it was Ace, Killian, Leonel, or Amira, none seemed to pay him the slightest bit of attention. It was a strange feeling, but subconsciously, he would''ve preferred if they looked at him gloatingly like the look he was receiving from Ebeze. After all the fuss he made wanting to be team leader, the complete lack of acknowledgement he received from them, as though this was the only possible outcome, made him feel so much worse than he thought possible. Still, with the Emperor confirming Ace''s position as leader, he didn''t dare to say anything else on the matter. Chukaya watched calmly as Ace, Amira and the others left for the battlefield. He would be lying if he said he wasn''t worried about Amira''s safety. After all, even though she wasn''t his blood daughter, he had still raised her since she was a baby. He had long since seen her as his own. But other than worry, he also felt a sense of anticipation and excitement. He knew better than anyone that there was no better place for a warrior to temper themselves than on the battlefield. Even though she would be called back in a couple of months for the birth of her baby ''siblings'', Jordon believed that the next time he saw Amira, he would be pleasantly surprised by her transformation. "I hope this is the right decision," Sharanthia said as she appeared beside her husband in mid-air, as she watched her niece heading to the battlefield. "Don''t worry," Jordon said reassuringly as he took her hands in his. "Nothing will happen to them. Kaymin''s following them from the shadows, and I''ve also instructed Ejiro to oversee the battlefield, just in case their identity''s blown, and a saint from the O''Brien Empire appears." She was still worried, but her husband''s words did manage to reassure her, albeit only slightly. Chukaya''s master, Elder Ejiro, was amongst the strongest saints in the Rohault empire. The only ones stronger than him were Jordon, Sharanthia, and of course, Aiden. The chances of the O''Brien having a saint that strong anywhere near the battlefield was unlikely; after all, it was public knowledge that whilst the Rohault Empire was fighting for their home, the O''Brien Empire saw the battlefield as a place to hone their warriors. . . . At the same time, all five of the youths were sat in the back of the carriage heading towards the battlefield with Leo leisurely running beside them. "I know you all heard Emperor Jordon''s words just now, so I''m only going to say this once," Ace said, his tone grave as his eyes swept all of his team individually. "For the duration of our stay on the battlefield, I expect each and every one of you to obey my commands as team leader. I won''t tolerate the actions of any one individual put the lives of the others in harms way. If you can''t accept those terms, then you''re free to join one of the regular regiments. If you have a problem with that and wish to join a regular regiment, say so now." Even though Ace didn''t mention a name, it didn''t take a genius to understand he was talking mainly to Chukaya. Still, the teen in question simply snorted, before looking in the opposite direction. It was clear that as unwilling as he was to follow the orders of Ace, he was even more unwilling to be separated from Amira. "Good," Ace continued, his voice taking a more warm tone. "Now that we''ve gotten that out the way let''s look forward to a productive training experience." Even though there was nothing wrong with his words as such, the others could sense the faint bloodlust radiating from the dark-haired team leader. Book 4: Chapter 21 – Infiltrators "Stop here," Ace called out suddenly to the carriage driver. It took Ace and his team over a day and a half to get to their current point, but even so, they were still a few hours away when Ace commanded the carriage to come to a halt. "What is it?" Amira asked when she saw the all-too-familiar look in his eyes. "Did you sense something?" As the one who''d spent the longest time with him in a hostile environment, she was all too familiar with each of his subtle expressions. "What could our esteemed team leader have sensed from here?" Chukaya asked, his tone laced with sarcasm. "We''re several dozen miles from the rear of our force''s encampment, which means we''re still deep within our own territory." "It''s nothing; I''ll be back shortly," Ace responded, ignoring Chukaya''s sarcastic response as he turned to Amira and the others. "I just have a sudden urge to stretch my legs for a bit. Leo, protect everyone whilst I''m away." Leo understood that when Ace said "everyone", he meant the whole team, including Chukaya. With their spiritual bond, Ace was fully aware of how badly his beast partner wanted to tear Chukaya limb from limb. Still, even if he was annoying, Ace couldn''t allow anything bad to happen to him. After all, he was still an important member of the Rohault Empire. Chukaya frowned when he heard whom Ace had told to protect the others in his absence. In his mind, he was the strongest of the group; even if he hated the idea of being ordered around by his rival in love, he hated that he was so easily overlooked even more. Unfortunately, before he could voice his complaint, Ace had already disappeared out the door. "Hmph! He''s supposed to be our team leader, yet he''s disappearing on us mid-trip," Chukaya snorted disdainfully. "How reliable¡­" Although Chukaya''s point was valid, Ace''s [Observation] reached a little over 6km when uncompressed. He had already determined that other than in the direction he was heading, there was no one else around, which made sense as the area they were currently in was the path leading to the battlefield. Unless it was soldiers heading to or from the battlefield, there should be no one present for miles, and yet Ace sensed the presence of a small but powerful team of almost two dozen warriors swiftly making their way towards the rear of the Rohault force''s camp. Whilst it was very possible that they were reinforcements, Ace felt it necessary to go and check for himself, as if both his and their groups carried on at their current trajectory, they would eventually meet. And whilst Ace, Leo, and potentially Chukaya would be able to protect themselves, the others would definitely have a hard time. The three strongest warriors of the team in question were at the eighth rank, and they had half a dozen warriors at the seventh and a dozen warriors at the sixth rank following them. "I still can''t believe this plan actually worked," One of the two eighth-rank warriors said with an excited grin suffusing his lips. "Haruol''s spent years undercover with those Rohault scum, slowly rising through the ranks, for this very day," The team leader responded as he glanced appreciatively at one of their rank seven subordinates. "With his hard work, we''ll finally be able to deal these annoying battle-hungry idiots a blow they''ll never forget." The group of warriors were laughing and talking excitedly amongst themselves, believing that they were alone, wholly unaware that just over 50 meters in the sky above them was an individual wearing a full-body hooded robe hopping on the air as if it were solid ground. The mystery man was obviously Ace, who, with his compressed [Observation] spread over them, was able to tell everything they had said. "I guess it was a good thing I came after all," Ace said as he looked down at the group, understanding that despite them dressing in the armoured uniform of the Rohault Empire army, they were undoubtedly soldiers from an enemy force. The only question remaining was which of the Rohault Empire''s enemies did this troop belong to. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Though the battle being waged against the O''Brien Empire was the cruellest, it wasn''t their only battlefield. To the north was the O''Brien Empire, and to the east were the great plains, home of the infamous steppe riders. Using [Soru], Ace suddenly disappeared from his previous position, appearing on the ground 50 meters in front of the hostile squad, forcing them all to come to a sudden halt. Though they were merrily talking amongst themselves, each of the warriors present was a veteran soldier. Knowing they were in enemy territory, they didn''t dare relax their vigilance, and yet they had completely failed to sense the figure before he appeared before them. Even now, though they could see him, not a single person present was able to feel his presence, a fact which made them stare at the hooded figure cautiously. "Who is your excellency?" One of the three eighth-ranked warriors asked as he stepped forward in an attempt to take charge of the situation. It had to be remembered that they were currently impersonating soldiers of the Rohault Army. They couldn''t afford to act suspiciously as they had too much riding on their success here tonight. Still, it was all but impossible to remain calm when they heard the calm yet oddly immature voice of the person in front of them. "I already know you''re not from the Rohault Empire," Ace voiced indifferently. "What I don''t know is if you''re from the Great Plains or the O''Brien Empire¡­" As Ace said "O''Brien", each of the soldiers in front of him could feel the bloodlust he subconsciously released. "Kill him, now!" The leader of the squadron commanded unhesitantly as he shot forth, sword in hand. He didn''t know who this newcomer was, nor did he know how strong he was. All he knew was that he was undoubtedly an enemy who knew too much. If they wanted to salvage their mission, they would have to kill the robed man as quickly as possible. Although there were very few people in the area, they couldn''t afford to take any chances. Unfortunately, they had kicked the proverbial iron bucket this time. The leader''s sword slashed through the air with incredible speed and power, allowing Ace to understand that the man had actually comprehended both states of wielding. It was the first time Ace had met anyone outside of the Pavilion who''d done so, but other than a little surprise, he didn''t feel much else. "It really is good to be back," Ace muttered as he indifferently watched the man''s sword slash straight through his neck. The team leader watched in horror as his opponent''s body turned into fire, allowing his sword to cut straight through him, dealing no actual damage. From the training he''d done since returning from the mountain range of magical beasts, Ace understood that haki wasn''t the only way to strike him when in his ''logia'' form. In this world, he could still be attacked if his opponent had reached the ''impose'' boundary or above. But if they hadn''t, it didn''t matter whether they were of a higher realm or were able to use battle-qi; Ace would remain intangible to all attacks, including spells. The only problem was that, as he was still only a mage of the third rank, using his logia form burned through his mageforce rapidly. Still, as long as he only used it for brief instances instead of extended periods, the drain on his energy was manageable. Before he could fully wrap his mind around what he had just seen, the hairs on the back of the squad leader''s neck stood on edge. Ace, who had previously been empty-handed, suddenly summoned his glaive ¨C Newgate ¨C from his storage ring and sent it snaking forward, aiming to pierce the team leader''s head. Suppressing his shock and the hint of fear rising from within, the team leader didn''t hesitate to raise his sword to meet the incoming polearm. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was able to foresee his intended action. Before the man could react, Ace''s glaive seemed to come to life as it suddenly changed direction. Ace went from a straightforward but splendid thrust to a slash at the man''s legs using his fusion of both states of wielding, allowing the speed of his strike to multiply severalfold. Though surprised, as a warrior of the eighth rank whose comprehension had reached a similar stage, he was easily able to react accordingly¡­ Or he would''ve been, had the space not suddenly constricted around him impeding his movements. "Impose¡­ ARGHHH!" The man roared in pain as the pain of losing a limb threatened to overwhelm him. Though it took a while to describe, the whole encounter took no longer than a split second. By the time his opponent''s teammates got within striking range, Ace had already disappeared. The other two eighth-rank warriors were the first to arrive after the team leader, but the sight of their comrade, who was also the strongest person present, losing a limb so suddenly caused them to falter for the briefest of moments. Still, in a battle, at that level, a moment of hesitation often meant the difference between life and death. "[Fire Fist]!" Ace roared, sending a pillar of fire at the warrior furthest away whilst the haki-coated glaive in his other hand chopped the final eighth-rank warrior in two. The second of the three eighth-rank warriors hurriedly dodged out of the way of the incoming fist-shaped flame attack, only to find that the demonic-robed individual had appeared beside him, cutting off his escape route. He frantically slashed out with his battle axe, hoping to force his opponent out of the way, but Ace calmly evaded the strike before cutting off his arm and wrapping his hands around the man''s neck. "Now can you answer my question?" Ace asked as he coolly stared into the depths of his opponent''s eyes. "Are you guys from the Great Plains or the O''Brien Empire?" At that moment, every single living member of the squad looked at Ace like he was the devil. He had just dispatched all three of the strongest members as though they were children. They knew they should run, but the fear of turning their backs on such a monster kept them from taking another step. Book 4: Chapter 22 – Who’s This? Although it was true that Ace was protecting the others from facing a small force that may well be too strong for most of them, there was another, more selfish reason for coming alone, and that was to vent. There was a part of Ace that wished he was heading to the battlefield on his own so he could rampage through the O''Brien Armies ranks wantonly. Unfortunately, with Amira and Killian present, he couldn''t be so unrestrained. As strong as they were now, they wouldn''t be able to follow Ace as he slaughtered a path into the depths of his enemy''s forces. As the leader of the team, he couldn''t afford to, nor was he willing to put their lives in unnecessary danger. As such, he would have to suppress his urge for blood. So when he sensed their group speeding towards the enemy''s camp, he couldn''t help but hope they were the enemy so he could vent some of the rage he was holding onto. More specifically, he hoped they were from the O''Brien Empire. Hearing the madman''s question, the warrior who was being held up by the throat hesitated. As terrified as he was and as much pain as he was, he was nothing if not loyal. It would take more than the loss of an arm to get him to talk. "AHHHHHHHH! NO! WAIT! PLEASE! I''LL TALK!" The man roared in agony as he suddenly felt his neck being burnt by his captor''s sizzling hand. "WE''RE FROM THE O''BRIEN EMP-" Before the man could finish his sentence, his slowly melting neck was snapped in two. "Good!" Ace said with an evil grin suffusing his lips. "Very good!" Though they couldn''t see his expression under his hood, they could feel the chilling killing intent he radiated and hear the excitement and anticipation in his tone. That was the straw that broke the camel''s back for each of them. They no longer cared about turning their back to this robed demon. Everyone who could run ran as if their lives depended on it. Had they stayed and fought together, Ace would''ve had to expend a fair bit of effort to defeat them, but like this¡­ It turned into a complete massacre. The smell of blood and burning flesh wafting through the air would''ve made most sick to their stomach, but Ace wasn''t phased in the slightest. In fact, he wished there were more. The anger in his heart hadn''t diminished by much at all. Thankfully he didn''t allow his anger to cloud his better judgement. The fact that there was such a powerful squad sneaking behind enemy lines spoke to a bigger plan, and if for no other reason than that this was Amira''s homeland, he had to do everything he could to help. "Now," Ace said slowly. "I need you to tell me everything your team had planned." After everything he''d witnessed, Haruol, the member of the O''Brien Empire who''d used the cover identity he''d created to infiltrate the Rohault Army, was shaken to the very depths of his soul in complete and utter fear. Previously, he would''ve considered himself a highly experienced warrior who couldn''t be taken aback by much, but never in his life had he seen a massacre quite like this. It had to be remembered that even the weakest members of their squad were at the sixth rank. With that kind of strength, they''d be respected almost anywhere they went on the continent and yet every single member of their elite squad was completely massacred. Still, the thing that really put the fear of god into him was that, despite not being able to see his attacker''s face, he could sense the pleasure he took from hearing the screams of each of his victims. "Devil¡­ You¡­ You''re the Devil," Haruol muttered, his fear keeping him from forming full coherent sentences. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "I don''t have time for this," Ace said as his rising killing intent forced the lone survivor to stop his rambling. "Tell me what I want to know, or I''ll show you a fate far worse than death!" If his loved ones from his previous life saw Ace now, they would be hard-pressed to recognise him at that moment. Even in the face of Blackbeard, the man who killed his good friend and fellow Whitebeard Pirate Commander, Thatch, the anger he felt couldn''t even begin to compare to the anger he felt after finding out the truth about his mother''s past. And then, finding out about what that same family had done to his master, his anger was right at boiling point. If it weren''t for his having a first-hand seat to how his impulsive actions could affect those he cared about in his previous life, Ace would''ve long since slaughtered a crimson path into the O''Brien Empire. They might not know it, but his desire to keep his loved ones free from harm was acting like an anchor keeping him grounded and preventing him from giving in to his wrathful desires. That being said, he would still take every opportunity he could to vent in the most brutal way possible. "No, stop. I''ll talk¡­" Haruol hurriedly exclaimed when he heard Ace''s voice. It was almost as if he wanted him not to talk. "¡­ And that''s everything I know," Haruol explained. "Please, I''m begging you. Don''t kill me!" "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you," Ace replied, taking off the interspatial ring on the team leader''s finger as well as the man''s head storing them both in his own spatial ring. "I still need you to retell everything you told me to the Rohault army''s higher-ups." With that, Ace disappeared with the O''Brien spy, hurriedly heading back to his own team, ignoring the growing fear and anxiety of his hostage. It was up for debate which he was most scared of, Ace or the Rohault Army, a group he knew hated nothing more than traitors, but when he thought back to everything Ace had done to his comrades, he couldn''t help but wish Ace would move faster. Subconsciously, Haruol believed that whatever happened to him after being handed over, it would be infinitely better than what Ace had intended to do to him. . . . "What''s taking that Ace fellow so long?" Chukaya asked, giving voice to his obvious displeasure. Unfortunately for him, he was all but ignored by the rest of the team, as none of the others could be bothered to care about his concerns, but before he could say anything else, Leo suddenly raised his head to look in the direction Ace had left from. "What is it?" Amira asked. "Is Ace heading back?" Seeing the horse-sized lion nod its head, everyone turned to look in the direction it was staring, only to see Ace making their way towards them, leaving a faint afterimage with every step he took, causing both Ebeze and Chukaya to stare in amazement. They knew that with the speed he exhibited when leaving, Ace must''ve used a movement technique, and from what limited information they had about the Yin-Yang Pavilion, neither were too surprised that Ace had access to one. Still, because Ace had left in such a hurry, they weren''t able to truly appreciate how impressive it was before, but now¡­ Movement techniques that could be used without battle-qi were exceedingly rare, but as one of the most powerful forces on the continent, their Rohault Empire also had one. Still, they only needed one look at the way Ace was able to casually travel over 30 meters with each step to understand that theirs wasn''t as impressive as his. The truth was, their [Evanescing Step] was a lot more complicated than [Soru], but it was the simplicity of [Soru] that made it so special. The more steps you could take in one go, the faster you could move, which inherently made it so that whilst skill and comprehension played a big part in one''s ability to use it, the higher one''s warrior cultivation realm, and in turn one''s raw speed, the better their [Soru] would be. Ace ignored the shock of the two Rohault talents as he casually threw Haruol on the floor in front of his team, and then with a flick of his wrist, he removed the storage ring he''d taken from Haruol''s now deceased team leader and tossed it to Killian. "Here, you can have this," Ace said casually, ignoring the shocked expressions of Ebeze, Chukaya, and Haruol. To be fair, their shock was understandable. It had to be remembered that the only group of people that one could definitely expect to find a storage ring on were saints. Not only were they unbelievably rare, they were also incredibly expensive. Many wealthy noble families would have to sell all their belongings just to afford one, but because of that, the cheapest way to get your hands on one was to do as Ace had done twice already and steal it. So unless one had the corresponding strength, just owning one would put a target on your back. Both Chukaya and Ebeze could be considered nobles with powerful backgrounds, yet neither of them could even hope to get one until they reached at least the eighth rank. The only reason Amira had one was because she had two saint-level parents ¨C you''d need to have a death wish to even attempt to steal hers! The one Ace had stolen from Haruol''s team leader wasn''t even his in the first place. Instead, it had been loaned to him by one of his superiors for the purpose of their mission. So to see Ace give it away so casually was nothing short of astounding, but neither Killian nor Amira batted an eyelid. Killian simply dripped a drop of blood on it to bond with it, whilst Amira was more focused on the man on the ground. "Who''s this?" Book 4: Chapter 23 – Nine Great Generals "You expect us to believe that you, a rank five warrior and mage of the third rank, were able to defeat such a powerful team all by yourself?" Chukaya snorted disdainfully, believing Ace was embellishing the truth to try and impress Amira. It wasn''t just him; even Ebeze, who already believed Ace was the strongest member of the team, found his team leader''s story hard to believe. If it were only one warrior of the eighth rank and Haruol, a warrior of the seventh rank, then although surprised, Ebeze would be able to believe him. But to defeat a squad of twenty soldiers where the weakest were at the sixth rank, and three were at the eighth rank¡­ It was too far-fetched for even him to believe. "You¡­ You''re only at the fifth rank?!" Haruol asked, unable to contain his shock. "Impossible! That''s Impossible! You really are a dem-" Before he could finish his sentence, Ace struck him behind the neck, directly knocking the man out, too lazy to listen to his rambling. "I''m guessing that was why you brought him back with you," Amira sighed, understanding that the battlefield commanders would have similar reactions to her two fellow countrymen. "It''d take too long to convince the commanders otherwise," Ace shrugged. "It''ll be more believable coming straight from the horse''s mouth." Like that, the group set back off towards the front-line encampment with their unconscious prisoner of war. Although they were still sceptical of Ace''s tale, both Ebeze and Chukaya couldn''t help doubting their doubts after witnessing Haruol''s exaggerated reaction. After Ace explained everything that had happened, the only thing their prisoner was focused on was Ace''s cultivation realm. He didn''t so much as bat an eyelid at what they initially assumed to be a heavy embellishment. Ebeze knew that Ace didn''t go all out in their fight, but he assumed that, at most, Ace could potentially fight on par with a warrior at the eighth rank. Never in a million years did he think Ace''s combat prowess was enough to slaughter an entire team of such high-ranking warriors without getting so much as a scratch on his body. Chukaya on the other hand, still refused to believe it. He had even convinced himself that Ace must''ve bribed Haruol somehow to play along with his tall tale. If it were true, it meant that Ace was undoubtedly stronger than him despite the difference in age and cultivation realm, and that was something he couldn''t accept. After spending so much time together in the wild, both Amira and Leonel understood precisely how much of a monster Ace was. Ebeze wasn''t wrong. All things considered, Ace was only about as powerful as a rank-eight warrior. The difference between rank eight and rank nine was too big of a jump for Ace to jump even with his bloodline ability and comprehension, but with his battle IQ and experience, Ace was all but invincible beneath the ninth rank. And even if he had to face a ninth-rank warrior, Ace could still get away without injuring himself unless that warrior had reached the'' impose'' boundary. It could be said that Ace was already touching upon the very apex of the mortal realms in terms of power. Though he wasn''t with them during their training expedition in the mountain range of magical beasts, as far as Killian was concerned, there was nothing his sworn brother couldn''t do. He took Ace''s story in his stride. In fact, he was more focused on the spatial ring he''d received. Like Ace in the past, he too dreamed of the day he''d be able to get his hands on a storage ring of his own. He never would''ve imagined that he''d get one so early on. If it had come from anyone else, he wouldn''t have been able to accept it so readily, but he had truly taken Ace to be his older brother. As such, he didn''t think twice about accepting it. It took the group another couple of hours to finally reach their destination, and when they did, their carriage was immediately ordered to stop. Although they had come from the path of the empire, they were still at war. They couldn''t afford to let intruders in, but as soon as their driver handed the guard commander the letter from the Emperor, he personally took them to the general''s tent. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "General Murciel," The guard commander called out respectfully when he arrived outside the tent in the centre of the camp. "I have a group sent personally by Emperor Jordon." As a resident, the guard commander, along with just about every soldier present, had a great deal of respect for their emperor, but the people they respected most were the Empire''s nine great generals. In times of peace or leave, the nine held the position of Duke ¨C like Kaymin, but when on the battlefield, they were generals. There weren''t a fixed number of generals, but there were only two ways to become one. The first was to be a mage at the peak of the ninth rank. Though the empire had its fair share of mages, the amount that made it to the ninth rank was few and far between. Right now, they only had a total of three and only one of whom was at the peak, which went to show exactly how difficult to become a general, especially in an empire that focused mainly on the ways of a warrior. The other way was to become a warrior who had not only reached the peak of the ninth rank but had also comprehended ''impose''. As the Empire''s saints were all lofty beings that were rarely seen by the commoners, the most powerful group the mortals of the Empire had the most interaction with were the nine great generals. As a result, though they deeply respected the various saints of their empire, they had more reverence towards the nine generals ¨C especially here on the battlefield. Each and every one of them was like a miniature army, able to singlehandedly sweep through hundreds of enemy combatants. "Come in," A deep and imposing voice sounded from inside. Like that, the guard commander respectfully opened the ''door'' to the general''s personal tent, which was several times the size of all the other tents surrounding it, allowing Ace and his group to enter. In the centre of the tent sat a towering figure, who, even when sitting, was the same height as Amira. The man had dark ebony skin and short curly black hair. He was currently just wearing a plain pair of black trousers showing off his incredibly tyrannical physique, which was littered with scars, presumably from his time on the battlefield. With a quick sweep of his [Observation], Ace was instantly able to tell that the man was a peak rank nine earth mage and warrior of the seventh rank. Though not quite as powerful as Duke Kaymin, he was still a monster in his own right. "Princess Amira," General Murciel called. "It''s been a long time." "It has indeed," Amira smiled as she lowered her hood. "All of us in the Rohault Empire owe you a great deal of thanks." Though they weren''t natives of the Rohault Empire, Ace and Killian had been briefed on the high-ranking soldiers on the O''Brien warfront. As such, they knew that, for the last decade, General Murciel had taken the O''Brien war front as his home in the hopes that he could use the pressure to help him break through to the saint rank faster. "I was just doing my job," Murciel replied respectfully. Though he was far more powerful than Amira, as one of the most high-ranking mortals of the Empire, he knew a lot more about Amira than the ordinairy citizens. After what happened to Aiden in the past, other than when at the Pavilion, Emperor Jordon limited the amount of time she spent outside of the palace. As a result, almost everyone in the Empire knew that their princess was one of the three most talented of the new generation, but they didn''t understand exactly how talented she was, but Murciel was different. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she reached his level of strength and even surpassed him. Even though he was only a step away from becoming a saint, it was a step that eluded many powerful warriors and mages, some of whom were more talented than him. Though he had no interest in politics, he still understood that showing this much respect to someone who very well may be the next Empress was only right. "It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, General," Chukaya said respectfully as he too removed his hood in order to greet the hulking general before him. "My master speaks very highly of you." "Umm," General Murciel grunted and nodded before scanning the other hooded youths present. Seeing his look, Ace, Killian, and Ebeze all lowered their hoods, respectfully greeting the general. "So you''re Ace," Murciel said as he focused his eyes on the dark-haired youth. "How''s your master?" "You know the old man?" Ace asked back. Although he knew Aiden was from the Rohault Empire, he also knew that since meeting Arianna, his master would only return to his homeland every once in a while, so he didn''t expect many of the mortals to know him personally. "I do," Murciel smiled. "He''s the reason I became a warrior in the first place. After reaching the peak of the ninth rank as a mage, I became frustrated about my lack of progress and started becoming reckless during my time on the battlefield. Eventually, the O''Brien Army had enough of my antics and set up an ambush. That may have been the closest I had ever come to dying in my life, but thanks to your master being in the right place at the right time, he made quick work of my attackers, including a newly ascended saint who''d been there for good measure. After saving me, senior Aiden explained that if I wanted to improve my chances of breaking through, I should focus on warrior comprehension as comprehending impose would improve my connection to the laws of nature." "That sounds like the old man," Ace nodded, understanding how much emphasis his master put on ''Impose'', and in his defence, Ace was starting to understand why. From Wukong and the other instructors at the pavilion, Ace knew that most warriors only understood the basics of ''impose'', simply using it to augment their strength and comprehend the laws of nature. But due to the saint realm being their end goal, no one would spend time actually unearthing all its profundities, unlike his master, who had no way to become a saint. "Next time you see him, please thank him for his advice for me," Murciel said before glancing at the unconscious man on the floor, not recognising him. "So, who do we have here?" Book 4: Chapter 24 – Willing To Trust ¡°His name¡¯s Haruol,¡± Ace explained slowly. ¡°He¡¯s a spy from the O¡¯Brien Empire who had managed to infiltrate¡­ You know what, it¡¯s probably easier if you hear the full story from him.¡± ¡°Wake up,¡± Ace said, giving the still unconscious man a swift kick to the side. ¡°Tell the general everything you told me!¡± ¡°Huh, where am I?¡± Haruol voiced wearily as he woke from his daze, only to find a towering man with an even larger presence staring him dead in the eye, not bothering to hide his killing intent. ¡°Gen¡­ General Murciel?!¡± As a spy, even though they¡¯d never met in person, he obviously knew all the higher-ups in the Rohault Army. The moment his eyes fell on the general, he knew any hope of escaping with his life was lost. ¡°Hurry up,¡± Ace said. ¡°Tell him what you and your team planned to do here today.¡± Haruol looked at the general fearfully. He could feel a dense killing intent, far more potent than even Ace¡¯s, pressing down on him. As one of the nine Great Generals of the Rohault Army, it didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that Murciel was a devout patriot to his nation. So when Ace first said that the man was a spy, he was shocked and quite frankly, in disbelief. This was war, so it went without saying that both sides would love to have spies infiltrating the ranks of their enemy¡¯s forces, but that was always easier said than done. Both forces had protocols in place to prevent that very situation from happening, and those protocols only became more stringent the higher one climbed through the ranks. So it was obviously hard to believe that not only had their enemies been successful, the spy in question was actually a high-ranking warrior at the seventh rank, but seeing the look of terror and unwillingness on the man¡¯s face, Murciel understood that Ace was very likely telling the truth. At that point, Murciel became unable to restrain his killing intent. If he had his way, he would tear the spy limb from limb and hang his body up for the O¡¯Brien army to see, just to send them a message. Still, he knew that he had to focus on extracting as much information as he could for the sake of the big picture. ¡°Speak,¡± Murciel commanded, his tone void of any emotion. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°The¡­ The O¡¯Brien Army¡­ They planned for me to use my access as a high-ranking scout to help a small elite team sneak in behind enemy lines.¡± Haruol stammered nervously. ¡°We would then stop a little under a mile short of the camp, where the rest of the team would proceed to hide and await my signal. I would then take the interspatial ring, which housed several high-tier magicite bombs, and using my access¡­ I would place them at several¡­ strategic locations.¡± ¡°Strategic locations?¡± Murciel asked coolly. ¡°Like by our food and water supplies or infirmaries?¡± Haruol didn¡¯t reply, but judging by the hesitant expression on his face, it was all but too clear that the general was spot on with his assessment. ¡°Continue,¡± Murciel demanded. ¡°Whilst I was doing that, the main force of the O¡¯Brien army would get into position a few miles out, waiting for the signal, which was supposed to be the bombs going off,¡± Haruol explained helplessly. ¡°At which point the main army would attack from the front, whilst the small team of elites would attack from the rear.¡± ¡°The only thing I don¡¯t understand is why that team would attack at all,¡± Ace voiced. ¡°Even though the O¡¯Brien team is pretty strong, even if they¡¯re not at the standard of the nine great generals, there are still a few warriors of the ninth rank here. Any one of them would¡¯ve been enough to slaughter them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right; they would¡¯ve been had they been anywhere near the rear of the army,¡± Murciel sighed. ¡°But my Rohault Army works on the principle that all our most powerful soldiers lead from the front. It forces the enemy to do the same because they know that if they don¡¯t, we¡¯ll be able to slaughter a path straight through their weaker soldiers. We know it¡¯s a reckless tactic that paints a giant target on our back, but we all have faith in our own ability to take whatever the enemy throws at us.¡± Though he didn¡¯t say it, Ace could see a few other benefits of using that particular tactic. For example, the fact that not many other forces would be crazy enough to want to use that tactic, when being forced into that position against their will, their hearts won¡¯t be in it, which would give the soldiers of the Rohault Empire an advantage and more importantly, seeing their superiors leading the charge would do wonders for the morale of the weaker soldiers, which in turn would allow them to draw out more of their strength. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Unfortunately, the plan of the O¡¯Brien Empire just went to show that their tactic was far from full-proof. With their most powerful soldiers at the front of their army, engaging their opposing counterparts, that small team led by three warriors of the eighth rank would¡¯ve been able to run riot through their back line. ¡°I¡¯m guessing with the intelligence you fed back to them, they would¡¯ve killed all my forward scouts to keep any information of their odd movements from getting back to us¡­¡± Murciel snorted, understanding that would be the only way for them to be able to move in such a manner without news getting back to them. Each of their scouts are very well trained, to the point where unless you were a saint, you would be very hard-pressed to find them, especially when they were in position. But if you had their locations and movement patterns given to you by one of their ¡®fellow¡¯ scouts, finding and dealing with them would be child¡¯s play. ¡°Tha¡­ That¡¯s right,¡± Haruol admitted hesitantly, unable to look up from the ground for fear of what would happen to him. ¡°I see,¡± the general replied before turning to Ace. ¡°I and all my men owe you a giant thank you. Without you, tonight would¡¯ve been a disaster. But you should all get some rest; leave the rest to me.¡± ¡°Do you plan on flipping the table on them?¡± Ace asked before the general could usher them out. ¡°I wish we could,¡± Murciel replied. ¡°But whilst their scouts are undoubtedly still out there keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity on our part, our best scouts have been taken out. We have no way of knowing exactly where they are, how many are out there, and what exactly they plan on doing. At this point, all we can do is ramp up security for the night and stay on guard until tomorrow.¡± ¡°What if I was to tell you I had a way to not only locate and take out their scouts but also use their own plan against them?¡± Ace said with an evil grin suffusing his lips. Even though Ace was technically just a child, he had a way of making people forget that fact the more time they spent with him. Between that and the fact that Murciel desperately wanted to pay the O¡¯Briens back for what they had done, the General found himself open to taking suggestions from the dark-haired youth. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Murciel asked back. ¡°Me and my partner Leo will take out all the scouts hiding in the shadows,¡± Ace said as he patted Leo¡¯s red-tinted mane with a grin. ¡°How do you plan on doing that?¡± Chukaya asked, not liking how friendly the general was being to his love rival. ¡°Not even the army¡¯s highly trained scouts would dare say they would definitely be able to find their opposing counterparts, let alone kill them quickly and silently without being detected.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find the scouts the same way I found this idiot and his group,¡± Ace replied. ¡°And how did you find them anyway?¡± Chukaya asked argumentatively. ¡°Chukaya!¡± Amira snapped. ¡°Who are you to demand Ace to reveal his secrets?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that,¡± Chukaya said, his tone softening immediately. ¡°It¡¯s just that this involves the lives of thousands of brave men and women of our nation. We can¡¯t afford to make any mistakes.¡± Amira glared at her fellow countryman but ultimately said nothing. As much as she hated to admit it, Chukaya was right. Obviously, she, Killian, and Leo all knew the truth about Ace¡¯s bloodline, but ultimately it wasn¡¯t right for her to expect Ace to reveal that. Even Murciel, who had a very good impression of the youth, said nothing. As Chukaya said, there was too much riding on it for him to just take Ace¡¯s word on it. He wouldn¡¯t force Ace to reveal his secret, but the general wouldn¡¯t allow the plan to go any further if he couldn''t convince him of his success. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mira; I never meant for it to be a secret in the first place.¡± Ace smilingly reassured his classmate. ¡°The truth is, my soul has always been stronger than others. And after the old man took me as his disciple, he showed me how to improve the power of my soul.¡± ¡°How strong?¡± Murciel asked excitedly. Although many knew that Aiden was the most powerful warrior in the Rohault Empire, not many understood the reasons behind his strength, but Murciel did. He knew that part of his incredible strength stemmed from his comprehension of ¡®Impose¡¯ and the other part from his soul. It only made sense for his disciple to have the same monstrous qualities. ¡°My soul is about the same strength as an early-stage saint,¡± Ace stated. ¡°Impossible!¡± Chukaya exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s not impossible!¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of that that I was able to find the team from the O¡¯Brien Empire despite being so far away. It¡¯s also how, even though I¡¯ve only just arrived, I know that other than the general, there are 11 warriors at the ninth rank, 43 warriors at the eighth rank, and 113 seventh-rank warriors.¡± Ace stated calmly, ignoring the presence of Duke Kaymin and Elder Ejiro, whom he already knew was following them; he guessed to protect Amira from any unforeseen dangers. ¡°Do you need me to continue?¡± Ace asked casually. ¡°No, that¡¯s more than enough,¡± General Murciel replied, still trying to get over his shock. ¡°You¡¯re even more of a monster than your master.¡± The others may not know the exact numbers of high-ranking warriors that made up his army, but how could he not? He got a daily report with the numbers of soldiers of each rank and how many had died after each battle, and he had only finished reading the report of the most up-to-date numbers a little over an hour ago. There was no way that Ace, who had just arrived, would be able to get his hands on those figures after having travelled here from the capital. This meant that the only way Ace could be so precise was if his spirit really had reached the saint rank and he was able to sense the presence of everyone in the camp. ¡°So, what do you think, general?¡± Ace asked with a confident smile. ¡°Are you willing to trust me?¡± Book 4: Chapter 25 – Give Them Hell ¡°What do you think is happening tonight?¡± A man dressed in brown lightweight leather armour said to his similarly dressed female partner. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but for General Lyrin to send us on such a routine scouting mission means that he has something big planned,¡± The woman replied as she kept her eyes trained on the Rohault camp in the distance. ¡°But either way, all we need to do is follow the general¡¯s orders and keep an eye on those Rohault bastards and light a flare if they¡­ Ugh!¡± ¡°What the fu¡­¡± Before either of the O¡¯Brien scouts could react, a giant black lion with crimson tints appeared behind them, taking a chunk out of the woman¡¯s neck and stamping on the man¡¯s head, instantly reducing it into a bloody pulp. ¡°That¡¯s the last of them, Ace.¡± Leonel mentally transmitted back to Ace before leaping back into the sky using the air as a platform. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll meet you back at camp,¡± Ace replied via their spiritual bond, ignoring the two decapitated corpses by his feet as he too used [Geppo] to return to camp, using the clouds in the night sky to hide his figure. After agreeing to his plan, Murciel explained how ordinairy scouts from the O¡¯Brien Empire were warriors with wind-style battle-qi, but the elites, which they were likely to be using on such an important operation like tonight¡¯s, worked in pairs. The first would be a high-ranking warrior of the seventh rank with wind-style battle qi, and their partner would be a wind mage of at least the fourth, potentially fifth rank who was very adept at the Windscout spell. At that sort of level, they would be able to use the wind to sense everything within an 80 to 100-meter radius, and unfortunately, the shadow robes wouldn¡¯t do much in that situation. The shadow robe was able to hide your presence from spiritual perception, but a spell like the Windscout didn¡¯t use spiritual perception but the wind itself. To most, closing that sort of gap and killing your targets before they could react was near impossible, but for Ace, who could use [Geppo] and [Soru] so skilfully, he was able to target them from above and use a combination of his movement technique and gravity to close in on them from above, and after a few weeks of training, Leo wasn¡¯t much worse than his human partner. It had to be remembered that after the incident with the Cult of Darkness, Ace and Leo found their bond of partnership had mutated along with Ace¡¯s soul. It allowed both of them to share their comprehension with the other. Although it didn¡¯t allow them to instantly comprehend the insights of the other, it made it a lot easier. Instead of having to comprehend it from scratch, it allowed them to look at the insights of their partner as if it were a book, allowing them to turn it into their own insights at twice the speed with half the effort. After returning to the Pavilion, it struck Ace that they were limiting themselves. Since Ace could effectively transmit his insights to his partner, why did it have to stop at his insights into the laws of nature? Why couldn¡¯t he share his insights into his other techniques? More specifically, the Rokushiki. Though he¡¯d never seen or heard of a magical beast using human-based techniques, there was no reason as to why it wouldn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t work. After a few weeks, Leonel was now capable of skilfully using both movement techniques of the Rokushiki, second only to Ace. As a result, Ace simply had to transmit the location of each of the scouting teams hiding in the peripheries of the camp to his beast partner, allowing the pair to make quick work of each pair they came across without them getting the chance to escape or send word back. Ace and Leo swiftly landed just outside the rear of the camp, where he found his team, along with General Murciel, patiently waiting for him. ¡°Did you get all of them?¡± The general asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ace replied. ¡°All six scout teams have been disposed of.¡± ¡°Perfect! Now we can move on to the next phase,¡± Murciel stated. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? You don¡¯t need to take this risk. Now that we¡¯re back on level fields, we ca-¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Amira replied, interrupting the general mid-sentence as she hopped on Leo¡¯s back. ¡°If I¡¯m not even willing to take a risk or two for the sake of my nation, how could I ever be ready to lead it in the future?¡± ¡°The general¡¯s right,¡± Chukaya spoke out. ¡°If anything, I should be the one to take your place.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± Amira replied dismissively. ¡°Why not?¡± Chukaya asked back. ¡°As it stands, I¡¯m still stronger than you. If something were to happen, I have a better chance of escaping.¡± ¡°That might be true,¡± Amira indifferently replied. ¡°But the last person needs to be able to ride Leo, and Leo doesn¡¯t seem to like you very much.¡± As she said that, Leo growled softly in Chukaya¡¯s direction as if to prove Amira right. Chukaya glared at the lion-type magical beast in displeasure for standing in the way of yet another missed opportunity to impress his crush. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Ace commanded, preventing Chukaya from voicing his displeasure and wasting any more time. ¡°Killian, Leo, Mira, and I will drop the bombs on the rear of their army to signal the start of the battle.¡± General, I¡¯m leaving Ebeze and Chukaya under your command until we return.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us,¡± General Murciel nodded, forgetting that he was speaking to a 13-year-old boy as if he were his peer. ¡°Just take care of each other.¡± ¡°We will,¡± Ace said as he used [Geppo] to jump through the air in the direction of the O¡¯Brien Army. As soon as he stepped off, both Killian and Leo, who had Amira on his back, followed behind him. After returning, it wasn¡¯t just Leo he taught how to use [Geppo]; he also taught Killian and Joel. He would¡¯ve taught the others as well, but it was a technique that required one to be a warrior of the fifth stage to learn. On the ground, Ebeze, Chukaya, and even General Murciel watched with envy as the group from the Yin-Yang Pavilion essentially flew through the air. A feat that was ordinarily only achievable by saints and powerful wind mages. ¡°I wish I got to join the Yin-Yang Pavilion,¡± Ebeze muttered, a look of longing in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you both didn¡¯t,¡± Murciel said, knowing that the two remaining teens were two of the most talented youths in the empire. A disdainful snort escaped Chukaya¡¯s nose, but Ebeze replied before Chukaya got the chance to. ¡°We tried, but neither of our talents met their requirements,¡± Ebeze said regretfully. ¡°But looking at them, I understand why now.¡± A look of surprise appeared on the general¡¯s face as he glanced at both boys. After the princess left to join her new school, he had heard that the Pavilion was an institute that only accepted top-tier talents, but for both Chukaya and Ebeze to be rejected, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there were only three students in the whole of the pavilion, because talents of that level don¡¯t grow on trees. ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± Chukaya snorted. ¡°I was already over 10 when they started recruiting.¡± ¡°You say that like you would¡¯ve been accepted even if you were young enough,¡± Chukaya rolled his eyes. ¡°Your lightning affinity may be of the exceptional grade, but your spiritual essence was only 19x that of your peers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only one off the required grade,¡± Chukaya snorted, ignorantly believing they likely would¡¯ve made an exception for him. ¡°Whether you¡¯re one-off or ten-off, a failure¡¯s a failure,¡± Ebeze shrugged. ¡°Just accept your inadequacies and move on. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You two can talk about this later,¡± Murciel declared before Chukaya could rebut Ebeze¡¯s point. ¡°For right now, just follow me. I need to get my soldiers ready before the signal goes off.¡± . . . Whilst Murciel was hurrying to prepare his men, Ace and Leo were casually stepping through the air beside Killian, who, though able to use [Geppo], wasn¡¯t as adept as the others. ¡°I can¡¯t wait till I get to learn [Geppo]!¡± Amira exclaimed enviously as she watched her classmates walk on air as if it were solid ground. ¡°You¡¯re almost at the peak of the fourth rank,¡± Ace said. ¡°Knowing you, it¡¯ll only be another month or so before you reach the fifth.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± Amira said excitedly. ¡°And when I become a mage of the fifth rank, I¡¯ll be able to use [Geppo] and [Soru], with [Supersonic] and the [Floating Technique]. By then, I might even be able to fight on par with you in an aerial battle.¡± It was then that she remembered just how much of a freak Ace was. If she really wanted to close the gap between them, comprehending ¡®Impose¡¯ was probably the best place to start, and even then, it was only a start. Because Killian wasn¡¯t able to move as fast as Ace and Leo, it ended up taking the group over 15 minutes before they arrived. ¡°So this is what a fully formed army looks like,¡± Killian marvelled as he hopped in the air looking down at the thousands of enemy warriors below. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Ace nodded. Though he¡¯d been in multiple large-scale battles back during his days as a pirate, he had only ever seen and taken part in two wars. The war of the best in his last life, the war that claimed his life. And the Silverlight beast tide in this life. But this was different. This time he was going in with the strength to protect not only himself but everyone he cared about as well. Although he was a long way off from attaining the strength he needed to accomplish his goals, he was definitely on the right path. ¡°Okay, you guys ready?¡± Ace asked, turning to face Killian and Amira. ¡°Everyone got the magicite bombs in their storage rings?¡± ¡°Ready!¡± Kil and Mira nodded in unison. ¡°Good,¡± Ace smiled evilly as he summoned a head-sized crystal with various inscriptions engraved onto its surface. ¡°Then let¡¯s give these O¡¯Brien bastards hell!¡± Book 4: Chapter 26 – Saint-Level Comprehension ¡°Are you sure about this, General?¡± An extremely tall, dark-skinned warrior of the ninth rank holding a lance in one hand and a full body shield in the other asked as he stood in front of the rest of the Rohault Army facing the direction of the O¡¯Brien Empire with a pensive expression. ¡°Trusting such an important task to a bunch of kids¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, Regis,¡± Murciel replied to his right-hand man, Colonel Regis. ¡°Those aren¡¯t your ordinairy kids. If anyone can succeed at this, it¡¯s them.¡± Regis didn¡¯t respond, but it was clear from the look on his face that he was still sceptical. After Ace and the others took off, the General moved swiftly in commanding his subordinates to ready the troops, and due to their professionalism, even though no one understood why nor what exactly was going on, it only took ten minutes for everyone to form up ready for battle. That was when the general gave his colonels, all of whom were ordinairy warriors of the ninth rank, a brief on what was happening. Though they were all shocked and angered by the news of their enemies managing to sneak their spies into their rank, due to the prestige of the general, no one doubted the veracity of his words for even a moment. Due to the nature of their identity, Murciel left out the details about whom exactly the trio going to drop the bombs were, only telling them that they were specialists sent by the emperor himself, but Colonel Regis was different. As the General¡¯s oldest friend and right-hand man, Regis already knew that the people being sent by the emperor were precisely his daughter and her classmates. As sceptical as he was, though, all he could do was bury his doubts and stand beside his good friend, psychologically preparing himself to react to any unforeseen circumstances that may arise, but that was when three giant explosions went off in the distance. ¡°THIS IS IT, MEN!¡± General Murciel roared as he began to charge forward. ¡°LET¡¯S CREATE A RIVER OF OUR ENEMY¡¯S BLOOD!¡± A few kilometres in the distance, the O¡¯Brien Army, who had been waiting in anticipation, suddenly had their ranks thrown into disarray. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!¡± A warrior of the ninth rank who appeared to be the leader of the O¡¯Brien¡¯s forces roared when the bombs sounded. This man was General Lyrin of the O¡¯Brien Empire. He was General Murciel¡¯s opposing counterpart and long-standing rival. He, along with his subordinates, had been patiently waiting in position for over an hour for the battle to begin. After a great deal of planning, he had been desperately anticipating seeing the look of shock, horror, and unwillingness on his rival¡¯s face when he realised what was happening. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that even with all their planning, not only would their enemies foil their plans but also use it on them. Alas, the moment he heard the distant war cries of that all too familiar-sounding voice, he understood that, somehow, that was precisely what had happened. Fortunately, like his rival, he too had a wealth of experience, having basically grown up on the battlefield. As such, despite the panic of his subordinates, he was able to remain calm and rally his uninjured troops to march into battle to meet the incoming enemy. ¡°LYRIN, HAHAHA,¡± General Murciel roared with laughter as he finally saw his rival running towards him in the distance. ¡°HOW DO YOU LIKE MY SURPRISE?!¡± ¡°MUURRCCIELLL!¡± Lyrin bellowed furiously, not bothering with the small talk as he suddenly sped up. He knew that this was a horrendous failure, the type of failure it was hard to come back from, even at his level. The only way he would be able to have any hope of recovering from this embarrassing excuse of an operation would be if he were able to return with the head of General Murciel. As his counterpart, Murciel obviously knew this too, which was why he was anything but shocked when he saw Lyrin all but ignore the flurry of spells he had fired to recklessly close the distance between them. Unfortunately for Lyrin, they had been equal for as long as either of them could remember. Just because Lyrin was desperate to kill his rival, it didn¡¯t mean he would be able to all of a sudden be strong enough to do it. In fact, with Lyrin¡¯s rage essentially clouding his judgement, Murciel, who was by far the calmer of the two, was able to slowly but surely dominate their intense battle. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. In the skies, Ace and his team were hopping in the sky, looking down at the merciless battle taking part below. As talented and strong as they were, this was a first for both Mira and Kil. They had seen death and even killed before but never had they seen it on such a large scale, and both could only stare in shock. Though the battles between the higher-ranking combatants seemed to be fairly close, with each of them turning into a one vs one due to no one else being able to get near without being swept up in the aftermath, the battle between the lower ranks was basically a free for all. The only positive was that after dropping the bombs, not only had the O¡¯Brien army¡¯s numbers dropped substantially, so too had their morale. As such, the Rohault army was able to dominate in a fashion they had never before. They were still losing soldiers, but for every soldier they lost, five of their enemies would be cut down, never to breathe again. Whilst Amira and Killian were looking down blankly at the battlefield, trying to process the cruelties of war, Ace had his mind elsewhere. ¡°What do you think, Leo?¡± Ace asked suddenly, turning his head towards his beast partner, a fiendish grin suffusing his lips. ¡°You up for causing a little more damage?¡± An excited roar escaped Leonel¡¯s mouth as he understood what Ace was asking. Both Mira and Killian looked at Ace and Leo in confusion until they saw Ace raise his palm in the air in front of him and press down. ¡°Divine Descent!¡± Ace voiced. Leonel acted at the exact same time as he raised his paw and pressed down. And at the same time, a giant paw and palm print made of crimson flames formed in the sky above the rear of the O¡¯Brien Army. The O¡¯Brien soldiers barely had time to react before yet another surprise attack once again caught them off guard. As previously mentioned, Ace was able to share his insights with Leonel after the mutation of their spiritual link, but that worked both ways, allowing Leo to share his insights and comprehension with Ace. As Ace¡¯s comprehension was far superior to his beast partner¡¯s, there wasn¡¯t much for Leonel to share. However, that all changed after Leo finally managed to comprehend a trace amount of the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire. As it was the same mystery as his father, Carter ¨C the saint-level Bloody Eyed Mane Lion ¨C Carter was able to teach him his signature technique ¨C Divine Descent. Comprehension of the essence of fire allowed one to manipulate the shape and size of their flames. So Carter created a technique that allowed him to form a giant pawprint of fire to strike down on his enemies. As Leo¡¯s comprehension of the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire couldn¡¯t even be mentioned in the same breath as his father¡¯s, it was beyond hard for the Divine Beast to learn. It took a week for Leo to just create an incredibly small flaming pawprint, and even then, it could barely be called a ¡®paw¡¯ as the shape of it was distorted, but that was enough for Ace to learn the basics of the technique. Unlike Leo, Ace¡¯s insights into the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire was incredibly high, far higher than even Carter¡¯s. In fact, according to Aiden, Ace was at the level of an above average peak saint. As such, whilst Leo struggled to comprehend his father¡¯s technique, with Leo¡¯s insight into the specifics of the technique as a reference, Ace was able to master it almost instantly, which in turn allowed Leo to master the technique during their journey from the Pavilion to the Rohault Empire. If Carter could see the level his son had reached in just a few short weeks, he would undoubtedly be left speechless. This technique was his greatest creation and was even more complicated than most forbidden spells. But, unfortunately, that particular surprise would have to wait until they returned to the pavilion. With two giant palm prints falling on his subordinates, it was impossible for General Lyrin not to notice. It was actually those two attacks that managed to wake him up from his reckless, wrath-filled state. Not because they were particularly strong; in fact, the paw print only had the power of a seventh-rank spell, and the hand print had the power of a spell at the eighth rank. What caught him by surprise was that as someone who had comprehended ¡®impose¡¯, he could clearly sense that both attacks were infused with the power of the laws of nature. ¡°MURCIEL!¡± Lyrin roared furiously. ¡°You Rohault scum actually invited a saint to do battle?¡± Lyrin wasn¡¯t the only one in shock by those two attacks. As a mage at the peak of the ninth rank who was desperate to become a saint himself, how could General Murciel not sense the infusion of the laws of fire in both attacks, but as someone who¡¯d personally met both Ace and Leonel, he was instantly able to sense that it was formed from their energy, even if due to their shadow robes he couldn¡¯t actually sense them. ¡°Saint?¡± Murciel asked back whilst successfully suppressing his shock. ¡°You honestly think that if a saint were to attack, their attack would be so weak?¡± Though his instinctive guess was that the Rohault Empire had broken the unspoken rule and had a saint-level powerhouse take part in the battle, especially as he was unable to sense the presence of the attacker, he had to admit his rival was right. The casual strike of a saint would be able to decimate the whole of their army, himself included. But that made it even more difficult to believe as it meant that there was a mortal whose comprehension had reached the realms of a saint, and as the strongest of the strike was only at the eighth rank, the individual who cast the spell had to be at most at the seventh, potentially sixth rank. Despite all his experience, Lyrin had never met or even heard of anyone with such talent, including the disciples of the War God. In fact, the only person he could think of that might have had talent on that level was the War God himself. ¡°Tch!¡± Lyrin snorted unwillingly as he distanced himself from Murciel. ¡°RETREAT!¡± As soon as they heard their general¡¯s order, the O¡¯Brien soldiers began to use their well-practised tactics to retreat whilst losing as few of their own as possible. Having never experienced a victory of this level, many of the Rohault soldiers wanted to give chase and slaughter more of their enemies, but the qi-filled shout of their own general forced them to halt in their tracks. ¡°DON¡¯T CHASE!¡± General Murciel commanded. ¡°ALL UNINJURED ARE TO CARRY THE WOUNDED AND DECEASED BACK TO CAMP FOR A FULL RE-ORG!¡± Book 4: Chapter 27 – Celebrating An Enormous Win In the skies, Ace watched with a cold glint in his eyes as the O¡¯Brien army retreated with their tails tucked between their legs. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t at the third rank, there was no way my attack would¡¯ve done such little damage,¡± Ace muttered unwillingly, causing Amira, Killian, and Leonel to glare at him. ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace said when he saw the way his friends were staring at him. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only at the third rank as a mage, yet you were able to perform an attack stronger than any of us!¡± Killian snorted. ¡°Are you trying to make us feel bad on purpose?¡± Amira asked threateningly. Ace immediately raised his hand as if to surrender. He truly hadn¡¯t meant anything by it; he just wanted to inflict as much damage as physically possible. Still, he had to admit that they weren¡¯t wrong. Since the moment he started training to be a warrior, he knew that with his bloodline, he was a more than talented in the ways of a warrior, but it looked like his talent as a warrior paled in comparison to his talent as a mage. Lyrin wasn¡¯t completely wrong in his assessment when he guessed that the mage in question was at the sixth or seventh rank, as the spike in power when infusing the laws into a spell would only go so far, but what he could never have known was just how powerful Ace¡¯s soul was. It had to be remembered that to cast a spell, the body must be able to provide a sufficient amount of mageforce and then use spiritual energy to control that mageforce and summon enough elemental essence from nature to truly form the spell. It was impossible for a mage to simply rely on the elemental mageforce in the body. Take a forbidden spell, for example. The mageforce in the body of the average saint-level mage could only provide 1% of the amount of essence needed. The other 99% can only be provided by nature¡¯s elemental essence. It was the reason why saint-level mages had such high amounts of spiritual essence compared to warriors of the same level. So even without the aid of his insights into the laws of fire, purely with his incredibly powerful soul, Ace was effectively no weaker than a mage at the peak of the sixth rank, despite only being at the peak of the third. . . . Whilst Ace and his group made their way back to the Rohault camp, the O¡¯Brien Army were retreating back to their own camp, and unlike the Rohault Army, their morale was anything but high. ¡°General,¡± One of the ordinairy ninth rank warriors of the O¡¯Brien Army called out from Lyrin¡¯s side. ¡°Those attacks¡­ Was that a saint?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lyrin said, a grave and pensive expression hanging on his face as he replayed the attacks over and over in his mind. Truth be told, part of him wished it was. If it were, he couldn¡¯t be blamed for their failure tonight. As strong as they were, they were simply incomparable to even the weakest of saints. If the Rohault Empire really had broken the unspoken rule of mortal wars and invited a saint to support them, then not only would he be in the clear, but it would allow the O¡¯Brien Empire to send out their own saints, and it wasn¡¯t a secret that not only did the O¡¯Brien Empire have more saints, but their strongest saints were also more powerful. If this war truly became a battle between saints, the O¡¯Brien Empire would definitely make quick work of their long-time enemies, but therein lay the problem ¨C If he could think of this, then so too could Murciel! Even though saint-level experts could easily hide their power to make it seem weaker than it actually was, why would they show their insights into the laws of nature at all? It would make far more sense just to perform an ordinairy spell and suppress the power to the eighth rank without infusing their attacks with profound mysteries. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. When he thought to there, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Murciel was more than likely telling the truth. Those attacks really came from another mortal. ¡°Ruchim,¡± Lyrin suddenly called out to the Colonel who had originally posed the question. ¡°I need you to return to the Capital and inform the Emperor about everything that happened here today. Make sure you don¡¯t add anything unnecessary or leave anything out. Just give the cold hard facts.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Colonel Ruchim replied seriously. Considering all the facts they currently had at their disposal, it would be simple to say that the Rohault Empire invited a saint to ruin their plans and deal severe damage to their forces, but if the expert in question weren¡¯t a saint, like he suspected, the punishment he¡¯d face would be far worse. As such, the best option was to simply lay out all the facts for the emperor and let him decide how to proceed. Till then, he needed to focus on restraining the Rohault¡¯s inevitable advancement as much as possible. That in and of itself was going to be a tall order. Granted, they hadn¡¯t lost any of their more powerful soldiers, but with the number of lower-level warriors they¡¯d lost, the clashes moving forward would be anything but even. Whilst the morale of the O¡¯Brien Army was at an all-time low, the mood in the Rohault camp was at an all-time high. ¡°Everyone,¡± General Murciel called out when they returned back to their camp, infusing his voice with his battle-qi so everyone could hear him clearly. ¡°Tonight, like with every large-scale battle we face here, many of the lives of our brothers and sisters in arms were lost, but tonight each and every one of them gave their lives to help us secure a very important win -the likes of which we haven¡¯t seen in a very long time. The win you all helped to secure today is one that will be recorded and talked about for many years to come, so on behalf of the royal family and the whole of our great nation, I¡¯d like to say thank you. To celebrate our incredible victory, I am granting two days of R&R from tomorrow. I know it¡¯s not enough time for you to go back to your families, but it is enough time for you to recover from your hangovers from tonight¡¯s festivities!¡± The General¡¯s announcement was met with the cheerful shouts of all his subordinates, who were all still riding the high of their Empire¡¯s first major win on this battlefield. ¡°In two days, we will begin a new campaign where we, for the first time, take the fight to them, but until then, I want all of you to enjoy yourselves!¡± The General Exclaimed before dismissing everyone, bar Ebeze, Chukaya, and his right-hand man ¨C Colonel Regis ¨C whom he led to his personal tent where the main heroes of the night were waiting for him. Upon seeing the three hooded figures standing calmly beside the horse-sized, black-furred lion, whether it was Regis, Ebeze, or even the general himself, they stared at the trio in awe, especially at Ace. ¡°Thankfully, we were successful,¡± Amira voiced, calmly breaking the silence. ¡°Successful?¡± Regis laughed excitedly. ¡°Princess, that¡¯s an understatement!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad we could help,¡± Ace smiled calmly. ¡°What you did tonight went beyond ¡®help¡¯,¡± Murciel replied sincerely. ¡°Because of you, we were able to have our first major victory since the war began. And after witnessing that last attack¡­ Although deep down, Lyrin will know you¡¯re no saint, but because he can¡¯t confirm it, he¡¯ll have to be a lot more defensive with his tactics. At least until reinforcements arrive.¡± ¡°Will the fact that he can¡¯t confirm Ace¡¯s strength be a problem moving forward?¡± Amira asked, understanding the unspoken rules of mortal wars. ¡°If Ace were to suddenly disappear, then Lyrin might be able to argue that Ace was an undercover saint and that since we were using saints, then it would be acceptable for them to as well,¡± Murciel explained slowly. ¡°But even if they can¡¯t confirm his exact strength because of his robes when he returns to the battlefield, they¡¯ll be able to confirm that he¡¯s definitely not a saint, and that¡¯s the most important thing.¡± As he said that, both Murciel and Regis looked at Ace, unable to completely suppress their envy. The dark-haired youth had actually accomplished the one thing they both desperately desired, the only thing stopping them from reaching the saint realm ¨C comprehension of a profound mystery. Still, as jealous as they were, they were even more impressed and in awe because although he may not be a native, as Amira¡¯s classmate and Aiden¡¯s only disciple, he was still very much on their side. The conversation remained positive and harmonious, but the only person who didn¡¯t seem excited was Chukaya. He sported a complicated expression as he looked at them, or more specifically, at Ace. If he was able to remain sceptical before, now there was no denying it, Ace wasn¡¯t only more talented, he was also far more powerful. It felt as though his dream of capturing the heart of his crush had all but disappeared. At the same time, just outside the Rohault Army¡¯s camp Elder Ejiro who had been tasked with protecting Amira and the others from any saint-level experts that could potentially enter the fray had just ordered Duke Kaymin to go back and tell the Emperor everything that had transpired that night as he knew things weren¡¯t likely to end so simply. After the Duke left, Ejiro couldn¡¯t help but turn back towards the direction of Ace and the others. What was going through his mind at that moment, only he knew! Book 4: Chapter 28 – Reinforcements Finally Arrive Two days later, the Rohault Army took to the battlefield with renewed vigour. As predicted by Murciel, the O¡¯Brien army took a more defensive stance, merely trying to delay the advance of their enemy as much as possible. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t even able to do that as well as they would¡¯ve liked. Initially, the O¡¯Brien Army had an army that was almost twice the size of their opponents which enabled them to rotate their soldiers regularly and allowed them to keep their uninjured soldiers fresh, but after losing so many soldiers during their failed ambush and then with the addition of Ace¡¯s team, they were forced to send out their full strength each day, and although on the first day, they held the numerical advantage, after a long month, it was their enemies, the Rohault Empire that held every single advantage imaginable. The reason for this was the team of robed experts on the side of the Rohault Empire. It wasn¡¯t just Ace; his whole team ¨C including Ebeze and Chukaya ¨C had heavily tipped the scales in favour of the Rohault Army. Each of them was a genius in their own right. Even Ebeze, who was the weakest of them, was able to challenge and defeat most warriors of the sixth rank, whilst Killian and Chukaya were both capable of challenging those at the seventh rank. On the journey from the capital to the battlefield, Ace had already told Kil and Mira not to use everything they had in their arsenal so as not to give too many clues regarding their identities. As a result, whilst they went all out as warriors, both disciples of the pavilion decided to only use one of their elemental affinities, Of her light and wind affinities, Amira chose to focus on her wind affinity as it had the most supportive spells to assist her as a warrior, which would allow her to use more of her strength. As for Killian, despite having strong affinities to the laws of Destruction and lightning, the element he chose was Earth. Even though his original affinity to the earth element was at the exceptional grade, after being fed the Earth Root Fruit, Killian¡¯s affinity to the earth rose even higher. Even though there were no official affinity grades above exceptional, according to Aiden, Killian¡¯s affinity to the earth was not a whit inferior to Ace¡¯s to the laws of fire. As such, Killian felt as though there was a lot of room for improvement with regard to his comprehension, and what better place than the battlefield? Killian¡¯s current strength came as a shock to all who knew Killian¡¯s true cultivation realm. Though they expected him to be extremely talented, coming from the same institution as Ace and Amira, they didn¡¯t expect him to not only be able to jump two ranks but also make visible improvements on a near-daily basis. The person affected most by the display of Killian¡¯s strength, though, was undoubtedly Chukaya. He originally came to this war with grand ambitions of showing off his prowess to Amira and, ultimately, earning her hand in marriage due to his incredible feats. Unfortunately, ever since they left, it had turned into the Pavilion show, with each disciple displaying otherworldly talent. Even Amira, who was the weakest of the trio, was able to jump two ranks above her own to do battle. Still, as downcast as he was by the discovery of the abilities of the disciples of the pavilion in comparison to his own, there was no denying his talent. But without a shadow of a doubt, the ones that stole the show were Ace and Leo. Like Killian and Mira, Ace also held back, but whilst they limited themselves to only one element, Ace held back a whole path, limiting himself to only his abilities as a mage. Though he preferred fighting at close quarters, his decision made sense. Right now, other than his physical realm, there wasn¡¯t much left for Ace to improve on as a warrior, whereas there was still much of his potential as a mage to be unearthed. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Still, because he wasn¡¯t alone, he couldn¡¯t afford to be as unrestrained as he would like, charging head-first into enemy lines. As such, he and Leo decided to take a step back and allow the rest of the team to bear the brunt of the enemy¡¯s assaults, only taking action when things got too much for the rest of their team to handle. Unfortunately for the O¡¯Brien Army, it didn¡¯t matter if they tried to overwhelm Ace and his team with a high number of weaker soldiers or a few additional warriors at the seventh and eighth ranks; the moment Ace or Leo stepped in, they would show that all tactics fail in the face of overwhelming power. They quickly understood that it would take one of their ninth-rank warriors to defeat them, but as the O¡¯Brien warriors at that level were tangled up with their counterparts, the options they had at their disposal were limited. During the course of the month, the O¡¯Brien Army had lost a lot of ground, being forced back over a hundred miles, but because the vast majority of the land that made up the ground between the two sides were open plains, it wasn¡¯t too important, but they were rapidly approaching the first of many towns that belonged to their empire, and whilst losing ground was shameful, losing an actual town was simply unacceptable. Over the last few days, General Lyrin had fought desperately to slow down their opposition¡¯s advancement as much as possible, hoping that reinforcements would arrive soon. But even though it had already been a month, their reinforcements still hadn¡¯t arrived. He didn¡¯t understand why it was taking so long, but he couldn¡¯t afford to think about anything but the task at hand. ¡°General,¡± One of Lyrin¡¯s subordinates called out from outside the general¡¯s tent. ¡°I¡¯ve got Tulse Redwin here as you requested.¡± ¡°Let him in,¡± Lyrin replied indifferently. Redwin Town was a fairly small town named after its ruler, Tulse Redwin. He wasn¡¯t particularly powerful, only being a warrior of the seventh rank, but because it was his town under threat of invasion, Lyrin forced the town leader to assimilate his army into theirs, as weak as they were. ¡°Sir,¡± A burly middle-aged man bowed respectfully as he entered. ¡°I¡¯ve been brought up to speed on the imminent threat my town¡¯s facing. As requested, I¡¯ve assembled all the able combatants my town has at its disposal, and although not much, we should be able to help slow down those Rohault bastards until reinforceme-¡± ¡°Lyrin,¡± A loud imposing voice called from outside as the entrance to the general¡¯s tent was opened. There weren¡¯t many that would dare to enter General Lyrin¡¯s tent so casually. In fact, there was no one among the general¡¯s subordinates who¡¯d dare to act in such a brazen manner, but Lyrin didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°Finally!¡± Lyrin sighed as he saw a towering figure duck down to enter his tent, along with a couple of other similarly imposing figures. ¡°I was beginning to think reinforcements weren¡¯t¡­ Olivier? I didn¡¯t expect you to be sent as well.¡± The last to enter the spacious tent was a cold-faced, brown-haired young man donning a glistening white robe who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. ¡°The Emperor asked me to come,¡± Olivier replied indifferently. ¡°We had to wait for Olivier to return from his training before coming to assist you,¡± The large warrior who entered first explained, understanding that the young Olivier was a man of few words. ¡°Emperor Johan wanted to ensure that if the mysterious expert you sent word back about is really a mortal, they¡¯re dealt with now before they can grow any stronger. And if they¡¯re a saint, Lord Lanke will deal with them.¡± ¡°Lord Lanke?!¡± Lyrin asked, unable to contain his surprise. ¡°As in sir War-God¡¯s 24th Disciple?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± The large man nodded. ¡°If those pieces of trash from the Rohault Empire really dared to allow a saint to enter the battlefield for mortals, then Lord Lanke has been given the green light to not only kill the saint in question but also slaughter every soldier of the Rohault Army to send a message.¡± ¡°That mystery expert,¡± Olivier said, his interest suddenly roused. ¡°What do you know about him.¡± A helpless sigh escaped Lyrin¡¯s mouth as he recalled the individual in question. ¡°The first thing you need to know is that there are a total of six robed people in the team, and each of them is wearing a robe that prevents you from getting an accurate read on their exact cultivation realm ¨C presumably to hide their identities. The first is someone I believe to be a warrior at the fifth rank because when ¡®wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯, can only match up to a warrior of the sixth rank¡­¡± One by one, Lyrin explained everything he knew about each of the robed experts, and if Ace and the others were there, they could only nod, as bar Ace himself, Lyrin had been correct about the assumed levels of the others. What surprised Olivier and the other three peak rank nine warriors he had come with was that although the strengths of most of them weren¡¯t impressive when remembering their assumed realms, they had to admit that each of them was beyond talented because their levels of comprehension had far surpassed the average elite at their realms, with Killian and Amira¡¯s ability to cross realms to fight matching that of Olivier¡¯s ¨C the man referred to as the ¡®Prodigy Sword Saint¡¯ ¨C when he was at their realm. ¡°¡­But the two we need to be most weary of are the fire mage and his fifth-rank magical beast¡­¡± Book 4: Chapter 29 – Thank You Although the morale in the Rohault camp was high, there was hardly anyone wandering around at this time. If everything went to plan, tomorrow would be the day when they conquered Redwin city, the first official piece of territory taken from the overlords that are the O¡¯Brien Empire since their formation. As such, almost everyone was getting their heads down, ensuring they were fully rested. Although things had gone pretty smoothly till this point, the O¡¯Brien Empire wasn¡¯t a force that one could ever afford to underestimate. Even though most of the soldiers were resting for the big day, there was a dark-haired youth lying down under the night sky, looking up at the stars absentmindedly. ¡°You know you have an army-issue bed of your own, right?¡± Amira said as she approached her classmate, calmly sitting beside him. ¡°Surely lying on that would be more comfortable than the cold hard ground.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier to clear my head out here,¡± Ace replied softly. ¡°What about you? Tomorrow¡¯s a big day for your Empire; why aren¡¯t you in your tent resting up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier to clear my head out here,¡± Amira answered, using Ace¡¯s own words against him. Ace smiled but ultimately said nothing as he turned his head up to look blankly at the stars hanging in the sky above him. For the next five minutes, the pair lay there in silence, but Ace could feel Amira staring a hole in the side of his head the whole time. ¡°What is it?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Are you ever going to tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡± Amira asked, a hint of worry seeping into her voice. Tonight wasn¡¯t the first night she¡¯d caught Ace like this. In fact, every night since they¡¯d arrived, he¡¯d do the same thing. If he were meditating or training, she wouldn¡¯t think much of it, but he wasn¡¯t. He would just lay there blankly. Between that and the bloodlust she felt from him whenever he took the life of an O¡¯Brien soldier¡­ During their training expedition in the mountain range of magical beasts, she had seen Ace take the life of others on several different occasions, be it human or beast, but this was different. Now, it was almost like he revelled in it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ace asked back, caught off guard by the sudden line of questioning. ¡°Ever since you arrived in the Rohault Empire, I could tell there was something bothering you; I just don¡¯t know what it is,¡± Amira replied seriously. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, and I want to know why.¡± Ace opened his mouth to answer, but Amira¡¯s following sentence forced him to close it and rethink. ¡°And don¡¯t you dare try to lie to me!¡± Turning to look at her face, Ace could sense how serious she was being. Still, his problems weren¡¯t so easy to speak about. It was as if he were scared that saying it aloud would somehow make it even more real. ¡°Please,¡± Amira voiced as she crawled behind him, holding his cheeks in her small soft palms. ¡°Please let me in.¡± Mira¡¯s face was upside down above his as she stared down into his eyes, but what caught him by surprise was the sight of the tears welling up in her eyes. Over the years since they met, Ace had seen a myriad of different emotions appear on Amira¡¯s face. Happiness, frustration, resentment, unwillingness, and even fear, but this was different. This wasn¡¯t an expression he recognised, but it was one that managed to melt his heart. He didn¡¯t understand it, but there was something inside him that prevented him from doing wrong by Amira and seeing her like that kicked that ¡®something¡¯ into overdrive, forcing him to reveal far more than he really needed to. ¡°Do you believe in reincarnation?¡± Ace asked, catching Amira off guard. ¡°Reincarnation?¡± Amira asked back, not understanding where Ace was going. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never thought about it.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t either,¡± Ace smiled. ¡°Until it happened to me!¡± Ace looked up at the shock on Amira¡¯s face, still hanging over his, before closing his eyes, thinking back to the scenes from his previous life. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Hard to believe, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ace sighed. ¡°But it¡¯s true. I¡¯m not sure how or why, but somehow, I reincarnated into this world from a world that couldn¡¯t have been any more different¡­¡± Amira forced herself to suppress her shock so she could take in Ace¡¯s tale of his last life, as farfetched as it was. A world where pirates ran amok and magical fruits that granted the person who ate them magical powers¡­ Ace told her everything, from how his mother selflessly gave her life to carry him for an additional nine months to deceive the world of his connection to his father. How he met his two sworn brothers, how he met the only man he ever truly saw as a father, to how he died in his little brother¡¯s arms. The whole thing couldn¡¯t have sounded any more preposterous, and yet she didn¡¯t doubt him for even a second, especially upon seeing the varying emotions flashing across his face. ¡°¡­ And then, when I woke up, I found myself in the body of a newborn baby in this world,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°Wow,¡± Amira said as she processed everything Ace told her before her brows suddenly furrowed. ¡°As shocking as all that is, it doesn¡¯t explain your sudden change in demeanour.¡± Hearing that, Ace suddenly hesitated; although the scars from the traumas of his first life were still there, enough time had passed for them to scab over, whereas everything with Milianna was still fresh, making it harder to talk about. Still, looking up into Amira¡¯s eyes seemed to magically put him at ease, albeit only slightly, but enough to continue. ¡°Not long after you left to return home, Linley¡¯s little brother arrived at the Pavilion¡­¡± Even though she believed him, Amira was able to stay calm when listening to the tale of Ace¡¯s first life because, as thrilling as it was, she didn¡¯t know anything or anyone from that world other than Ace himself, but this was different. As her senior martial sister and Ace¡¯s mother, Milianna was someone she knew very well, so hearing about how she suffered because of Kenyon and more so when finding out the truth about her past, it was impossible to stay calm, but hearing the tone of Ace¡¯s voice and the look on his face, her heart panged with pain. Ace was completely and utterly emotionless, but she understood that it wasn¡¯t personal. It was only by suppressing all of his emotions that he could get through his retelling of what transpired without succumbing to his emotions. ¡°¡­ And that was when Kong suggested coming here to the battlefield to vent,¡± Ace said as he looked back up at the stars, his eyes vacant and his emotions too chaotic to make sense of. ¡°Two lives and two worlds,¡± Ace muttered softly as tears began to well up in his eyes. ¡°Both times, I was conceived by amazing women any child would be lucky to call mother but a father that could only be described as a monster. Doesn¡¯t that make me a monster too?¡± Hearing that, things started to fall into place in her head. It was obvious and understandable that Ace was angry over what had happened to Milianna, but it wasn¡¯t that simple. Amira could sense the darkness that was starting to envelop Ace, and she could feel that it was getting more and more intense by the day. Right now, he was able to suppress it and act as usual in front of other people. Still, unless he managed to find a way to overcome this darkness, there would come a day when it swallowed him completely, not too dissimilar to the problems both Lina Baruch and Milianna were facing as former pure souls. Most would believe that it all stemmed from Ace¡¯s anger and protectiveness of his mother, but Amira knew there was more to it, and that was his father issues. Ace genuinely believed that whether it was this life or his last one, both his biological fathers were monsters, and as their offspring, he must be too. It was why he was allowing himself to revel in the death of his enemies more and more. ¡°First of all, no, it doesn¡¯t. We are not our parents.¡± Amira stated matter-of-factly. ¡°But more importantly, from everything you told me about your first father, he didn¡¯t sound like a monster. He just sounded like a man who wanted to live freely without being told what to do by others he didn¡¯t agree with. From the sounds of it, most of the negative rumours spread about him were just propaganda spread by his enemies. Just think about it, two of the men you respected most in your life knew him well, and despite standing on opposite sides to him, both of them seemed to hold a great deal of respect for him. Do you really think Whitebeard and Garp would¡¯ve respected him so much if he were that much of an evil monster? And most importantly, for all his flaws, the one thing I am absolutely sure of is that he loved you.¡± Everything Amira said seemed to strike a chord in him, but it was her last words that really stirred his emotions. ¡°You think so?¡± Ace asked hesitantly. Even though he¡¯d never said it aloud or even admitted it to himself, the real reason Ace hated Roger so much was because he felt abandoned. It wasn¡¯t logical, and he knew it, but he hated that his father left him to grow up in a world that hated him instead of staying by his side to teach him how to manoeuvre through it. ¡°I really do!¡± Amira nodded sincerely. ¡°The easy option would¡¯ve been to ask one of his crew to look after you and raise you, but instead, he asked a man who saw him as a rival and enemy, a man that spent a lot of his life trying to arrest him. The only reason for him to do that was to give you, his only son, a better chance at living happily without inheriting his sins.¡± ¡°But I still inherited them,¡± Ace clenched his fists unwillingly. ¡°But that was through choice,¡± Amira said straightforwardly, ignoring the shock it brought Ace. ¡°When you were born, no one knew that you were the son of the king of the pirates; as such, no one hated you for the deeds of your father. On the contrary, it was you who actively went out of your way to take on that burden. O¡¯Brien¡¯s a piece of trash who deserves a fate worse than death, but Gol D. Roger sounded like a man who would¡¯ve done anything for his son.¡± As he heard that, something seemed to click in Ace as he suddenly sat up. A weight that had been weighing down on him for the better part of two lives, like magic, suddenly vanished! He felt lighter today than he ever had in the past, and the girl in front of him was the reason. ¡°Amira,¡± Ace said sincerely, stroking her cheek before taking her in his arms. ¡°Thank you!¡± Book 4: Chapter 30 – The Unbeaten General Arrives Formed up a mile ahead of Redwin Town was the reinforced O¡¯Brien Army, and unlike the last few days, it appeared to be back to full capacity. Not only had the soldiers of Redwin bolstered the numbers, but the reinforcements from the capital had seamlessly filled the gaps. And although the morale couldn¡¯t be said to be high, it was stable, and the main cause wasn¡¯t the size of the army, but the four men stood at the front, more specifically, the brown-haired young man standing calmly in the centre. Marching towards them in the distance was the Rohault Army led by General Murciel, and by his side was Ace and his team. Whether it was Murciel, Ebeze, or even Leonel and Killian who knew him best, none understood the reason, but they all noticed a subtle change in demeanour from Ace. It was as though his back had grown by a couple of inches overnight, and the confidence he subconsciously emitted was almost tangible. Only Amira, who was smiling sweetly under her hood, understood that this was a brand-new Ace they were looking at. As for the rest of the Rohault Army, the morale on their side was even higher today than it had been the day before, and that was because as long as they won their battle today, they would have conquered the first official territory of their long-standing enemy. ¡°Hmm,¡± Ace voiced as his [Observation] suddenly locked onto several new presences. ¡°Interesting,¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Amira asked. ¡°Did you sense something?¡± ¡°It looks like their reinforcements arrived in time after all,¡± Ace explained calmly, not too phased by the sudden development. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to go all out after all.¡± ¡°So it seems,¡± General Murciel added, seeming to understand what Ace was referring to. With the reinforcements of the O¡¯Brien Army, General Murciel¡¯s side was back to being at a distinct disadvantage, especially with the addition of the top-level powerhouses, and when the weaker soldiers saw exactly what they were going up against, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of dread threaten to overwhelm them. After many decades of battle, both sides were fully aware of the powerhouses of the other side, and for warriors of this level, a distance of only a few hundred meters was no different to a few tens of meters to an ordinairy mortal. ¡°That woman at the front¡­ Isn¡¯t that General Metria?¡± One of the Rohault soldiers said upon seeing a beautiful yet cold-faced woman holding a straight sword in one hand and circular shield in the other standing at the front of the O¡¯Brien Army. ¡°And beside her, isn¡¯t that General Fuscor?¡± Another soldier said upon seeing the towering man holding a man-sized halberd across his shoulder, staring at them with visible excitement. ¡°The ma¡­ man in the middle. Isn¡¯t that Gen¡­ General Akerlund?!¡± Another soldier stuttered in fright as he looked at the brown-haired young man standing indifferently with his eyes closed. Everyone on the side of the O¡¯Brien Army, including the other generals, was dressed in the standard issue crimson armour, ready for war, which was why General Akerlund stuck out like a sore thumb. Unlike his fellow compatriots, Olivier was dressed in his usual plain white robes. Despite being overwhelmingly underdressed for the occasion, it was the same man that put the fear of God in all of the ordinairy Rohault soldiers. It was public knowledge that at 38, Olivier Akerlund, the prodigy sword saint, was the strongest mortal in the O¡¯Brien Empire and was only half a step from the saint rank. Even amongst the various generals of both nations, he was a tier higher. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°So that¡¯s Olivier, huh?¡± Ace asked casually as he looked at the young man whose mere presence was able to cause such panic. ¡°That¡¯s him, Olivier Akerlund,¡± Murciel said gravely. ¡°He¡¯s not even a third of my age, yet if I were to face him alone, it¡¯d be difficult for me to even escape with my life.¡± ¡°Ooh?¡± Ace voiced with a hint of surprise. After these last few weeks, Ace had a pretty good understanding of General Murciel¡¯s strength. Even though the man was far from the most powerful mortal he¡¯d ever seen, that was only because he knew mortals like his master and the other instructors back at the pavilion. Aside from them, Murciel was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most powerful mortal he¡¯d met to date. ¡°According to Kong, he was the only person of his generation able to fight him to a standstill. I wonder if he could still do it now?¡± Ace wondered half-jokingly. ¡°Definitely not!¡± Killian replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Kil¡¯s right,¡± Amira added. ¡°That was over ten years ago, and back then, Olivier had already broken through to the ninth rank, whilst senior brother Kong was only at the eighth. Senior Brother¡¯s now at the ninth rank, and his comprehension of the profound mysteries has only deepened. Although that Olivier¡¯s now at the peak of the ninth rank, it¡¯s clear he hasn¡¯t gained any insights into any of the profound mysteries.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Ebeze asked curiously. Although his father was also at the peak of the ninth rank and a step away from the saint rank himself, he still didn¡¯t understand much about the saint rank. ¡°Because as long as you¡¯re a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, the moment your comprehension steps into the profound level, you will automatically become a saint,¡± Amira explained patiently before looking back at Olivier. ¡°If he and Kong were to fight now, he¡¯d be lucky to last one strike.¡± Her words caused no small amount of shock for those senior warriors standing close enough to hear the conversation between the mysterious group of robed experts. If it were anyone else who was speaking so highly about a ¡®senior brother,¡¯ they would have taken it as nothing but shameless boasts, but with the performance of each of the robed experts, it was clear that they understood the truth about those at the peak of the mortal realms. Hell, from the sound of it, they had a better understanding than most of them. Still, hearing there was an expert out there at the ninth rank like them who was capable of defeating Olivier Akerlund in one strike was a lot to process. Listening to their conversation, Murciel couldn¡¯t help but shake his head inwardly as he thought about the difference between these children and his fully grown adult subordinates. Whilst the soldiers under his command were slowly allowing fear to take hold of them, these teens, some of whom had only recently stepped onto a battlefield for the first time, were talking and gossiping amongst themselves without a care in the world. The only robed figure that wasn¡¯t involving themselves in the conversation was Chukaya. Ever since Ace had revealed his overwhelming ability, Chukaya had become more and more reserved. The older teen¡¯s feelings for the princess had never been much of a secret. Due to them both being amongst the top talents in the empire, many had subconsciously believed that the two would one day end up together, but after meeting Ace and seeing his relationship with Amira, General Murciel knew Chukaya stood no chance. But that was the last thing on his mind at that moment. He was about to head into the most important battle of his career and couldn¡¯t allow his people to stay in their current headspace. ¡°I know after seeing our opponents today, many of you are starting to feel doubtful as to whether or not we can succeed, but I¡¯ve never led us on a suicide mission, and I don¡¯t intend to start today,¡± Murciel announced, skilfully infusing his battle-qi into his voice so that not only his troops, but even those on the opposing side could hear clearly. As he said that, a small smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he looked up at the sky. ¡°Just in time!¡± Hearing Ace¡¯s words, those closest to him all followed his line of sight, only to see two figures rapidly descending from the clouds above. As the duo crashed into the ground, they created a giant cloud of dust that prevented others from getting a clear picture of who they were, but with his [Observation], Ace was able to see both of them clearly. On the left was a dark-skinned Amazonian woman with long braids tied in a ponytail behind her, holding a giant spear even taller than her. Ace had no idea how she¡¯d be able to wield such a large polearm effectively, but looking at the excited grin on her face, he doubted he¡¯d have to wait much longer to find out. And on the right was a familiar figure that Ace had met personally once or twice already. ¡°Huh,¡± Ebeze voiced as he looked at the familiar figure of the larger of the two. ¡°Is that¡­¡± It was then that General Murciel finished his speech, instantly putting the minds of all his subordinates at ease. ¡°They may have Olivier Akerlund, but we have Kaymin Banux ¨C The Unbeaten General!¡± Book 4: Chapter 31 – My Name’s Gol D. Ace ¡°Hmm,¡± Olivier suddenly opened his eyes to meet Kaymin¡¯s gaze. Sparks imperceptibly flew as the two made eye contact, but that reaction only caused the prodigy sword saint to smile as his interest in this battle was finally roused. ¡°So that¡¯s Kaymin Banux?¡± ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± General Lyrin answered gravely. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to come today.¡± It wasn¡¯t just him feeling nervous at the arrival of the general. Kaymin Banux wasn¡¯t referred to as the ¡®unbeaten general¡¯ for no reason. Ever since rising to the rank of a general, he had never suffered a single loss, on any battlefield. ¡°I¡¯ll handle him,¡± Olivier stated as his anticipation began to grow. Though no one ever said it explicitly to his face, he knew that most of the general public believed it was General Kaymin that was the strongest mortal on the continent, but as one could imagine from a talent of his level, he had unwavering self-confidence in himself. As far as he was concerned, after becoming a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, Olivier believed it was he who was the strongest mortal on the Yulan continent, and he would prove it. First, by defeating the man standing across from him, and then he would go find and defeat the ape-man who fought him to a standstill all those years ago, despite being at a lower realm ¨C Wukong! Wukong was the only stain on his otherwise peerless record, and whilst it really had eaten away at him ever since, he also had to admit that it was because of him that he could reach his current level. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± General Metria, the only female general on their side, stated calmly. ¡°No need,¡± Olivier rejected indifferently. ¡°I can deal with him on my own.¡± ¡°Metria¡¯s right,¡± Lyrin said seriously. ¡°You don¡¯t understand how much of a monster that man is. Whenever Kaymin has stepped onto the battlefield in the past, it took three of our generals to hold him off. I know you¡¯re stronger than the rest of us, but you should still take Metria with you. If not, and that monster gets passed you, that will be the end of all of us. Not only will we be forced to retreat once again, but those Rohault bastards will be the first side in our nation¡¯s history to have actually conquered any of our territories.¡± Olivier didn¡¯t respond immediately; he just silently glared unwillingly at General Kaymin. As much as he still believed he wouldn¡¯t lose, he knew that this battle was one they couldn¡¯t afford to lose. If they did, not even he would be spared from punishment. Not only was the O¡¯Brien Empire one of the six great political organizations, but they were also one of the two strongest with a deity standing behind them; as such, any loss suffered on the battlefield would reflect poorly on their patron deity ¨C the War God, O¡¯Brien! ¡°Fine,¡± Olivier unwillingly acquiesced, glancing indifferently at the cold-faced general to his side. ¡°But you¡¯re only to support me. I don¡¯t want you to interfere unless absolutely necessary. Do you understand?¡± Although they were all technically the same rank, due to Olivier¡¯s strength and age, he was seen as the leader of the O¡¯Brien¡¯s generals. As such, General Metria could only nod her head, knowing that this was likely the biggest concession the young General was likely to make. ¡°As you wi¡­ What is he planning to do?¡± General Metria suddenly said when she noticed one of the five mysterious robed experts breaking rank to walk towards them. ¡°Ace?¡± Kaymin asked when Ace stepped past him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything dangerous,¡± Ace replied calmly, his steps not stopping for even a second. ¡°I just want to even the playing fields a bit.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Though the General didn¡¯t know what Ace was planning, after everything he had accomplished on the battlefield whilst protecting his son, he decided to give Ace the benefit of the doubt. Ace¡¯s pace remained unhurried as he continued to stroll in the direction of their opponents. His conversation the night before with Amira had done him more good than she could even imagine. His anger towards his biological father hadn¡¯t receded in the slightest, but no longer was it hanging over him, threatening to consume him. He no longer wanted to take the life of every person in the O¡¯Brien Empire to sate his thirst for vengeance; his desire for retribution started and stopped with O¡¯Brien himself! The other change in Ace came in the shape of a change in outlook. After learning the truth about his mother¡¯s past and his origins, he knew that if he wanted to achieve his goals of vengeance, the smart thing to do would be to remain in the shadows until he was strong enough to achieve his goals in one fell swoop. He should be as careful as physically possible so as not to reveal anything that could blow back on him or his family and friends. Still, after reconciling the turmoil he¡¯d been suffering in his heart for over 30 years, he realised something. ¡®I won¡¯t hide my edge anymore. I¡¯m the son of the King of the Pirates! I¡¯m the son of Gol D. Roger! He came to a stop just over 100 meters in front of the O¡¯Brien Army, and at that moment, other than Killian, Amira, and Leonel, who already knew what he was planning, there wasn¡¯t a single person present who wasn¡¯t in shock. A proud and confident smile suffused his lips as he slowly removed the cloak from his body, allowing everyone to get a good look at him. At the same time, an ethereal energy exploded out of him, crashing down on every single person in the O¡¯Brien Army. Everyone, from the four generals at the peak of the ninth rank to the ordinairy foot soldiers at the fourth rank, felt something crashing on their psyche, threatening to knock them out. Those at the sixth rank and above were able to shake it off with relative ease, whilst those at the fifth rank had to fight tooth and nail to stay conscious, with some of those with weaker wills even falling to their knees, but all those at the fourth rank directly collapsed. ¡°What was that?¡± General Fuscor asked incredulously, unable to wrap his head around what just happened. ¡°Some sort of spiritual attack?¡± ¡°I thought only saint-level mages could use their souls to attack directly like that?¡± Lyrin asked, no less confused than his fellow general. ¡°I¡¯ve suffered a spiritual attack in the past,¡± Metria frowned as she turned around to see that over half of their subordinates had fallen unconscious. ¡°That was no spiritual attack!¡± ¡°Just who¡­ No, what¡­ What is this kid?!¡± Fuscor asked as he stared cautiously at Ace, standing leisurely before them. ¡°Lyrin,¡± Olivier called out, staring intently at the dark-haired youth in complete and utter disbelief. ¡°Is that boy the same fire mage you said had reached the profound level of comprehension?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be 100 percent, but going off his height and build, it should be,¡± Lyrin said hesitantly. ¡°This¡­ How¡¯s this possible?!¡± Olivier muttered to himself, still staring intently at Ace. ¡°What is it?¡± Fuscor asked upon sensing the extent of Olivier¡¯s shock. ¡°Is he a saint-level expert after all?¡± Not only was Olivier the most O¡¯Brien Generals present, but he also had the most powerful soul, matching that of a ninth-rank mage. As such, if anyone was able to tell if the mysterious youth was a saint in disguise, it was him. ¡°No, he¡¯s definitely a mortal,¡± Olivier confirmed, his eyes not moving from Ace. ¡°But he¡¯s only a fifth-rank warrior and a mage at the peak of the third rank.¡± Olivier felt like his eyes had to be deceiving him. The youth before him looked no older than 15, and yet, if the rumours about his powers were true, this teen had already accomplished something many fully grown adults never do ¨C himself included ¨C his comprehension had reached the profound level, and if that wasn¡¯t hard enough to believe, he appeared to be an even stronger warrior than he was a mage. Olivier¡¯s statement brought the group no small shock, but Ace didn¡¯t care in the slightest. Despite standing in front of several figures far stronger than him, his focus was on something else all together. ¡®Did you see that, pops?¡¯ Ace thought to himself as a cheerful smile spread across his face, looking up at the clouds in the sky, the face of the man who took him under his wings and treated him as a son appearing in his head. ¡®I can finally use it; I can finally use [Conquerors Haki].¡¯ Ace and Whitebeard both knew that Ace had the qualities of a king after having seen Ace use it on a subconscious level whilst in a tricky situation in his last life. The problem was, for reasons unknown to him at the time, he hadn¡¯t been able to learn to control it. Still, Whitebeard made sure to teach him everything he could about it in case he wasn¡¯t around at the time when he was truly able to awaken it, and it was a good thing he had. With the strength of Ace¡¯s soul now, his perception was tens of times more powerful than it was in his last life. Even though he had only awakened it last night, he was almost instantaneously able to control it to the point where he could use it to attack specific targets in a crowd. It was at that point that he heard Olivier¡¯s voice bringing him back to reality. ¡°Who exactly are you?!¡± ¡°Me?¡± Ace asked, a confident grin appearing on his face as he flicked his wrist, summoning his glaive, ¡®Newgate¡¯, from his storage ring. ¡°My name¡¯s Gol D. Ace!¡± Book 4: Chapter 32 – Final Battle (1) ¡°Gol D.?¡± Fuscor muttered to himself with a frown. A name like that was extremely unique. He, along with his colleagues, would¡¯ve instantly remembered if they had heard it before. It just meant this ¡®Gol D. Ace¡¯ likely came from a weak family in a small and remote territory none of them had ever heard of or been to. Alas, it didn¡¯t matter who his family were or where he came from. All that mattered now was eliminating a future threat. If he was really as old as he looked, there was no doubt in any of their minds that once he grew up, he would truly be unrivalled. Even Olivier understood this, which was why he was the first to take action. ¡®Fast!¡¯ Ace noted to himself as he foresaw Olivier¡¯s golden qi-coated sword appear at his throat at a speed too fast for him to evade even with his [Observation Haki]. Still, his face showed no panic. In fact, he was still smiling calmly as he also foresaw General Kaymin take action at the exact same time. ¡°Well done, Ace!¡± The unrivalled general announced calmly as his crimson battle-qi-coated great sword clashed with the young prodigy of the opposing side, his voice projecting so both sides could hear. ¡°Your efforts today will be the reason we hand the O¡¯Brien Empire their first official defeat since the start of their rise. Now, you go back and help the others. Leave him to me!¡± ¡°General Kaymin,¡± Olivier said as he stared into his opponent¡¯s eyes, his battle intent soaring like never before as his blood boiled in excitement. ¡°I¡¯ve looked forward to this meeting for a long time now.¡± ¡°Ooh, and why¡¯s that?¡± Kaymin asked calmly. ¡°Because after I take your head today, you will no longer have the title of the Unbeaten General!¡± Olivier exclaimed as his sword flickered around the general, trying to reap the life of the most powerful man he¡¯d fought to date. General Kaymin¡¯s previous statement had the effect of rousing his troop¡¯s morale whilst suppressing his enemies even more than it already was after Ace mysteriously knocked over half of them out, but Ace barely registered any of it. Instead, his attention was on the streak of fire left from when the General moved to stop Olivier from attacking him. ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Ace thought before he was once again brought back out of his daze by the true eruption of the battle between the titans of the battlefield. ¡°KILL ACE!¡± Lyrin roared as he and all the ninth-rank warriors shot forward as quickly as possible, hoping to stop their target from escaping. Unfortunately for them, as soon as they made a move, so too did the top experts of the Rohault Empire. Still, with their reinforcements, there was a slight gap in the number of top experts between both sides, and whilst it didn¡¯t make much of a difference in the fights between generals as it required at least two to keep Kaymin tied up, there was still an ordinairy rank nine and several rank eight warriors that the higher-ups of the Rohault Army couldn¡¯t keep occupied. ¡°LEO!¡± Ace shouted as he skilfully weaved in and out of the various battles leading the remaining ninth-rank warrior away. ¡°KILL THE RANK EIGHTS. LEAVE THIS ONE TO ME! THE REST OF YOU, WORK TOGETHER TO FIGHT THE REST!¡± As his voice waned, both Killian and Amira stared in the direction he was running away unwillingly with their fists clenched tightly. They knew that as it stood, Ace still wasn¡¯t strong enough to fight against rank nine experts, but he had to because they were still too weak to interfere in a battle of that level. Ace wasn¡¯t the only person to make a breakthrough the day before. During yesterday¡¯s battle, Amira had finally stepped into the fifth rank as a warrior, allowing her to hold her own against experts at the seventh rank like Killian and Chukaya. But, unfortunately, warriors of the eighth rank were still too much for the current them. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. If they were only a little stronger, they would be able to deal with the enemy¡¯s rank eight experts allowing Leo to support Ace against the warrior of the ninth rank. Although on their own, neither was quite as powerful as a rank nine warrior, fighting together was a different matter altogether. Killian roared in anger at his own weakness as he clapped his hands together. As his palms separated, a jet-black spear made of pure destructive mageforce formed. ¡°[Spear of Destruction]!¡± At the same time, Amira¡¯s eyes frosted over as she raised leapt towards one of the warriors of the seventh rank, both of her swords emitting a blinding light as they sped towards the head and neck of her target. Though they didn¡¯t remove their hoods, Killian and Amira had had enough of holding back. Today they would reveal their full strength so that they could do whatever they could to ease the burden on Ace. Killian¡¯s [Spear of Destruction] was a spell of the fifth rank that his master, Mathias, had created, and although the element of destruction was by far the strongest in terms of pure offence, it should be easily dealt with by a warrior of the seventh rank. But those with an affinity to any of the edicts were too rare, so when Killian¡¯s target saw the jet-black spear flying towards him, he was momentarily taken aback, stopping him from reacting as quickly and efficiently as he usually would have. Still, as an experienced warrior of the seventh rank, his reaction speed was anything but slow. Unfortunately for him, by the time he made a move to dodge, not daring to take on a spell of the edict of Destruction head-on, Killian had insta-cast his [Supergravity Field] and [Earth Tremor], slowing his target down even further and preventing him from regaining his footing. Just as the spear made contact, the man covered his body in a sea blue battle-qi before it exploded. His battle-qi managed to protect the rest of his body from damage, but it was too late for his arm. The explosion vaporised everything from the shoulder down, but before he could even release a pained cry, a giant twin-sided battle-axe appeared in front of him, mercilessly descending, cleaving him in two from the head down. Killian¡¯s show of force was so brutal that it made several of the other soldiers on both sides stare at him like he was some sort of monster. That lapse in concentration proved fatal for the soldiers of the O¡¯Brien Army as Amira, who had already cleanly dealt with her opponent, flickered, appearing in the middle of the O¡¯Brien ranks, her blade dancing through the air, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. ¡°KILL THOSE TWO FIRST!¡± One of the peak seventh-rank warriors shouted, forcing his comrades out of their daze. ¡°KIL, NOW!¡± Amira shouted back. After a month of fighting together and having trained alongside each other for five years prior, the teamwork of the two pavilion disciples was virtually seamless. Killian didn¡¯t need his classmate to say anything else as he immediately leapt towards her, once again insta-casting the [Supergravity Field] to slow down their enemies. At the same time, Amira insta-cast [Supersonic] on him, giving him a sharp increase in speed. Though earth and wind were what the duo were best at and also the best elements in terms of support, with neither of them holding back their other elements, it allowed them to tap increase their arsenal, giving them access to a variety of spells for different any potential scenario. Ebeze and Chukaya watched what was effectively a light show, with their mouths agape as the duo slaughtered their enemies at a speed that made the efforts from the day before look almost snail-like. ¡°HAHAHA! NOW THAT¡¯S WHAT I¡¯M TALKING ABOUT!¡± Ebeze shouted as he too jumped head-first into the thick of things. Though he was nowhere near as strong as either of them, he didn¡¯t let his jealousy hinder him. In fact, he used it as motivation. It was that attitude that allowed him to improve so much in such a short space of time. Though he hadn¡¯t made a breakthrough as such, in Ace¡¯s eyes, he was the one who had seen the biggest and arguably most important improvement. Whether it was his combat intelligence or battlefield IQ, it was constantly climbing. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of who his father was and the way he was raised or if it was completely innate, but in Ace¡¯s eyes, Ebeze was literally born for warfare. He went from a complete amateur on day one to the battlefield leader he was today. Even though his blood was boiling with excitement, he didn¡¯t let it cloud his judgement. On the contrary, he constantly did what he could to save the lives of his fellow soldiers whilst taking command of those around him, giving them even more of a tactical advantage than they already had. Despite being the oldest of the group, Chukaya could only look at his peers dejectedly. He came here with such grand aspirations, only to perform the absolute worst. Even Ebeze, someone he always viewed with complete disdain, had accomplished far more than he had, despite being significantly weaker. As time went on, the edge he¡¯d developed from being the strongest of all his peers and thought of in such high regard by his seniors began to dull. Now he could barely bring himself to lift his sword as feelings of inferiority began to overwhelm him. Book 4: Chapter 33 – Final Battle (2) On another side of the battlefield, the fight between ¡®The Prodigy Sword Saint¡¯ and ¡®The Unbeaten General¡¯ raged on. To most, it would appear as though Olivier was dominating, not giving Kaymin a chance to breathe, and to be fair, that was precisely what was happening. Olivier¡¯s speed made him a nightmare for other warriors. Unless your speed were up to par, you¡¯d find yourself overwhelmed by flickering lights of golden battle-qi. Even General Kaymin, a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank who was anything but slow, couldn¡¯t find the time to counter, all he could do was block, parry, and dodge, preventing his opponent from landing a strike. ¡®Hmph, and they said I¡¯d need help to fight someone of this level¡­¡¯ Olivier thought disdainfully as he continued his onslaught. ¡®It¡¯s only a matter of time before he makes a mistake, and I make him pay with his life!¡¯ General Metria could practically read her fellow general¡¯s mind just from seeing the arrogant smirk playing on his lips, and whilst she had to admit that Olivier¡¯s ability as a warrior was truly incredible ¨C to the point where if it were her, she would¡¯ve already died ¨C she was still clutching her sword and shield ready to react at any moment. Olivier may not have clashed with Kaymin before, but she had, and she knew better than to think this was the limit of his strength. Just the tranquil expression on his face as he was ¡®overwhelmed¡¯ was enough to let her know that the monster in front of her hadn¡¯t even started getting going yet. Every time their swords met, a shock wave would ripple out from them at the epicentre. The contrast of the gold of Olivier¡¯s battle-qi against the red of Kaymin¡¯s made it look like a captivating fireworks display from afar, but each of those ¡®captivating¡¯ fireworks helped turn what was once a grassy plain into a devastated wasteland. It was at that moment that Olivier¡¯s relentless assault finally breached Kaymin¡¯s defence. It was a shallow wound across his shoulder, but it was still a wound, and as far as Olivier was concerned, it was the start of the end for his foe. Unfortunately, before he could take advantage of Kaymin¡¯s injury to add to it, the unbeaten general swung his great sword across his body with unbridled ferocity, creating a scarlet, crescent-shaped sword light forcing Olivier to hurry out of the way. ¡°Looks like you really are the more powerful warrior out of the two of us¡­¡± Kaymin sighed as he slowly raised his hand, pointing at his brown-haired opponent. A smug smile was just starting to form on Olivier¡¯s face when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. ¡°[Scorching Meteor Shower]!¡± Kaymin muttered softly. Olivier¡¯s eyes widened as he saw dozens of house-sized meteors form in the skies above him. As the fight between him and Kaymin raged on, he had forgotten that the real reason the unbeaten general was so frightening was that he was just as skilled a mage as he was a warrior. Although, as far as warriors went, Olivier was undoubtedly the more powerful of the two, General Kaymin¡¯s prowess as a warrior beat all of those he¡¯d ever gone up against, including all of those from his own nation. As a result, Olivier subconsciously believed this had to be everything he had. Still, as a highly experienced and exceptionally talented warrior, he instinctively suppressed the shock he was feeling to deal with the incoming attack. Re-coating his body and sword in his golden battle-qi as he leapt up to meet the meteor shower head-on. ¡°[Light-Sword]¡±, Olivier roared as he slashed out as fast as he possibly could. ¡°He really is an extremely talented warrior,¡± Kaymin sighed as he watched the young man¡¯s sword light multiply, going from one to two, to four, to eight. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Eight enormous sword beams tore through the air, cutting one of the meteors into eight smaller pieces, giving him a path out of the meteor shower. Unfortunately for the young swordsman, Duke Kaymin had already seen through his intention. ¡°You can die now ¨C [Dance of the Fire Serpent]!¡± Kaymin voiced coldly as a 100-meter-long crimson serpent of pure flaming mageforce appeared in the skies above Olivier diving down like a divine tribulation. Olivier had been so focused on finding a path out of the meter encirclement that he didn¡¯t notice the fiery snake in the sky until it was virtually on top of him. Despite his lightspeed reactions, Olivier immediately understood he wouldn¡¯t be able to block this one. All he could do was increase the battle-qi coating his body to its maximum output and brace for impact. Still, he knew that his escaping with severe injuries was already the best-case scenario. But just as his body tensed, anticipating the pending explosion, he saw a shadow flicker past him to intercept the spell just before it hit its target, reminding him that he wasn¡¯t alone in this battle. The spell [Dance of the Fire Serpents] was a spell of the eighth rank that created seven ten-meter-long fire snakes, but Kaymin had long since altered the spell to make it a single target spell of the ninth rank, a feat that only went to show his impressive talent as a mage. Luckily for Olivier, Metria, who had been waiting on the side-lines, had been ready to intervene the whole time. The moment she saw the enormous sky-covering serpent taking form, she leapt into action. Coating her body in a purple battle qi of the lightning element, she tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, her battle-qi-coated shield in front of her to meet the spell and her sword slashing out from behind, creating a lightning sword beam. The sword beam did little to weaken the fire spell, but it did slow the attack just enough for the only female general on the side of the O¡¯Brien Empire to intercept. As the giant burning serpent and General Metria¡¯s shield made contact, it created a sky-shattering explosion that made all of the other battles happening pause to see what had happened. The only person that didn¡¯t wait to see what had happened was the main culprit of the explosion. General Kaymin left a trail of fire as he sped into the cloud of smoke. The sounds of metal clashing could be heard throughout the battlefield as the smoke slowly dissipated, showing the shocking sight of General Kaymin fighting Generals Metria and Olivier to a standstill. Despite the speeds he had been moving at before, during the whole of the first part of their battle, miraculously, Olivier didn¡¯t have so much as a hair out of place or a single crease on his robe, but now¡­ Half of his robe was incinerated, and his body was covered in burns. His injuries weren¡¯t enough to impact his strength, but as he wasn¡¯t the one to bear the brunt of the attack, it only went to show the power of Kaymin¡¯s spell. Despite wearing expensive armour forged from some of the sturdiest ores on the continent, General Metria was in far worse condition than Olivier, with her armour being melted in several spots and her just as many burns so deep the bones became visible. Still, as a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, her vitality was nothing to scoff at. Despite her gruesome injuries, she was still able to fight at a level that would put the average ninth-rank warrior to shame. But her opponent was far from your average warrior of the ninth rank. General Kaymin had managed to create a fighting style which perfectly fused the spells of a mage with the skills of a warrior, which allowed him to dominate the fight, forcing both his opponents into a position where they could only defend. Now that Kaymin was going all out, Olivier finally realised how right everyone had been. Even if he wasn¡¯t caught off guard by his last strike, as he was currently, Olivier wasn¡¯t Kaymin¡¯s match. It was only with Metria¡¯s help that he was able to last so long. ¡®If only I hadn¡¯t been so arrogant and wilful,¡¯ Olivier cursed mentally. ¡®Maybe then we wouldn¡¯t be in this position.¡¯ He may not be affected too badly by his injuries, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for his fellow General. Though not life-threatening, Metria could barely fight at 70% of her best. If she was at 100%, then between the two of them, they might actually be able to fight to win instead of fighting to survive. As the other battles restarted, most soldiers on both sides made sure to divert some of their attention to General Kaymin¡¯s battle. Everyone already knew that that was the one that would prove to be the deciding battle, as whoever won would immediately turn the tide of the whole war. With Kaymin now in such a dominant position, it had the Rohault soldiers fighting steadily, just biding their time, waiting for the moment they got to erupt and win this war once and for all. Whilst the remaining O¡¯Brien generals began fighting with wild abandonment, understanding that if they were going to have any chance at victory, they had to defeat their Rohault counterparts and go to support Olivier and Metria before Kaymin found a way through their defences. The only two not paying any attention to the battle between the three generals were Ace and his opponent ¨C Colonel Lorne! Book 4: Chapter 34 – Final Battle (3) From the moment the fight began, Ace had been put on the defensive, forced to dodge and run so he wouldn¡¯t be overwhelmed. Even though he was virtually invincible amongst those at the eighth rank, the difference between the eighth and ninth ranks was simply too vast. If it weren¡¯t for his insights into the profound mystery of Fire-body allowing him to become intangible to anyone who hadn¡¯t comprehended impose, Ace would¡¯ve lost his head on at least three separate occasions. ¡°Is running away all you can do?¡± The sword-wielding Colonel Lorne roared as he continued to chase after his young target, his sea blue battle-qi coating his body, increasing his speed as much as possible. ¡°You do realise your like ten times my age!¡± Ace snorted as his body continually flickered from place to place. ¡°If I were your age and as weak as you, I¡¯d probably have already killed myself out of shame!¡± Every time Ace moved, he¡¯d leave a streak of fire in his wake, allowing him to move at speeds that even he had originally been shocked by. When Ace had first begun leading the Colonel away from his friends, he couldn¡¯t help but replay the scene of General Kaymin entering the battle in his mind over and over again. The general used a simple but effective movement technique that used his fiery battle-qi to propel himself forward. Though he hadn¡¯t begun cultivating battle-qi, with his profound insights into the laws of fire, Ace could use his mageforce as an effective substitute. Unfortunately, Ace quickly realised that as his mageforce couldn¡¯t compete with Kaymin¡¯s battle-qi, his usage of the technique wasn¡¯t as effective as [Soru], which sparked the idea of fusing the two. It was these attempts which almost cost Ace his life on several occasions. Eventually, he realised that although he couldn¡¯t use his flames for each ¡®step¡¯ of [Soru], he could almost double his speed by using it on the final step. At the beginning of the fight, the difference in speed forced Ace to rely on his foresight to barely evade each strike, unable to put any real distance between them, but now Ace was no slower than his opponent, and each use of the technique allowed him to refine it a little bit more, essentially allowing him to slowly, but surely improve his speed, making their game of cat and mouse all the more frustrating for the Colonel. At this point, Ace knew that the smart thing to do was continue as he was now until Leo finished his group of enemies before the two of them fought Lorne together, but the thought of winning his first fight as ¡®Gol D. Ace¡¯ didn¡¯t sit right with him. ¡®When I win, I want to win decisively, on my own!¡¯ Ace declared in his head as he suddenly caught his opponent off guard by doing a 180 and charging straight towards the Colonel. ¡°Finally!¡± Colonel Lorne roared with laughter as his shock quickly turned into glee as he saw his elusive target charging at him. Though Lorne still found it hard to believe that a teenage warrior at the fifth rank was actually able to move faster than him, he knew none of that would matter as soon as they were in striking range of each other. The only thing he was slightly worried about was Ace¡¯s ability to transform his body into fire, becoming intangible. Still, he could sense the drain on his opponent¡¯s mageforce every time he did it, so as long as he was able to keep Ace in striking range, it would only be a matter of time before the youth was defeated. Ace was well aware of what the Colonel was aiming to do, and he knew that Lorne wasn¡¯t wrong in his assessment. Still, his eyes showed no hesitation as he and his opponent closed in on each other. When Ace was mere inches from striking range, Lorne¡¯s excitement was at its peak as he could practically foresee Ace¡¯s death from his intended bombardment. But unfortunately, Ace had other plans. Everything Ace had displayed so far, from his use of the ¡®fused state of wielding¡¯ to ¡®impose¡¯ to his ¡®logia¡¯ ability, made Lorne forget about the first ability, which shocked just about every person on the battlefield ¨C on both sides. Ace¡¯s jet-black eyes suddenly dilated as his [Haoshoku] Haki exploded out of him, crashing onto the psyche of his opponent, momentarily incapacitating him. Lorne was only dazed for a fraction of a second, but a fraction of a second in a fight at this level was enough to cause irrevocable damage, especially when they were practically on top of each other already. Ace¡¯s glaive tore through the air at blinding speed aiming for Lorne¡¯s neck, but lucky for him, he regained control of his body just in time to instinctively raise his swordless hand and lean his head out of the way. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Under normal circumstances, between the difference in strength and the Colonel¡¯s battle-qi constantly coating his body, Ace wouldn¡¯t even be able to pierce the skin. However, when Lorne was left temporarily dazed by Ace¡¯s haki, his battle-qi also dissipated. By the time he had resummoned his sea blue battle-qi, Ace¡¯s obsidian glaive had already torn straight through his forearm. Not wanting to give up his hard-earned advantage, Ace¡¯s body flashed, appearing right behind his opponent, his glaive shooting through the air like a meteor, only to come to an abrupt stop just before the back of Lorne¡¯s neck. With his battle-qi active once again, Ace was back to being unable to pierce his opponent¡¯s defences. ¡°JUST DIE ALREADY!¡± Lorne roared in rage as he swung his sword behind him, hoping to cleave Ace in two. Even though Ace wasn¡¯t caught off guard, the speed of Lorne¡¯s sword was too fast for him to dodge. As such, he was once again forced to use his logia abilities to evade the strike. ¡®I only have three of those left in me,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he distanced himself from his one-handed opponent, fighting to steady his breathing. ¡®I can¡¯t drag this out any longer¡­ But even with his injury, I still can¡¯t get passed his battle-qi, unless¡­¡¯ Ace suddenly roared with laughter catching his opponent by surprise. ¡°I¡¯m such an idiot!¡± Ace said to himself as he began coating his glaive with his fiery mageforce. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of this sooner?!¡± Just when he was ruminating about what he could do to win his fight, he thought back to how he was able to mimic General Kaymin¡¯s battle-qi-induced movement technique with his mageforce and realised that since he could use mageforce as a viable substitute for battle-qi before, there was no reason why he couldn¡¯t again. He wasn¡¯t sure how effective it would be, but he was excited to try. Lorne watched in disbelief as Ace¡¯s fiery mageforce formed a skin-tight coat around his glaive before his opponent all but disappeared, only to appear directly beside him, the sound of a sonic boom threatening to burst his eardrums as Ace¡¯s fiery glaive broke the sound barrier. As a highly experienced veteran warrior, Lorne was able to suppress the pain of losing a hand and the shock of Ace¡¯s improvised battle-qi to calmly raise his sword to block Ace¡¯s attack, but he wasn¡¯t able to suppress the shock in his heart as both sword and glaive made contact. ¡°You¡­ Your strength¡­ How is that possible?!¡± Lorne stammered after being forced two steps back. Ace grinned excitedly as he looked at the Colonel in front of him like he were prey. Although still not quite as strong as his opponent, after their last clash, Ace was able to confirm that the difference in strength between him and a rank nine warrior had just been significantly reduced. If nothing else, he finally had a way to pierce the battle qi of a warrior at the ninth rank. When he first began chasing after Ace, Lorne thought the task of killing this mysterious young genius would be one of low risk and high reward, but Ace insisted on surprising him at every turn, and now, without even realising it, seeds of genuine fear had taken root and began to sprout. No longer was Lorne trying to kill Ace for the inevitable rewards for taking out a future threat to their nation. Instead, he fought to survive against someone he now viewed as no weaker than him. The fight went on for several minutes with Lorne, for the first time since the beginning of their battle, kept on the defensive, with small cuts and burns appearing on his body as he failed to block or dodge several of Ace¡¯s attacks. Still, Ace wasn¡¯t an idiot. He could clearly see that other than the severed hand, all of Lorne¡¯s other injuries were superficial at best and that the Colonel was just biding his time now, waiting for Ace to run out of mageforce, something Ace knew would happen very soon, but unfortunately, there was nothing Ace could do ¨C he was already going all out. If he could hold on for another five minutes, Ace knew he would definitely be able to finally defeat his opponent, but as a mage of the third rank, stamina was never going to be one of his strong points when fighting at this level. Still, his eyes showed no traces of hesitation as he continually attacked, constantly searching for a path to victory. Alas¡­ ¡°HAHAHAHA, FINALLY!¡± Lorne roared with laughter as Ace¡¯s mageforce finally ran dry. Their weapons clashed for what felt like the 10,000th time that day, but this time Ace was the one retreating this time. With his pseudo-battle-qi no more and his strength not what it was at the beginning of the fight, not only was Ace sent flying, his left shoulder was dislocated as he rolled along the floor. ¡°Without your mageforce, what are you now?¡± Lorne derided as he strode towards the panting teen, enjoying the dynamic returning to what it should be ¨C with him in control of the situation. But as Ace shakily stood to his feet and looked back up, instead of the fear and apprehension Lorne expected to see, he saw a sneer that gave him goosebumps for reasons that escaped him. Ace had a dislocated shoulder forcing him to hold his glaive with one hand, his whole body was aching, and each breath felt like sandpaper was rubbing against his lungs, and yet his eyes grew in excitement as he eyed his opponent. At first, Lorne genuinely had no idea what Ace possibly had to smile about, but suddenly he felt the temperature skyrocket as a sea of flames suddenly materialised in the sky above him. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You ran out of¡­¡± Lorne suddenly stopped midsentence as he looked down from the sky-consuming fire at the dark-haired youth holding his glaive in front of him with his one good hand. ¡°You¡­ You broke through?!¡± Ace had been at the peak of the third rank as a mage for some time now. Initially, he assumed it would take another few days before he made his breakthrough, but between the pressure he was under in the fight and his continued use of his mageforce, he was able to make a breakthrough midbattle. ¡°I WON¡¯T LET YOU!¡± Lorne roared as he shot towards Ace, the fear of Ace finishing his spell allowing him to move faster than he ever had before. Unfortunately, Ace no longer had any desire to fight at close quarters. Without hesitation, he leapt into the sky and began leaping through the air, once again shocking the O¡¯Brien Colonel. Lorne was just about to leap into the air in a last-ditch effort to chase after and kill his target when he saw the fire above him finish morphing, taking the shape of Ace¡¯s glaive. ¡°It¡¯s about time this comes to an end,¡± Ace voiced as he looked down at Lorne, staring up in fear at the giant scarlet glaive that blotted out the sky. ¡°Divine Descent!¡± Book 4: Chapter 35 – Final Battle (4) As soon as Ace¡¯s sky-covering flames appeared, everyone, including General Kaymin and his two opponents, looked up in disbelief. Not because it was overwhelmingly powerful but because they could all sense whom it belonged to and understood what it meant. It had to be remembered that Ace¡¯s spells were equal to that of a mage at the eighth rank despite him only being at the third. Initially, they believed that even if Ace broke through to the fourth rank, his spells would still be in or around the eighth rank because the difference between the eighth and ninth ranks was like the difference between heaven and earth, but the fiery polearm in the sky clearly radiated the might of a ninth rank spell. How could they possibly know that because of his bloodline, Ace¡¯s breakthroughs as a mage were far more impressive than others in the same realm? Upon breaking through to the fourth rank, not only did his mageforce become purer and bigger, but because of his [Observation] being so closely linked to his soul, the strength of his soul also improved, meaning that he was able to borrow even more of nature¡¯s essence to strengthen his spells. Like the fight between Generals Kaymin, Olivier, and Metria, there was no one in the vicinity of Ace¡¯s fight, but that scarlet glaive was over 100 meters long, allowing those well over a mile away to see it clear as day as it descended. But unlike the others who were left speechless and or in awe, the eyes of the unbeaten general glazed over as he witnessed the explosion created by the impact. ¡°DIE!¡± General Metria hissed as she charged in, her short sword making a perfect arc directed at Kaymin¡¯s neck, aiming to take full advantage of the general¡¯s dazed state. At that moment, the pain of her injuries all but vanished as the thought of being the one to slay the unbeaten general brought her no small sense of excitement. She would be hailed a hero for generations to come, rewarded with riches and treasures that may even be able to help her become a saint in the future, but that was all provided she was successful in her endeavour¡­ ¡°That explosion,¡± Kaymin muttered absentmindedly, completely ignoring the blade that hadn¡¯t even managed to pierce the crimson battle-qi coating his body. ¡°Fire is explosive.¡± ¡°You¡­ How¡­ Did you¡­ Saint!¡± Metria stuttered as she stared at the unbeaten general in horror. ¡°METRIA, RUN!¡± Olivier bellowed when he saw General Kaymin¡¯s battle-qi suddenly brighten and expand. Unfortunately, before Metria could make her escape, Kaymin¡¯s overbearing hands wrapped around her neck, holding her firmly in place. ¡°You can die now,¡± Kaymin said softly as another explosion went off, with the unbeaten general himself being the epicentre. This explosion was by far the biggest of the day, so big in fact that despite being further away and much faster than his colleague, Olivier barely managed to escape unscathed. For the third time that day, everyone stopped what they were doing as they turned their heads toward General Kaymin. They had been so distracted by Ace¡¯s final attack that they hadn¡¯t realised what had happened with Kaymin, Metria, and Olivier until they heard the prodigy sword saint¡¯s shout. They didn¡¯t know what had happened, but judging by Olivier¡¯s pensive and unwilling look as he stared, waiting for the smoke to fade, they could guess that it was nothing good, at least not for those from the O¡¯Brien Empire. Without fail, everyone present on both sides stopped fighting to watch with bated breaths as the smoke cleared, and as it did, not a single person wasn¡¯t shocked when the results of the explosion became visible. ¡°Dad¡­¡± Ebeze called out, unable to contain his excitement as he looked up at the dark-skinned warrior hovering in the sky. ¡°HAHAHA, YOU REALLY DID IT¡­ YOU BROKE THROUGH TO THE SAINT REALM!¡± That¡¯s right, the explosion caused by Ace¡¯s last attack triggered an epiphany for General Kaymin, allowing him to finally comprehend a trace amount of the profound mystery of explosions, which in turn allowed him to finally accomplish his lifelong dream of becoming a saint. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°This war is over,¡± General Kaymin calmly announced, his voice calm and steady but still emitting a subtle pressure that made it hard to refuse, especially for the weaker soldiers. Still, whilst the weaker soldiers looked at the unbeaten general in fear and awe, the colonels and generals present had differing expressions. Those from the Rohault Empire wore dignified expressions as their grips around their weapons tightened as though they were preparing themselves for a bitter battle. The colonels and generals from the O¡¯Brien Empire, on the other hand, wore relaxed and almost excited expressions as Olivier took a step forward. ¡°Congratulations on becoming a saint, general, or should I say, Elder Kaymin,¡± Olivier voiced calmly, suppressing his envy. ¡°But you know the rules of war better than anyone. Saints are forbidden from intervening in the battles of mortals. If you choose to intervene in this battle, none of us are strong enough to stop you, but my O¡¯Brien Empire will definitely retaliate by sending saints of our own to crush you and your Empire.¡± ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Kaymin asked coldly, his aura rising steadily as he locked eyes with the young swordsman. Olivier didn¡¯t reply, but neither did he break eye contact. He knew the newly ascended saint could kill him with a single attack, but his pride wouldn¡¯t let him back down. Luckily, the O¡¯Brien had come prepared for any situation that may arise. ¡°He may not be,¡± A blonde man immaculately dressed in a billowing blue robe flying towards them from the distance said calmly as he came to a stop between the O¡¯Brien army and General Kaymin. ¡°But I am! The war will continue, and if you intend on intervening, I don¡¯t mind entertaining you.¡± The blonde-haired saint was Lanke ¨C the 22nd disciple of the War God O¡¯Brien. He was far from the strongest of the War God¡¯s Disciples, but he was still a peak saint; as such, he was more than capable of dealing with a newly promoted saint, even one as talented as Kaymin, who had become a saint as both a warrior and mage. Kaymin knew he wasn¡¯t a match for Lanke, but he didn¡¯t bat an eyelid when he arrived, as the O¡¯Brien Empire weren¡¯t the only one to make contingency plans. Before Lanke could continue, a tall, middle-aged dark-skinned man with long curly black hair tied in a ponytail and a long sword sheathed on his back appeared in the sky with the other two saints too fast for any of the mortals below to follow. ¡°Ejiro,¡± Lanke said, his voice becoming colder as he looked at the lanky elder before him. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Over 100 years,¡± Elder Ejiro replied indifferently. A little over a century ago, Lanke and Ejiro met on the battlefield, and back then, Ejiro had forced him to retreat, but back then, he had only just broken through to become a peak saint. For the average peak saint, 100 years wasn¡¯t enough to make any significant improvements, but like the rest of the War God¡¯s disciples, Lanke was an elite among geniuses not much worse than Olivier. Ever since then, Lanke had been silently hoping for a chance to return the favour, and it looked like they would get their chance today. He didn¡¯t even care that Ejiro would have the support of another saint. As far as he was concerned, forget Kaymin, who had just broken through; even an established saint at the early stages would only be courting death if they got involved in a fight between peak saints. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you two really intend on getting involved?¡± Lanke asked with a hint of anticipation as he summoned his straight sword from his storage ring. ¡°So what if I do?¡± Ejiro replied icily as he, too, drew his sword from his back. ¡°So I¡¯ll just have to stop you!¡± Lanke replied as his body suddenly multiplied, creating ten identical clones that surrounded his two opponents. ¡°EVERYONE, GET BACK!¡± Kaymin roared to his subordinates, understanding what was going to happen. Even though the area he had used to fight Olivier and Metria had already been cleared for fear of getting caught in the backlash, how could a battle between three mortals even begin to compare to the fight between saints of this level? Though he was speaking to the Rohault soldiers, the soldiers from the O¡¯Brien Empire also followed his commands, not wanting to get caught up in the shockwaves of the battle. At the same time, Ace, who was now running on fumes, looked up to see the rest of his group coming to check on him. Be it Amira, Killian, or Leo, they were all covered in blood, but thankfully it didn¡¯t appear to belong to them. ¡°How badly are you hurt?¡± Amira asked softly as she carefully helped Ace to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Ace said as he forcibly popped his shoulder back into his socket before giving it a twist to make sure it was in properly. ¡°I¡¯m mostly just tired, but we need to get a little further back before we get caught up in the upcoming battle¡­ or worse.¡± ¡°Or worse?¡± Amira asked, following her classmate¡¯s line of sight only to see that Olivier and the other generals of the O¡¯Brien army were still glancing their way as they too retreated. Even though Ace defeated a genuine warrior of the ninth rank, Lorne was still only in the early stages, making him one of the weakest. Plus, not only were the generals all at the peak of the ninth rank, they had all comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯. Even if Ace had been at his best, he still wouldn¡¯t be a match for any of them. ¡°Hmph, those brain-dead idiots,¡± Ebeze snorted. ¡°Can¡¯t they see that the saint their all relying on is going up against two of our saints?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that simple,¡± Ace frowned as he spread his observation over the saints staring each other down. ¡°You think Elder Ejiro and Kaymin might¡­¡± Before Amira could finish her question, she was interrupted by the deafening shockwaves of the beginning of the saint¡¯s battles. Thankfully, Ace had been positioned pretty far away already. Though they could feel the ground shake each time their weapons met, that was it. Still, the fact that the shockwaves could reach them from this far away just went to show how powerful saints really were. But as the fight went on, the frown on Ace¡¯s face only deepened. Book 4: Chapter 36 – Final Battle (5) Even though he couldn¡¯t follow their movements, what he could tell was that despite Ejiro and Kaymin working together, they were slowly being suppressed. Lanke¡¯s insights into the law of wind¡¯s profound mystery of doppelgangers allowed him to create ten virtually identical clones that appeared to be no weaker than the original body, and although not as fast as elder Ejiro, who had gained insight into the profound mystery of movement of the law of lightning, the laws of wind was also one of the fastest elements granting Lanke ridiculous speed. The fight had only just begun, and Elder Kaymin had already suffered a grievous laceration running across his chest. ¡°We need to go,¡± Ace announced solemnly, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Rohault saints ended up losing, at which point their group would become the focus of the enemy¡¯s attack. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Chukaya snapped back. ¡°My master is one of the strongest saints in the Empire; there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll lose!¡± Although Ebeze didn¡¯t say anything, it was clear from the look on his face that he, too, had faith in his father and Elder Ejiro. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to arg¡­¡± Ace stopped midsentence as his head snapped back in the direction of the battle in shock before refocusing on Chukaya and Ebeze. ¡°We need to go¡­ Now!¡± They didn¡¯t know what Ace just sensed, but none said anything as they immediately did as they were told. Ever since they arrived on the battlefield, Ace had rarely given them explicit orders, usually leaving them to act as they wished, with him only acting to protect them when absolutely necessary, so when they received this order, especially when hearing the graveness in his voice. ¡°Hmph! A battle between peak saints isn¡¯t the place for a newly promoted saint!¡± One of Lanke¡¯s clones snorted as he looked down at Kaymin, who was gritting his teeth, clutching his armless shoulder. Despite being filled with confidence and excitement after his breakthrough, a veteran like General Kaymin would never allow his new strength to get the better of him and cloud his judgement. He knew that getting involved in a fight at this level was foolish on his part, but when he saw Ejiro being overwhelmed by the jump, he knew he didn¡¯t have a choice. If they lost, the war would definitely resume, and it didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that Ace and his team would be the focus of their attack. And with him unable to take part anymore, Olivier would be free to make quick work of the Ace and the others. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of patriotism, wanting to follow the Emperor¡¯s orders to protect the princess; it was also his paternal instincts forcing him to take action. How could he, as a father, just sit back and watch as his one and only son was killed in front of him? ¡°To think, the day I finally became a saint would be the day I was killed as well,¡± Kaymin muttered to himself as he stood back up with a self-mocking smile. Still, as much as he felt it to be a shame, he held no regrets. He could sense Ace hurriedly leading his son and the others away. As a father, he was more than willing to lay down his life if it meant his son could live. ¡°I don¡¯t know where your Empire found that Ace boy or the rest of his friends,¡± Lanke said, having seen through Kaymin¡¯s thoughts. ¡°But if you think we¡¯d let them escape, you¡¯re sorely mistaken!¡± As he heard that, Kaymin¡¯s eyes suddenly bulged as he sensed General Lyrin rapidly chasing after them. ¡°SHIT!¡± Ace cursed as he turned around. ¡°You guys keep going!¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING?!¡± Ace shouted when he noticed Killian, Leo, and Amira all stop to follow him. ¡°We¡¯re a team!¡± Killian indifferently replied. ¡°No!¡± Ace snapped. ¡°This isn¡¯t a fight you can get invo-¡± ¡°We¡¯ll face whatever comes together!¡± Amira added, not allowing Ace to finish his sentence. Ace wanted to get rid of them so no harm came to any of them, but looking at their expressions, he understood he didn¡¯t have time. ¡°Fine,¡± Ace sighed helplessly. ¡°But me and Leo will fight up close, Mira, Kil, you two just focusing on supporting us.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Mira and Killian said in unison. ¡°[Supersonic!]¡± Amira called out, insta-casting the spell for Ace and Leo whilst she and Kil jumped back. ¡°I really thought you were going to try and run,¡± General Lyrin said as his body suddenly appeared in front of Ace and the others. ¡°But I¡¯m glad you decided to save me the effort of chasing after you.¡± ¡®I¡¯ve only recovered a fraction of my mageforce. So we¡¯ll only have one chance¡­¡¯ Ace mused. He could sense General Murciel hurrying in their direction, but he also knew that with the difference in strength, if they tried to stall against a warrior like Lyrin, several of them would lose their lives, and that was unacceptable. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Leo,¡± Ace called mentally via their link. ¡°We have to kill him in one go. Follow my lead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Lyrin¡¯s brows raised in surprise as he saw Ace ingeniously use his mageforce as a replacement for battle-qi to coat his weapon. Still, that¡¯s all it was ¨C a bit of a surprise. He could still easily react, blocking Ace¡¯s full-powered ¡®Thrust¡¯. ¡°No wonder you were able to beat Lorne,¡± Lyrin said as he blocked Ace¡¯s strike. ¡°When using your mageforce as battle-qi, you¡¯re able to attack with the same strength as an early stage ninth rank warrior. But if you think that would be enough to beat me, you were sore¡­¡± ¡°NOW!¡± Ace roared as his body transformed into fire. ¡°[Blinding Light]!¡± Amira called out as Leo closed their eyes to keep from being blinded. ¡°Do you think that warriors at my level still need to rely on their sight?¡± Lyrin sneered despite not being able to see as he swung his sword down, chopping straight through Ace¡¯s body. ¡°Huh? Your body¡­¡± As this was his first time actually seeing Ace fight properly, he had no idea Ace had the ability to become intangible, and that was exactly what Ace was counting on. ¡°[GREAT FLAME COMMANDMENT]!¡± Ace roared as his body transformed into a pillar of fire that surrounded the still-blinded general. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Lyrin barked as he once again slashed through the fire. Even though the tunnel of flames surrounding him didn¡¯t disappear, the O¡¯Brien general sensed that it had weakened. ¡°So you¡¯re still affected by Impose? That¡¯s good to know!¡± Lyrin sneered as his sword arced through the flames, this time dispersing it, only to find a giant fiery paw print descending from above. ¡°You ants are really starting to annoy me!¡± As he said that, his battle-qi-coated great sword sliced straight through the giant paw print like a hot knife through butter, but that was far from the end. The moment they saw Lyrin focus on Leo¡¯s ¡®[Divine Descent]¡¯, both Ace and Leonel timed their movements perfectly, so they would be right on top of him as he finished, and that they were. Still, Lyrin was a peak rank nine warrior; his speed was superior to anyone either of them had fought in the past. ¡°JUST DIE ALREADY!¡± Lyrin barked as he ignored the Lion coming behind him to focus on Ace, whose body was covered in his own blood. Though Ace¡¯s ability to transform into a pillar of flame was powerful, it came with a glaring weakness ¨C every part of the fire was a part of his body. When Lyrin had used impose to cut through it, he was effectively taking a sword to Ace¡¯s insides. Still, Ace ignored the devastating pain he was in as he focused on the task at hand. As Lyrin¡¯s sword was nearing his neck, Ace came to a sudden stop and controlling the flames coating his polearm to billow out, he was able to propel himself back and also disperse as much of his opponent¡¯s force as possible. As forced and abrupt as it sounded, the way in which he beautifully flowed from attack to defensive was done with such fluidity that even Lyrin was surprised. Still, Lyrin showed that the difference in strength between them was simply too vast. His sword tore straight through the billowing flames, crashing onto the shaft of Ace¡¯s glaive. ¡°Ugh!¡± Ace grunted as he was sent flying into the distance, blood spurting from his mouth as he flew. The sword-wielding general¡¯s legs tensed as he prepared to chase after Ace when he felt a sharp pain coming from his back, making him hiss. As far as Lyrin had been concerned, Ace was the only person present capable of breaking his battle-qi and actually harming him, but how could he know that as impressive as Leo¡¯s fire-manipulative abilities were, his most powerful attack came from his sword-like claws? The only thing that stopped Leo from being able to take on those of the ninth rank was his lack of speed, which would virtually make him a sitting duck. But with Lyrin having all but forgotten about him, Leo had been able to shred not only his crimson battle-qi but also his armour. ¡°If you¡¯re in such a hurry to die, then you can die!¡± Lyrin snarled as he spun around to slice the black-furred lion in two. Leo saw Lyrin¡¯s sword whistling through the air as it neared his body. He knew that if the attack landed, he would definitely forfeit his life, but he didn¡¯t so much as flinch as he swiped his enormous paw at the general¡¯s face. It was at that moment that Lyrin suddenly felt the gravity surrounding him suddenly spike. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Lyrin snorted, glancing at Killian, immediately understanding what happened. ¡°You¡¯re nex¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the general felt a familiar ethereal energy crash on his psyche. Ace, who, for all intents and purposes, should be incapacitated with his wounds, had found the strength to use his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] one final time. He already knew it didn¡¯t have much of an effect on warriors at that level, but he wasn¡¯t trying to knock Lyrin out; he was trying to slow him down ¨C and that he did! It was only for a fraction of a fraction of a second, but by the time Lyrin had regained his wits, Leo had already clawed a chunk of his face off and was going for the kill. ¡°FUCK OFF!¡± The general roared, his rage dulling the pain as his foot shot forth, shattering the lion¡¯s rib cage and sending it flying in the opposite direction. ¡°Dammit,¡± Ace muttered to himself as he watched the mutilated general make his way towards him, his killing intent increasing with each step. ¡°We were so close!¡± ¡°You little bastard!¡± Lyrin hissed venomously as he neared the grievously injured teen lying before him. ¡°Because of you, I¡¯ve lost ev¡­ All of you ants need to hurry up and die!¡± Lyrin barked as Amira, Killian, and even Ebeze shot towards him, unable to watch as Ace was killed in front of them. ¡°No¡­ Stop¡­¡± Ace said as loud as he could between deep, painful breaths. ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°Ooh, so you want to protect them?¡± Lyrin asked as he casually knocked two of them out and grabbed the third by the throat, causing her hood to fall. ¡°Haha, I guess the sovereigns are smiling down on me after all, aye, princess? I don¡¯t know who the rest of your group are, but if I bring you two back with me, I¡¯ll definitely be able to avoid being punished. Hahaha, I might even be rewarded!¡± Lyrin said, as his blood began to boil with excitement, as he saw a light at the end of the tunnel when the sound of a helpless sigh entered his ear from right behind him, catching him completely off guard. ¡°Why is it that whenever you leave my side, you always end up provoking some sort of disaster,¡± A dark-skinned man with dreadlocks tied in a ponytail wearing a plain white robe said casually. Even though he had suffered severe injuries and had been distracted by his exciting new hostages, Lyrin was still a peak rank nine warrior who had comprehended impose; the thought of a mortal being able to sneak up on him was impossible to him, so when he heard the man¡¯s voice his first thought was that they had to be a saint, but when he saw who it was, he realised just how wrong he was. Still, the most shocking thing about the man was that in one hand, he carried an open gourd of alcohol so potent that it would cause most to get drunk from simply smelling it. But in his other was the unconscious 22nd disciple of the War God ¨C Lanke! As horrified as Lyrin was, for the first time since the war began, Ace allowed for his body to relax as the corners of his mouth crept up, forming a smile of relief as his consciousness began to slowly fade. Book 4: Chapter 37 – Mira & Ace’s Bond It had been three days since the war ended. As soon as Aiden made an appearance, the O¡¯Brien Empire had no choice but to take a step back. This had been the biggest loss their empire had ever suffered since its formation, and yet, despite Lanke ¨C one of the War God¡¯s genuine disciples ¨C taking action, they could do nothing to change the outcome. Not only had Aiden casually defeated the peak saint, as he was clearly a mortal, there was nothing stopping him from taking part in the main war and helping the Rohault Army slaughtering every single soldier on the opposing side. And although that was what many of the lower-ranking soldiers on the side of the Rohault empire hoped would happen, the higher-ups all understood Aiden¡¯s decision when he let them leave. Had they really slaughtered such a large contingent of the O¡¯Brien¡¯s army, with several of them being vital to the defence of the empire, there was no way the O¡¯Brien would let things slide so easily. The battlefield would inevitably end up becoming a battleground for saint-level experts, and although the Rohault Empire had more than their fair share of saints, it definitely couldn¡¯t compare to the saints of the O¡¯Brien Empire, and that obviously didn¡¯t include the intervention of the War God himself! In the end, Aiden even promised that the Rohault Empire wouldn¡¯t advance past this point, allowing the O¡¯Brien Empire to retain possession of Redwin Town, despite the fact that they could very easily conquer it and force those present to turn tail and run without a single complaint. Unfortunately, this was the furthest the Rohault Empire could afford to push their long-standing enemy back without touching their bottom line. Lanke had just returned to his residence on the War God mountaintop when he bumped into one of his martial brothers. ¡°Lanke, what happened to you?¡± The man asked, unable to hide his surprise when he saw his junior brother¡¯s dishevelled appearance. He knew that this junior brother of his had been tasked with providing support to the O¡¯Brien¡¯s main army in case the Rohault Empire was breaking the unwritten rule and secretly allowing saints to partake in the battles. Still, even if they were, as far as he was concerned, it still should¡¯ve been a fairly straightforward assignment. After all, though Lanke wasn¡¯t the strongest amongst the War God¡¯s disciples, he was still a fairly powerful peak saint-level warrior. There weren¡¯t many on the Yulan continent that could stand against him. ¡°Were the suspicions true? Were the Rohault Empire really allowing saints to battle pretending to be mortals?¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± Lanke bitterly replied as he turned to face his seventh brother. ¡°But I did run into an old friend of yours¡­¡± Lanke¡¯s seventh brother listened with rapt attention, and despite being a saint that had over 1000 years of life experience, not even he could hide his shock when he heard the description of Ace and his prowess. Though he wasn¡¯t the strongest on the continent, purely in terms of talent, he could be considered among the very best the continent has ever produced, and yet, if what Lanke was saying was the truth, the difference in talent between him and this Ace boy was like the difference between heaven and earth. They couldn¡¯t even be mentioned in the same sentence. He didn¡¯t say anything to interrupt his junior brother¡¯s summary of events, but his eyes narrowed as he thought about the implications of a child so talented being on the side of their enemies but when he heard who it was who singlehandedly ended the war, a cold and bloodthirsty smile suffused his lips. ¡°It looks like my old rival hasn¡¯t wasted these last few hundred years since I saw him last after all,¡± Byrius O¡¯Brien said coldly, not at all surprised by his junior brother¡¯s loss at the hands of his old rival. ¡°Tell the current emperor not to pursue things with the Rohault Empire until I come down.¡± ¡°You intend to take action personally, seventh brother?¡± Lanke asked in surprise. It had to be understood that although Byrius was the War God¡¯s seventh disciple, he was second only to their eldest brother. And it was also common knowledge among the disciples that, even including their eldest disciple, he was regarded as the most talented. He rarely ever left War God¡¯s mountain as he was more focused on training to become a deity than getting involved in worldly affairs. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Even if the Emperor, one of his descendants, was assassinated, the chances of him leaving his residence were slim to none at best, but Aiden was a different story. Since he was a child, he¡¯d only ever suffered a loss to one man and that man was precisely Aiden. After losing to him once as a youth, he didn¡¯t see him again until some time after he broke through to become a saint several hundred years ago. At that point, Aiden was just a warrior at the early stages of the ninth rank. He quite rightly believed that he¡¯d be able to easily defeat his former rival. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. It was during that fight that the legend of Aiden began! Although the fight ultimately ended in a draw, it didn¡¯t make it any less shocking. Especially as although he had only just broken through, Byrius was a genius known for defeating experts at higher ranks than him. Byrius¡¯ desire to defeat Aiden and wash away his past shame could be understood. Still, he refused to allow his frustrations to cloud his better judgement. From the apparent ease with which Aiden dispatched Lanke, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t much weaker than himself, if at all. If he wanted to be sure of his win against his old rival, he had to break through to the same level as his eldest martial brother, the prime saint level. Fortunately, he had felt that he was near. That was the reason he had left seclusion in the first place. But now that he knew how much stronger Aiden had become in this time, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to waste any more time. ¡°I do!¡± Byrius replied matter-of-factly before turning away and heading back to his abode. Lanke felt a hint of excitement well up inside of him. Even though he¡¯d heard of the prowess of this seventh martial brother of his, he¡¯d never gotten the chance to witness it in person. A part of him couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for Aiden, as he knew that with their history, this battle wasn¡¯t likely to end until only one man was left standing. Still, as soon as he remembered the embarrassing defeat he suffered at Aiden¡¯s hands, any pity he had once been feeling all but disappeared. . . . At the same time, back in the Rohault Empire, the former Duke turned Elder Kaymin was giving his report to Emperor Jordon of the final battle, but unlike what one would expect, he didn¡¯t seem that interested in how the O¡¯Brien Empire would react. Although the O¡¯Brien Empire were, without a doubt, the stronger of the two sides, they couldn¡¯t afford to start an all-out war against their Rohault Empire. For starters, unless the War God himself descended, the O¡¯Brien Empire couldn¡¯t defeat his Empire without paying a steep price in blood. Forgetting himself and the multitude of other saints of the Rohault Empire, the number of saints from the O¡¯Brien Empire who could actually fight his brother to a standstill could be counted on one hand. But even though Emperor Jordon had unwavering faith in his brother¡¯s abilities, he wasn¡¯t delusional, he knew that the War God¡¯s eldest disciple was still superior to Aiden, but he still wasn¡¯t worried. The truth was that although individually, Aiden was the strongest expert in the Rohault Empire, his wife had a divine treasure she¡¯d gotten from her family, which allowed her to fight on par with Prime Saints despite only being a warrior and mage of the middle stages of the saint realm. If an all-out war began between the two empires, the Rohault Empire would eventually be defeated, but not before making their bitter rivals suffer unimaginable losses. The sort of losses that would make them vulnerable to the other major forces on the continent. Although at the end of the day, it wouldn¡¯t matter as the War God¡¯s presence ensured their survival, it would take god knows how long to recover back to their current strength. The only thing they truly had to worry about was the War God, but with the covenant created by the ruler of the forest of darkness, no deity was allowed to act against non-deities without just cause. So unless they directly provoked O¡¯Brien, the War God couldn¡¯t intervene directly. The thing that really caught the Emperor¡¯s attention in the report was Ace¡¯s performance. ¡°You really got yourself one hell of a disciple!¡± Jordon sighed as he turned to the man at the back of the throne room, casually sipping from his gourd, which was making the whole room stink of alcohol. ¡°You mean that brat¡¯s got himself one hell of a master!¡± Aiden snorted, taking another large gulp of his booze, causing his brother to roll his eyes helplessly. ¡°He had to be capable of at least this much if he wants to be worthy of my little Mira!¡± The pregnant Empress Sharanthia stated. ¡°Ooh, so you don¡¯t have a problem with Ace and Amira being together?¡± Aiden asked his sister-in-law teasingly. ¡°I was sure you, of all people, would be against it.¡± ¡°Their relationship isn¡¯t something I can intervene in,¡± Sharanthia sighed. ¡°You know something about the bond those two have?¡± Aiden asked, his interest piquing all of a sudden. Aiden¡¯s question stirred something in the pregnant Empress. ¡°Other than Aiden, the rest of you may leave!¡± Sharanthia commanded indifferently. Although technically it was Jordon who was the ruler of the Empire, all the elders were aware that it was his wife who stood at the top of the pecking order, so when she spoke, both elders Kaymin and Ejiro took their leave. ¡°Ooh, and don¡¯t worry about your arm, brat,¡± Aiden voiced just as Elder Kaymin was halfway out the door. ¡°When my wife returns, I¡¯ll ask her to heal your stump!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Kaymin respectfully replied, doing his best to hide his excitement, not minding the offensive nature of Aiden¡¯s words. He had just broken through to the saint realm, and he¡¯d already lost an arm. Although Saints were powerful immortal experts, they were incapable of recovering lost limbs. The only ones capable of such a feat were deities, and as the chances of him reaching such a stage was virtually non-existent, he couldn¡¯t help but feel deeply saddened by the loss of his arm, but now¡­ Even though he didn¡¯t know much about Aiden¡¯s wife, he, like all the other higher-ups of their Empire, trusted Aiden implicitly. If he said his wife was capable of healing his arm, then she was! After Kaymin and Ejiro left, Aiden eagerly turned his attention back to his sister-in-law. ¡°So, what do you know about those brats?¡± Book 4: Chapter 38 – Soulmates (Finale) After Kaymin and Ejiro left, Aiden eagerly turned his attention back to his sister-in-law. ¡°So, what do you know about those brats?¡± ¡°That was actually the reason I had Jordy call you here,¡± Sharanthia replied. ¡°You¡¯ve had the most interaction with them over the last five years. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinairy when they¡¯re together? Like them being drawn to one another or that they improve faster when together compared to when they¡¯re apart?¡± Aiden¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard her question. Over the last five years, he had been secretly studying the bond the two youngsters have, and it was exactly as his sister-in-law described. But it wasn¡¯t only that; they also seemed to have a sixth sense as far as the other one was concerned. It was that sixth sense that allowed Amira to sense Ace¡¯s observation despite her soul being so much weaker. ¡°Judging by the look in your eye, I¡¯m guessing they¡¯ve displayed signs of everything I¡¯ve mentioned,¡± Sharanthia sighed with an expression of helplessness and a hint of longing. Aiden failed to understand the meaning behind her expression, but he didn¡¯t interrupt. Instead, he simply waited for her to continue. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, Ace and Amira should be soulmates,¡± Sharanthia explained. ¡°Soulmates?¡± Jordon asked doubtfully. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a myth created by hopeless romantics?¡± ¡°I can assure you they¡¯re very real,¡± Sharanthia replied as the look of longing deepened. ¡°Amira¡¯s parents were soulmates.¡± As Jordon¡¯s older brother, Aiden obviously knew the truth about Amira¡¯s birth, but that didn¡¯t stop him from being surprised at the sudden revelation. ¡°What exactly are soulmates?¡± ¡°Exactly what most people believe them to be. Your soulmate is your PERFECT partner.¡± Sharanthia explained, emphasising the word perfect. ¡°Although where those helpless romantics get it wrong is that one is by no means destined to end up with their soulmate. In fact, the chances of you ever meeting your soulmate is infinitely small! You have to remember that there are millions of small planes like this, each with lifeforms numbering in the billions, some even in the trillions, and that¡¯s excluding the seven divine planes and the four higher planes. Now considering that your soulmate could be any one of those life forms, whether they¡¯re of your race or not, you should be able to imagine how likely you are to meet your soulmate.¡± ¡°So you mean there¡¯s someone out there more perfect for you than I am?¡± Jordon asked, unable to completely suppress his jealousy and paranoia. ¡°Just like there¡¯s someone out there more perfect for you than I am,¡± Sharanthia confirmed, not sugar-coating her words. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make our love any less real!¡± Even though Jordon understood his wife¡¯s words, it didn¡¯t make it any easier to hear. Still, Aiden had no interest in their marital issues; he was more interested in learning more about soulmates. ¡°Not to interrupt your private discussion, but is that it?¡± Aiden asked curiously. ¡°Or is there more to soulmates than what those two brats have displayed thus far?¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± the empress asked rhetorically. ¡°They haven¡¯t even begun to scratch the surface of the true meaning behind a soulmate, but this is it for now. At least until the day comes when they truly consummate their relationship.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Aiden asked, his curiosity getting the better of him once again. ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything I know,¡± Sharanthia replied as she cleared her throat. ¡°As I said before, soulmates are two beings made perfectly for each other, which means that both individuals are equal in talent and potential.¡± ¡°Equal?¡± Aiden asked as he thought about the talent and potential shown by both Amira and Ace. Although it was true Amira was unbelievably talented, potentially even more talented than him, it was not even close to Ace. As far as innate talent and potential, Ace was the definition of a freak of nature. ¡°Hmph, you think you¡¯ve seen the limits of Amira¡¯s potential?¡± Sharanthia snorted disdainfully. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything yet! Like the descendants of the four supreme warriors, that brat Wukong, or even Ace, my ¡®Viz¡¯ family also has a bloodline ability. Unlike those other bloodlines, though, the average member of my family doesn¡¯t awaken their bloodline until becoming a deity, but the earlier they awaken it, the more talented the individual is. Still, even my older brother, who was easily the most talented descendant my family had ever produced, including our ancestor, didn¡¯t awaken his bloodline until he reached the seventh rank. Although I don¡¯t know much about how much talent is inherited from the children of soulmates, what I do know is that the talent and ability Ace has shown thus far doesn¡¯t lose out by much when compared to Mira¡¯s father. So I don¡¯t know exactly which realm she¡¯ll have to reach to awaken her bloodline, but when she does, I promise you, her potential will equal that disciple of yours.¡± Both Aiden and Jordon were shocked by that current revelation, as neither of them had been aware that Sharanthia came from a family with a bloodline ability. Still, after a moment of shock, Aiden was already past it. He just wanted to know more about the mystery of soulmates. ¡°So what happens after the two of them finally have se¡­ ¡®consummate their relationship¡¯?¡± Aiden asked, quickly correcting himself when he noticed the dangerous glint in his sister-in-law¡¯s eyes. ¡°Two things: First, their souls will merge, creating a bond no different to the bond of equals, allowing them to clearly feel the location of the other person and communicate with them no matter the distance between them. Secondly, and most importantly, they will share their talents and abilities with others. I don¡¯t know how it works for others, but for those with differing bloodlines, like Mira¡¯s parents, they will miraculously awaken the bloodline of their soulmate. Meaning Mira will awaken Ace¡¯s bloodline and vice-versa ¨C albeit slightly weakened in comparison.¡± Hearing that, Aiden was once again left shocked by Sharanthia¡¯s words. ¡°What are we waiting for?! Let¡¯s convince those two brats to hurry up and consummate their re¡­¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Sharanthia exclaimed without giving her eccentric brother-in-law the chance to finish his sentence. ¡°Even though I¡¯m not opposed to Ace and Mira being together in the future, I won¡¯t allow them to be together yet!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Jordon asked, confused by his wife¡¯s decision. ¡°If everything you said is true, then why make them wait?¡± ¡°So far, all I¡¯ve done is tell you the positives, but consummating your relationship with your soulmate can be a double-edged sword,¡± Sharanthia explained as her eyes began to water. ¡°Remember what I said? After consummation, your soul merges with your partner¡¯s. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I know I compared it to that of a bond of equals, but the truth is that it¡¯s so much more thorough! For a bond of equals, if your bonded partner were to die, although you may suffer heartbreak, there are no physical damages, but for soulmates, it¡¯s different¡­ The day Mira was born should¡¯ve been a joyous occasion, but instead, it was one of great misery¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Jordon said as he took his wife¡¯s hand in his to comfort her. ¡°If it¡¯s too painful, you don¡¯t need to explain.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine; I need you to understand the weight of such a decision,¡± Sharanthia said softly as she wiped her tears. ¡°On the day of Mira¡¯s birth, my family was attacked by one of our enemies. My brother, Amira¡¯s father, went out to face them along with the rest of my family¡¯s forces. You need to understand, my brother¡¯s talent was no less than Ace¡¯s. Even my father admitted that he was inferior when it came to strength. I don¡¯t know exactly how strong he was, but I know that even in our home, the Divine Plane of Darkness, my brother was an existence that most deities could only look up to. Still, even with my father and brother working together with the rest of our family, they were still defeated. In the end, I was told by my brother to take his wife and run as far away as possible. At the time, I had just broken through to the saint realm, so I didn¡¯t understand much of what was going on, but I knew that I couldn¡¯t afford to waste time, so I did as I was told. In the end, I barely managed to escape with my heavily pregnant sister-in-law, but because she was already in labour, I had to create a makeshift cave for her to give birth in. That was where Amira was born. But unfortunately, before she even got the chance to hold her newborn baby in her arms, she began to cry uncontrollably as she said her connection to my brother had disappeared. That was when it happened; she was affected by the curse of having found her soulmate¡­ Despite being nowhere near where my brother was when he was killed, her soul began to dissipate. As she was dying, my sister told me to descend to a random lower world and made me promise to look after her daughter.¡± ¡°Thia, you¡­¡± Jordon held his wife¡¯s hand, unable to find the words to comfort her. He knew she came from a different plane, but he didn¡¯t realise that she descended from one of the divine planes and from such a seemingly powerful family at that. Still, he didn¡¯t care about any of that; all he cared about was that she was in so much pain. He wished there was something he could do, but he understood that he was simply too weak to help her. Forget disputes in the divine realm where deities run amok; he couldn¡¯t even handle his own family¡¯s disputes in their Yulan Plane. On the other hand, Aiden¡¯s thoughts were focused on something else. ¡°You¡¯re worried that if Ace and Amira were to consummate now, with Ace being the son and enemy of O¡¯Brien, he will end up getting himself and by extension, Mira killed.¡± Sharanthia didn¡¯t reply, but it was clear from the look on her face that Aiden had hit the nail on the head. ¡°Thia, you know just as well as I do; although Ace isn¡¯t O¡¯Brien¡¯s match, Arianna is,¡± Jordon said. ¡°There¡¯s no way she would let Ace be killed by him.¡± ¡°If Ace were an ordinairy boy, you¡¯d be right!¡± Sharanthia sighed. ¡°I realised it the moment I saw him, the moment I looked into his eyes; he¡¯s so similar to my brother!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jordon asked doubtfully. ¡°She¡¯s talking about his pride!¡± Aiden sighed. ¡°Right now, as much as he hates it deep down, Ace is willing to live under the protection of Arianna and I, but there¡¯s going to come a day when Ace goes after O¡¯Brien, and at that time, he won¡¯t permit Arianna or myself to intervene.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t permit?¡± Jordon asked back with furrowed brows. ¡°And you¡¯ll just let him commit suicide like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ace¡¯s life to live how he sees fit,¡± Aiden shrugged casually as he took another swig of alcohol before looking back at his brother¡¯s wife. ¡°I¡¯ll follow your wishes. I won¡¯t tell either of them the truth, but I won¡¯t do anything to get in their way either.¡± A soft sigh escaped Sharanthia¡¯s full lips when she heard his response. She understood that she was being selfish as if they were to consummate their relationship before that inevitable day; with the boost in talent he¡¯d receive from Amira, his chances of defeating O¡¯Brien would definitely go up, but she refused to allow her little Mira, the girl she saw as her own daughter, the only living memento of her beloved late brother, die needlessly¡­ Even if it meant Amira would grow to hate her in the future. . . . At the same time, on the other side of the palace, Ace, who¡¯d been unconscious for the last 72 hours, opened his eyes for the first time. ¡°Ugh, my head is pounding,¡± Ace muttered as he sat up, gently rubbing his temples in an attempt to soothe his migraine. With the aid of some of the Rohault Empire¡¯s finest doctors, all of his physical injuries had completely healed over a day ago, but he was too drained mentally to awaken from his deep slumber. He wasn¡¯t shocked by this, though. As powerful as his soul was, Ace was well aware that both [Observation and Armament Haki] were both draining on his spiritual essence, but that was nothing compared to the drain his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] had on him. So through his repeated usage of his newly awakened ability, for the first time since saving Lina Baruch from her would-be kidnappers all those years ago, Ace had completely drained his spiritual essence. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but grin proudly at his long overdue accomplishment. ¡®Pops, I finally did it. I finally learnt to control my [Conqueror¡¯s Haki].¡¯ As happy as he was about his achievement, he didn¡¯t let it go to his head. In a world which was several times more powerful than his last, he was still far from invincible. The good thing about this, though, was that he had only just begun to scratch the surface of his new ability. He still had a lot of room for improvement, including learning how to infuse his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] into his attacks. Thinking back to the few times he watched Whitebeard clash with the other Emperors and the power it gave them, Ace knew that the moment he reached that level of control, it would allow him to close the gap between him and those at the peak of the ninth rank. Thinking to there, Ace couldn¡¯t help but look at the teen sitting on the chair beside his bed, using his mattress as a pillow, as a gentle and loving smile suffused his lips. It was thanks to Amira¡¯s words that night that he was able to finally take that step. What Ace found odd about it all was that it wasn¡¯t the first time someone had said it. After Whitebeard learnt that his second division commander also had the qualities of a king, he understood that it was because of Ace¡¯s father issues that he was unable to control his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki]. Like Amira, he too had told her that the sins of the father aren¡¯t for the son to bear and that whilst he was no saint, Roger wasn¡¯t the devil the world government painted him out to be. He even told him that if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Roger¡¯s love for him was no less than that of his mother¡¯s. But still, even though those were the honest words of the man he not only respected most in his previous life but also had a deep and personal relationship with his father, Ace was still conflicted when it came to his father ¨C Gol D. Roger! And yet, when those same words came from Amira, they somehow managed to penetrate the barrier he had subconsciously put up around his heart. How could he not be thankful? As if she could feel his eyes on her, Amira woke up to see Ace¡¯s big dark eyes staring at her. Feeling the intensity of her ¡®classmate¡¯s¡¯ gaze, a furious blush surfaced on the caramel cheeks of the light-skinned teen. ¡°What is it?¡± Amira asked softly as she fought to calm her erratic heart. ¡°I love you!¡± Ace declared sincerely without blinking, as though he couldn¡¯t bear to take his eyes off of the princess in front of him for even a fraction of a second. Amira sprung out of her seat and stared at Ace incredulously as her now chaotic thoughts tried to wrap themselves around Ace¡¯s words. ¡°You¡­ Wait¡­ What¡­ Where is this¡­¡± Before she could collect her thoughts, Ace ignored his headache as he stood to his feet and slowly took Amira into his gentle yet oddly firm embrace. Amira was so taken aback by Ace¡¯s touch that her brain seemed to shut down. Before she could even understand what was happening, Ace¡¯s lips were pressed against hers, sending what may as well be an electric shock through her body as it completely melted into his. Although this was already Ace¡¯s second life, this was both of their first kiss, and it showed. The technique was¡­ Unpractised, but both teens could feel the overwhelming emotions of the other. When their lips finally separated, Amira¡¯s vision was hazy as she was still somewhat on autopilot. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. ¡°Hear me out,¡± Ace voiced softly, taking her dainty but callous-filled hands in his own. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, nor can I put it into words, but whether it¡¯s this life or my last, I can honestly say I¡¯ve never met anyone who has stirred my heart like you have. I know, technically, we¡¯re still just children, but I also know there¡¯s no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with¡­¡± Amira was so caught off guard by Ace¡¯s words that all she could do was stand there and stare at Ace in complete disbelief, but at the same time, her heart was filled with endless warmth. ¡°But before then, I need to settle things with O¡¯Brien for everything he did to my mother!¡± Ace said calmly. Unlike what one would expect when talking about the man who forced themselves on his mother, there was no hatred in his tone, but that didn¡¯t take away from his resolve. He still hated O¡¯Brien to the very depths of his soul, but with his most recent breakthrough in his state of mind, he would no longer allow his hatred to cloud his judgement. For his enemies, this new Ace was hundreds, if not thousands of times more fearful, but for Amira, that intense look of resolve made him thousands of times more intoxicating. ¡°When that¡¯s done, I give you my word; there will be nothing capable of stopping me, Gol D. Ace, from taking you, Amira Rohault, as my wife!¡± Book 5: Chapter 1 – A Little Detour It had been a week since the end of the battle by Redwin Town. Although it hadn¡¯t spread to the regular citizens, with the extensive intelligence-gathering capabilities of each of the continent¡¯s major forces, all the senior executives of each of those superpowers had heard the news of the result, and without a doubt, they were all left speechless. The least surprising but still noteworthy fact was the breakthrough of Kaymin Banux to the saint realm. Although he was only an early-stage saint and had even lost an arm, he was still an elite among elites that had broke through as a warrior and mage. They didn¡¯t doubt for a minute that he could challenge and even defeat some of the weaker mid-stage saints. The second point that came as a shock was the strength that Aiden showed when neutralising the War God¡¯s 22nd disciple. By single-handedly almost defeating a well-known peak-stage saint like the Rohault Empire¡¯s Elder Ejiro and even taking Kaymin¡¯s arm, it was clear that Lanke wasn¡¯t your average peak saint, and yet, Aiden, a mortal, was able to defeat him with surprising ease. Though the commoners believed that those like the former duke Kaymin and Olivier, the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s sword prodigy were the strongest mortals on the continent, those in the know already knew that none of them could compare to Aiden. But since his clash with Byrius O¡¯Brien a few hundred years ago, Aiden seemed to have all but disappeared. They didn¡¯t know if he was alive or dead, but as far as they were concerned, even if he was still alive, he had to have reached his limits in strength. But now they realised they couldn¡¯t have been any further from the truth. Learning of Aiden¡¯s prowess as a mere mortal made all their eyes light up with greed as they desperately wanted to know his secrets. Unfortunately, the strength he showed put him on a level just below that of the few prime saints on the continent. The number of people that could match him in terms of power could be counted on one hand. As a result, as much as they wanted to know the secret behind his improvement, they were at a loss for how to go looking for answers. But without a shadow of a doubt, the thing that they were all most shocked by was the boy known as Gol D. Ace. With a bit of digging, they were all able to uncover that it was the same Ace that had set the record for spiritual essence during the school selections almost seven years ago. That in and of itself was shocking, as it was common knowledge that he somehow had no elemental affinity, so when they then learnt that not only had he somehow fixed his lack of affinity problem but also reached the profound realm of comprehension in the laws of fire, how could they not be dumbfounded. The only faction that wasn¡¯t all that surprised by the ability Ace showed was the Dark Alliance led by the Cult of Shadows. They had already experienced Ace¡¯s power first-hand. What they were surprised to learn was that, unlike what Amira had told them, Ace wasn¡¯t actually a member of the Rohault Empire. Instead, he and Amira both appeared to be students of the mysterious Yin-Yang Pavilion. It was after learning that that many of the higher-ups in the know began to speculate that Aiden was either the senior brother that Wukong had mentioned was the head of the Pavilion or potentially Wukong¡¯s master. Either way, what they did know was that this mysterious new organisation was one that they needed to learn more about. Unfortunately, there was simply too little information for them to go off. But whilst all the other major forces were scrambling to gather as much information as possible about this new mystery force, the whole of the Rohault Empire was celebrating like never before. After their win, not only had there been no movement on the side of the O¡¯Brien Empire, even the steppe riders of the great plains had decided to retreat from their battlefield, giving up some of their territories in order to sign a temporary peace treaty. The decision of the steppe riders wasn¡¯t hard to understand. With the Rohault Empire no longer having to focus the majority of its army on the O¡¯Brien Empire, it would easily be able to focus on suppressing and defeating them. Luckily for them, Emperor Jordon Rohault had never seen them as anything more than a whetstone for his soldiers. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Steppe riders only had a single mid-stage saint and a couple of saints at the early stages. If they had really wanted to conquer them, it would¡¯ve been a simple endeavour. The main reason the Jordon agreed to sign the 10-year peace treaty was that he understood that although the O¡¯Brien Empire had retreated, this was merely the peace before the storm. He didn¡¯t know what the O¡¯Brien was waiting for nor when they would be ready, but when they finally returned to the battlefield, the war would likely be the most brutal his Empire had ever seen. He just wanted his citizens to be able to enjoy this little stretch of peace whilst it lasted. As the guests of honour, Ace, Killian, and Leonel had been forced to stay and celebrate with the army the whole week, and as a result, it was only this evening that they finally departed. Not that Ace was complaining. After declaring his undying love for Amira, the two teens become virtually inseparable, and although they had both agreed to wait, their feelings for one another were clear as day. Seeing how the two love birds were acting together, the Empress had to drag her ¡®daughter¡¯ away to borderline interrogate her on what was happening. When Amira revealed that Ace had confessed his love for her and even stolen her first kiss, the very pregnant saint was a hair¡¯s breadth from banishing the young hero of her husband¡¯s empire and grounding Amira to keep them apart, but when she heard that Ace had been the one to say he wanted to wait until his business with O¡¯Brien had concluded, off his own back no less, her opinion of the youngster improved greatly. When she looked at the infatuation on her niece¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t help but ask if she was worried that Ace wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the War God, and in response, all she got was an ¡°Ace won¡¯t lose!¡± The look on Amira¡¯s face as she said that was calm and composed with a hint of adoration, but there was no hesitation; it was as if she was stating a fact. Thinking about the relationship between her brother and his wife, and now Ace and Amira, she couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly envious. As much as she loved Jordon, she knew it would never be the same as the relationship between soulmates. Still, other than a hint of envy, she mainly felt happy. Amira, the girl she raised as though she were her own, had found someone reliable that would make her happy. After being seen off, Ace, Kil, and Leo were making their way towards the Forest of Darkness, preparing to return to the Pavilion after completing everything they set out to do, with each of them having seen a significant improvement in strength and Ace having successfully cleared his head reaching a state of focus and happiness he didn¡¯t think was possible all things considered. But ever since they left, Ace could sense there was something off with Killian. Although Kil hadn¡¯t said anything and was trying to hide it as best he could, Ace¡¯s [Observation] had long since reached the stage where he could read the emotions of those around him. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it,¡± Ace suddenly came to a stop surprising both Kil and Leo as he turned to face his sworn brother. ¡°Are you gonna tell me what¡¯s wrong, or do I need to beat it out of you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fi¡­¡± Killian suddenly stopped himself before he finished his lie as he saw the dangerous glint in Ace¡¯s eye. Knowing that Ace wasn¡¯t kidding about beating the truth out of him, a helpless sigh escaped Killian¡¯s lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say anything to ruin your mood.¡± ¡°Ahh, that hurt!¡± Killian exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head where Ace had slapped him. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re an idiot!¡± Ace snorted. ¡°We¡¯re brothers! If you have a problem, you should know I¡¯ll always be here for you! Now hurry up and tell me what¡¯s got you in a mood.¡± Killian couldn¡¯t help but feel warm inside hearing that, but seeing the dangerous glint in Ace¡¯s eye, he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate for fear of getting slapped again. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you; I just don¡¯t understand it much myself,¡± Killian said as he looked at the sky, not entirely sure of his current thoughts and feelings. ¡°For some reason, I haven¡¯t been able to stop thinking about Alissa recently.¡± When he heard that, Ace couldn¡¯t help but think back to Killian¡¯s odd behaviour over the last week. This little brother of his had never been particularly sociable, but this last week, Killian¡¯s been particularly restless. At first, he believed it was because they were in a home that wasn¡¯t theirs, surrounded by people he didn¡¯t know, but now it all made sense. Even if Killian didn¡¯t know it, Ace had always suspected that Killian had feelings for the young assassin but didn¡¯t know what to do with those feelings. Seeing him and Amira getting so close must¡¯ve triggered him without him even realising. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Kil,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he looked at the dark-skinned herculean teen before him. ¡®I¡¯ve been so focused on Amira that I didn¡¯t even realise your struggles.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s go find her,¡± Ace said suddenly, taking Killian by surprise and causing him to hesitantly shake his head. ¡°If you can¡¯t get her out of your head, why not go find her?¡± Ace asked. ¡°She was part of the team that tried to kill us¡­¡± Kil sighed. A soft sigh escaped Ace as he had long since come to understand that Killian had never completely forgiven the young assassin for her part in the attempt on their life almost a decade ago. ¡°Kil, you need to understand that Alissa was raised as an assassin,¡± Ace explained slowly. ¡°To her, it wasn¡¯t personal; we were just another mission.¡± ¡°How can I let it go?¡± Killian asked back, his feelings still a little confusing. ¡°What if she had killed one of us?¡± As his voice trailed off, a dense killing intent erupted from Ace. ¡°If they had killed a single one of us, I would¡¯ve slaughtered every single member of Sabre!¡± Ace said coldly before his casual smile returned as though it had been there the whole time. ¡°But since they didn¡¯t, why hold a grudge? The one deserving of our anger was Lina Baruch, but since we learnt the truth about her tainted soul, there¡¯s no point holding on to all that negativity any longer.¡± Killian didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, he simply stared at Ace, his thoughts running at 100 miles per hour, before eventually sighing helplessly. ¡°I need to speak to Alissa!¡± Book 5: Chapter 2 – First Branch Destroyed ¡°Where are we going?¡± Killian asked from beside Leo as they followed Ace. ¡°I can sense that there¡¯s a decent-sized town a few kilometres away from here,¡± Ace replied. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, they might have a sabre detachment stationed there for us to get some answers.¡± The moment Killian stated how he wanted to speak to Alissa, Ace immediately spread his [Observation] as far as possible, which was when he managed to sense a large town with several relatively powerful auras, the strongest of which was at the seventh rank. Although someone at that level couldn¡¯t pose the slightest threat to their group, it was still relatively strong for their Yulan plane. In the town, there were only two warriors in the seventh rank. The one that caught Ace¡¯s eye, though, was that of the two, one of them radiated a hint of killing intent. It was so faint that not many would be able to sense it at all, but with his [Observation Haki], it may as well have a beacon of light signalling him. Now this didn¡¯t mean that said warrior was with Sabre, but with his experience, Ace knew that ordinarily, only killers were that proficient at hiding their killing intent. Even if they weren¡¯t from Sabre, as a killer themselves, they would likely know where they could find their closest Sabre branch. As such, Ace calmly led Killian and Leo in the warrior¡¯s direction. About 30 minutes later, Ace led Kil and Leo into Jiscal Town. It was a relatively large town on the edge of the Rohault Empire and led by Conrad Jiscal ¨C one of its two seventh-rank warriors ¨C who resided in a small castle in the centre of the town. Ace and his group, though, walked straight past the castle, heading towards the commercial district, filled with bars, inns, and various other shops and stalls. The trio, understandably, received a lot of stares. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day they saw two teens walking around with a horse-sized, black-furred lion, but none of the three seemed to care. It was only when Killian saw a small shop at the end of the street sporting a familiar logo that he understood exactly where they were going. Ever since they met, Alissa had always wielded a pair of daggers, but the most iconic thing about them was the carving of a sabre in the centre of a black ring etched into its handle. Although he had never asked what it was, with how much time they spent together, saying he was familiar with it was an understatement. So as soon as he saw the familiar dark ring around a sabre in the centre of the shop¡¯s banner, despite the fact that there were no words, he instantly knew that they were in the right place. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Killian asked, his otherwise calm voice portraying a hint of nervousness as the idea of getting news on Alissa excited him. ¡°Plan?¡± Ace asked as a mischievous smirk formed on his face. ¡°We go in and ask for some information, of course.¡± As innocent as Ace¡¯s plan sounded, upon seeing the expression on Ace¡¯s face, Killian could only sigh as he understood that things were unlikely to proceed so simply. It may sound foolish to go into the lair full of highly trained assassins to ask for information on one of their own with no plan, but Ace could sense that the strongest person inside was only at the seventh rank. A level that, forget Ace and Leo, even Killian could manage on his own. As such, he felt absolutely no way about strolling inside and walking up to the woman by the front desk, who, like the trio, was also at the fifth rank. Considering that she only appeared to be in her early twenties, it was actually a pretty impressive feat. After all, not everyone could be as talented as those in the Yin-Yang Pavilion. As the emerald green eyes of the blonde behind the desk fell on the trio, it took all of her willpower to hide her shock. Saber wasn¡¯t like other assassin organisations. As their head was an all-powerful prime saint, they weren¡¯t forced to operate in the shadows. Instead, they were able to brazenly set up shop in the territory of every major faction on the continent. But even though everyone knew how and where to find them, their customers tended to be adults. Still, the young woman smiled enticingly as she greeted the two boys as she could tell from a glance that they were anything but your ordinairy teens. Though she wasn¡¯t able to sense their respective levels just by looking at them, from all her time as a trained killer, her instincts told her that both boys were dangerous, and that was ignoring the giant threatening lion standing with them. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Like the two boys, she couldn¡¯t tell exactly what level it was at, but from the savage, unrestrained aura it was radiating, she knew she was far from a match for it. Still, her training as an assassin allowed her to keep her calm. ¡°Good evening, young masters. My name is Gernelia,¡± The beautiful young woman said calmly. ¡°Would you like to buy information, or would you perhaps like to purchase one of our other services?¡± Although she didn¡¯t say it in so many words, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out she was referring to assassination. ¡°Information, please,¡± Ace calmly replied with a light smile hanging on his lips. ¡°Of course, young master,¡± Gernelia replied. ¡°If you tell us what you wish to know, as long as we have it, I¡¯ll have someone get the information from our archives, and you can come and collect it in an hour.¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± Ace replied warmly. ¡°My brother and I are looking for information on one of your assassins ¨C her name is Alissa. As far as we¡¯re aware, there is no last na¡­¡± ¡°Is this some kind of a joke?¡± Gernelia asked, her bright green eyes frosting over as her tone cooled. ¡°Of course not,¡± Ace replied just as calmly as ever, as though he couldn¡¯t sense the woman¡¯s change of tone or the ¡®hidden¡¯ presence of several other warriors. ¡°Alissa is a very good friend of ours, and we just want to make sure she¡¯s o¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, a cold voice interrupted him. ¡°Get lost, brat!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not asking for much,¡± Ace said, his calm and polite demeanour never shifting, despite the fact that the branch head had made his appearance, stepping out from the door behind Gernelia. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the information we need, just say that, and point us in the direction of¡­¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯re doing this the hard way then,¡± Ace sighed as he calmly coated his right hand in haki and pinched the throwing knife, darting straight for his eye with his index finger and thumb. ¡°I actually expected more from your little ¡®saber¡¯ organisation.¡± The branch head grit his teeth in anger and frustration, believing Ace was looking down on his strength, having casually stopped the hidden weapon attack with such ease. Whilst it was true, Ace wasn¡¯t faking his disappointment; it wasn¡¯t because the man was so much weaker than him. Instead, it was because after the final battle against the O¡¯Brien Empire, as he hadn¡¯t hidden his face, he expected ¡®Sabre¡¯, the continent¡¯s leading assassination and intelligence gathering organisation, to have recognised him. After all, he was well aware of how incredible the ability he showed should¡¯ve been. Even if they didn¡¯t know everything about him, they still would¡¯ve at least had an image of him to go off. And even if the ordinairy foot soldiers didn¡¯t recognise him, the head of a branch surely would. ¡®If their intelligence gathering is this poor, then I doubt they¡¯ll have any of the more personal information on O¡¯Brien,¡¯ Ace sighed helplessly once more, not realising how grating the sound of his sigh was on the branch head. There were three reasons for Ace deciding to use such a direct approach: First, as they didn¡¯t know where Alissa was, he was hoping that if they created enough turmoil amongst the ranks of the infamous assassin organisation, word would get back to Alissa, and she could then come and find them. Second, he wanted to see exactly how extensive their intelligence-gathering capabilities were. And the third, final, and arguably most important reason was simply that he was done hiding his edge. He was Gol D. Ace, son of Gol D. Roger. There was no man or organisation capable of forcing him to bow his head. Still, the branch head had no idea the actual reason behind Ace¡¯s disappointment, and as such, he was pushed to boiling point. If it weren¡¯t for the bestial aura of the beast beside Ace, which seemed to even threaten him, he would¡¯ve long since attacked seriously. The man had just opened his mouth to say something else when Killian summoned his battle axe from his storage ring. ¡°He¡¯s mine!¡± Whilst Ace wasn¡¯t that bothered by the assassin¡¯s sneak attack, the same couldn¡¯t be said for his ¡®little¡¯ brother. The moment the man attacked Ace with intent to kill, the way Killian looked at him was as though he were looking at a corpse. ¡°As you wish.¡± Ace casually shrugged. ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t kill him.¡± Since the man was only at the seventh rank, Ace felt no way about leaving him the stoic axe-wielding teen. Despite only being at the fifth himself, Killian was more than capable of dealing with him. Plus, Ace would derive no pleasure from bullying someone so much weaker than himself. Seeing how he was being spoken about but not to by two teens who were only a fraction of his age only served to further enrage the branch head. Still, the presence of the lion kept him on edge. As a result, all he could do was summon all the assassins present in the building to deal with their intruders by pressing the hidden button under the counter before him. Even if the lion was superior to him, he refused to believe that their group could handle so many highly trained assassins. ¡°Kill them!¡± The man voiced icily as he shot towards Killian with every intention of making quick work of the youth before aiding his men in their attack on the magical beast. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. The moment the man darted forth, Killian¡¯s legs bulged as he used [Soru] to intercept him, splintering the wooden floor beneath his feet as he stepped off. ¡°Movement technique?¡± The branch manager muttered in surprise when the youngster used a movement technique without the assistance of battle-qi. Still, as Killian was only at the fifth rank, his speed was far from unreasonable, but when he saw the speed of his axe, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but widen in disbelief. ¡°Wielding heavy as though it were light?!¡± ¡°[Supergravity Field.]¡± Killian voiced indifferently as the two warriors were only meters away from each other, causing the gravity the man was under to suddenly multiply. ¡°Who are you two exactly?¡± The man asked in shock as he barely blocked the unforgiving blade of his opponent¡¯s axe, knowing if he had been any weaker, he would¡¯ve definitely lost his head in their first exchange. At the same time, all the other assassins that had been hiding in the other rooms came flooding forward, preparing to encircle Ace and Leo, who looked more bored than anything else. But before they could make their move, all of them suddenly lost consciousness. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get tired of that,¡± Ace said as the corners of his mouth crept up to form a smirk that looked like it belonged on the devil to the branch manager, who was the only assassin left standing. Book 5: Chapter 3 – Imprisoned Seeing all his men collapse so suddenly, the branch manager immediately turned tail and leapt away from Killian in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for him, Ace and Leo weren¡¯t the only monsters present. ¡°[Earth Tremor!]¡± Killian muttered indifferently. Throughout the war, Killian had made a lot of progress as far as his earth magic was concerned, but his most significant improvement came in the form of his battle IQ. Killian timed his spell perfectly so that the moment the branch manager kicked off the ground, he would be thrown off balance by the miniature earthquake. Not only was Kil¡¯s spell timed to perfection, it was also powerful enough to bring the building down on itself. Ace, Killian, and Leo were able to easily get out before the building fell on them, as was the branch manager ¨C albeit with a little more difficulty. His subordinates, on the other hand, weren¡¯t so lucky. Their being unconscious made it all but impossible to evade the sudden collapse of their building. Luckily they were all warriors at or above the third rank, meaning that with the strength of their bodies, at most, they¡¯d wake up with a few broken bones and bruises, not that Killian seemed to care one way or the other ¨C his sole focus was on his opponent. The moment the branch manager realised his building was coming down, he used his shaky footing to launch his body outside before he was crushed beneath the rubble. He had every intention of quickly rolling to his feet and continuing his escape, but before he could get back to his feet, he felt the cold, sharp blade of Killian¡¯s axe resting against his neck, and judging by the killing intent radiating from the axe-wielding teen; he wouldn¡¯t hesitate in killing him if he tried anything funny. Realising he was out of options, the man turned his head to look at the little monster standing in the middle of the road ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from the passing civilians. ¡°You¡¯re that Ace kid, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°So you do know me?¡± Ace asked calmly. ¡°I was just in the middle of reading the report about you when you showed up,¡± the man said in a surprisingly calm tone considering his current situation. His ability to stay calm was in part due to his training, but mainly, it was because Ace and his group didn¡¯t seem to have any attention to kill. When he first read the reports on the accomplishments of Ace and his group in the war, he didn¡¯t think that his achievements must¡¯ve been greatly embellished, but after watching the trio in action, he understood that Ace was every bit as strong as the report made him seem. As such, if Ace really wanted to kill them, he could¡¯ve done it in one attack. His assessment of Ace was spot on; Ace truly had no intention of killing them. Until he had confirmed the current status of Alissa¡¯s relationship with them, he would give them the benefit of the doubt. But if he found they¡¯d done anything to so much as harm his classmate, someone he had genuinely grown to think of as a friend, he would show them absolutely no mercy. Still, at that moment, Ace¡¯s thoughts were on something else entirely. ¡®I guess their intelligence gathering isn¡¯t too bad after all,¡± Ace thought to himself. ¡°We¡¯re looking for someone,¡± Killian said, bringing the topic of conversation back on track. ¡°I can¡¯t help you,¡± the branch manager replied indifferently. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an assassin by the name of Alissa, but even if I did, Saber has strict rules prohibiting us from giving out information on our fellow assassins.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace said before he turned around to leave. Both Killian and Leo looked at Ace strangely, but they still decided to follow him. It was only when they left the town that Killian couldn¡¯t hold back his uncertainty any longer. ¡°Why did you just take him at his word so easily? He might be lying.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t,¡± Ace stated matter-of-factly. ¡°You know how my [Observation] works. No matter how good of a liar he is, if he were lying, I would¡¯ve been able to sense it.¡± It was only then that Killian remembered how Ace was able to sense the emotions of everyone within the range of his [Observation]. Killian had allowed his worry over Alissa to cloud his judgement, making him forget about the extent of Ace¡¯s abilities. ¡°So what now?¡± Killian asked, anxious to find their former classmate and travel companion as soon as possible. ¡°Now we continue to ruffle the feathers of ¡®Saber¡¯, either until we find someone with information on Alissa or until Alissa hears about are activities and chooses to come find us herself,¡± Ace replied casually. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. . . . Over the next six months, news of Ace¡¯s exploits in the war between the Rohault and O¡¯Brien Empires trickled down to the ordinairy civilians, as did rumours of two teens and a lion-type magical beast devastating the various branches of Saber. Saber had always been something of an untouchable force on the continent. It was extremely rare for them to be on the receiving end of a targeted attack which was why when word got out of Ace and his group¡¯s activities, it wasn¡¯t long before they were dubbed the ¡®Demonic Trio¡¯. This generation was said to be the most talented generation in the last millennia, with the likes of Linley, the genius mage of the Baruch Family. His younger brother Wharton, ¡®the last Dragonblood Warrior¡¯. Blumer Akerlund, the little brother of the Prodigy Sword Saint, and Dixie Leon, the genius dual-element mage of the Ernst Institute. Still, as it currently stood, the ones standing at the top were thought to be Ace and Killian. Ace¡¯s accolades spoke for themselves, but after their most recent attacks on Saber, people started to piece together Killian¡¯s achievements. From the youth who shocked many with his incredible talent as a mage and warrior in the selection tests almost a decade ago to his display of power in the war, and now him defeating the heads of several Saber branches. It had made the world curious about this Yin-Yang Pavilion, which had supposedly trained the two leaders of this new generation. Unfortunately, other than rumours and speculations, there wasn¡¯t much in terms of facts. But none of that concerned the ¡®Demonic Trio¡¯. At that moment, Ace was sat cross-legged on top of a building, with his body coated in flickering flames, as he meditated on the profound mysteries of the laws of fire. Over the last 6 months, Ace barely got the chance to take action with Killian dealing with most of the fighting and Leonel stepping in when necessary. As a result, Killian¡¯s strength continued to skyrocket. He had recently broken through to the peak of the fifth rank as a mage and the late stages as a warrior. His strength had increased by so much that now he could even fight against the weaker experts at the eighth rank, as could be seen in the fight on the ground beneath Ace. Leonel, on the other hand, had broken through to become a Divine Beast at the sixth rank. As for Ace, though he hadn¡¯t fought at all since the war, it was he who¡¯d seen the biggest increase in strength. First of all, he had now become a mage at the early stages of the fifth rank, and a warrior at the late stages. But his most impressive improvement came from his comprehension. In large part due to his abilities as a fire logia in his previous life, he had now reached the peak of comprehension of the profound mystery of the essence of fire, meaning that the day he takes another step forward with that specific profound mystery, his comprehension would reach the levels of deities. As it stood, Ace felt like if he was back at the war, he¡¯d have little to no problem defeating Colonel Lorne, the ninth rank warrior he struggled so hard against. ¡®Even after all this time, I can¡¯t seem to make any progress with [Conqueror¡¯s Haki: Infusion].¡¯ Ace sighed to himself, ignoring the raging battle below. ¡°Hmm¡­ Ooh, it looks like Kil¡¯s about done,¡± Ace muttered to himself as he and Leo got up and hopped off the roof walking over the parade of unconscious bodies on the floor. ¡°You brats really are too arrogant, provoking a force like Saber as though you¡¯re invincible.¡± The bloodied branch head said as he glared resentfully at Killian and Ace. ¡°Your actions have started to alert the upper echelon. As soon as any of them make a move, you¡¯re gonna wish you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, we get it. You¡¯re gonna make us pay, blah blah blah,¡± Ace rolled his eyes not wanting to listen to the man¡¯s spiel. ¡°Enough of that, just answer our question and we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you anything!¡± The branch manager spat. ¡°Ooh, but you do know something?¡± Ace said, a fiendish smile appearing on his face. In that moment a heavy and intimidating pressure erupted from Ace, crashing onto the psyche of the obstinate branch manager. Although Ace hadn¡¯t mastered the more advanced techniques of [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], it didn¡¯t mean he hadn¡¯t made any progress. He was now able to control it to the point where instead of simply attacking the target¡¯s psyche, he can intimidate them, forcing them to submit ¨C or in this case, be too scared of him to even attempt to lie to him. As he felt Ace¡¯s aura suddenly envelope him, the dark robe of the branch manager was suddenly drenched in cold sweat as his eyes lowered, not daring to meet the eyes of the little devil. ¡°Tell me everything you know about our friend, Alissa!¡± Ace said indifferently. Although having been trained as an assassin, the branch head would¡¯ve had extensive training in resisting interrogation, including torturing, and despite the fact that, forget touching him, Ace hadn¡¯t even threatened him, veins were protruding out of the side of the man¡¯s head as he fought to resist Ace¡¯s coercion. ¡°Now!¡± Ace said coldly, his final command being the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. ¡°Alissa¡­ She¡­ She¡¯s being imprisoned,¡± The branch head stammered under Ace¡¯s pressure, scared of the repercussions of his answer. ¡°WHERE IS SHE?!¡± Killian roared, his axe pressing harder against the man¡¯s neck as blood started falling down his blade. ¡°She¡¯s being held at the branch in Wyning City in the Rhine Empire,¡± The man hurriedly answered. ¡°Calm down Kil,¡± Ace said softly when he saw the trembling of his brother¡¯s axe. ¡°Why is she being imprisoned?¡± Ace asked, his voice several notches cooler than when comforting Killian. ¡°I thought she was supposed to be one of your own.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know everything, but apparently she was found to be a member of the Prey Clan,¡± The man explained slowly, his body trembling in fear, his nerves never been wound so tight in his life. ¡°What does her family have to do with anything?¡± Ace asked in response. ¡°Lord Cesar, our boss and the founder of Saber is said to have had a profound grudge against the Tigerstriped warriors.¡± The man explained out of fear. ¡°So when she was found to be a descendant, she was imprisoned so she could be delivered to the boss when he exits his training.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace replied, before the sharp blade of Killian¡¯s axe cleaned straight through the man¡¯s neck like a knife through butter. A sigh escaped Ace¡¯s mouth as he watched Killian slaughter every member of Saber in a rage as he could understand how Killian was feeling. Ultimately, he said nothing. As his axe came down one final time, Killian looked up at the skies and let out a mournful roar, only to find that nothing he did in that moment could vent the frustration he felt in his heart. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Ace said softly. ¡°We have a classmate to save!¡± Book 5: Chapter 4 – The Battle’s Begun In the middle of the Rhine Empire was a small, unassuming city called Wyning City. It didn¡¯t hold much value for the Rhine Empire itself; as such, it didn¡¯t usually see much foot traffic aside from its actual residents, but today was different. There was no one wandering the streets at all today. In fact, it seemed more like a ghost town. All the locals had locked themselves in their homes, as had the city¡¯s main defence force. The only ones outside were the robed assassins of Saber. It was an odd site to see a few hundred assassins formed up outside the city gate as though they were an army ready for war. It was no secret that the assassins of Saber preferred to attack from the shadows and kill their targets before they even realised they were being targeted, but from the multiple attacks on their various branches, they had already realised that Ace seemed to have the ability to sense their presence, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. Though they didn¡¯t know how he did it, they knew that hiding in the shadows against a warrior like Ace was no different than sitting down and waiting for death; as such, their best option was to face the demonic trio head-on. Still, despite the fear that the trio had instilled in Saber¡¯s ranks over the last few months, especially when news got out about the massacre of the last branch, the members of the Wyning City branch radiated nothing but confidence, and it was for no other reason than the white-haired young man standing at the head. Whilst everyone else was dressed in dark shadowy robes with their hoods up, covering their faces, the young man was dressed in a pristine, tight-fitted cyan robe with a pair of short swords sheathed by his sides. Although Cesar was the founder and head of Saber, he wasn¡¯t the one who ran the everyday business ¨C he was more of a spiritual leader that prevented any of the other powerhouses that saw his organisation as an eyesore from wiping them out. It was actually his disciple, Ragnor, a powerful peak saint-level warrior who really ran Saber. And this young man was Ragnor¡¯s sole disciple, Silas, also known as the prince of killers. He was one of the leading genius¡¯ of the previous generation, the same generation as Wukong and Olivier. Although he had previously lost to both Olivier and Wukong at different points in time, he was still the leading youngster of Saber. Whilst the Saber assassins were stood waiting for their invaders, in a dungeon deep underground was a total of ten cells, with one surprisingly made of Adamantine. Of the ten cells, only two were actually in use. In one was a middle-aged armless man with several scars snaking across his burly body and his feet shackled. Still, despite his precarious predicament, he was able to sit cross-legged with a grin on his face as he looked at the guard in the centre of the room. ¡°Haha, so it seems you idiot assassins finally provoked someone you shouldn¡¯t have,¡± The armless man smirked. The fact that the guard didn¡¯t respond didn¡¯t dampen the man¡¯s mood in the slightest. ¡°And judging how you forced me and that little lass to swap cells with me so you could put her in the adamantine cell means that whomever it is that¡¯s coming after her is someone that even you have to take seriously¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! Ahh, come on, Cain, you can at least tell me that much before you hand me over to those bastards from the O¡¯Brien Empire to die,¡± The man said, taking no small amount of pleasure in the troubles that seemed to have found the organisation that captured him. But as his voice waned, the formerly closed eyes of a young silver-haired teen, whose body, despite having no visible injuries, seemed void of strength, shot open. ¡°There¡¯s someone coming for me?¡± She asked anxiously. ¡°Who is it?¡± Unfortunately for her, like her fellow prisoner, she too got no response. ¡°Please tell me who it is,¡± She begged, the worry in her voice becoming more and more pronounced. ¡°Master, please!¡± It was only when she said that that the man standing guard over them opened his cold dark eyes. A helpless sigh escaped his lips as his eyes fell on the young girl who called him master. His name was Cain, and he, as a mid-staged ninth-rank warrior, was a well-respected member of Saber, and to this day, he had only ever taken on one disciple. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Ten years ago, he was just about to hand in a completed mission when he saw a child who appeared to be a toddler standing outside their doors with a look of resolve in her eyes that caught him by surprise. Upon handing in his mission, he found out that the girl apparently wanted to join their ranks, but ordinarily, unless they had been cherrypicked, one had to be at least of the first rank to join them, so she had been turned away. Still, she refused to leave until they accepted her. According to the receptionist, she had already been there for over 48 hours without moving. At first, Cain had every intention of forgetting about the girl and going on with his life, but upon remembering the unwavering resolve in her eyes, he found himself drawn to the idea of seeing what she was capable of with the proper training. As such, he took her in as a personal disciple, teaching her everything he knew. As time went on, he realised that not only was her willpower impressive, but so too was her natural talent. In fact, ¡®impressive¡¯ was an understatement. Her talent was like nothing he had ever seen before. With a master who was a warrior of the ninth rank, the training she received was better than most children could ever dream of. As a result, she was able to reach the first rank at the tender age of five, allowing her to attempt the selection to become an assassin of Saber, which required her to complete any of their missions by herself. After her first successful mission, she spent the next couple of years with her master completing harder and harder missions, honing her skills, and continuing her training. It was only when she reached the peak of the first rank that her master allowed her to venture out by herself. For a while, Cain was able to keep track of her progress, but that changed after her first failed mission. It was only a seemingly simple assassination of a weak group of commoners, but according to the reports, the corpses of his disciple¡¯s teammates were found, but hers wasn¡¯t. In the end, he found out that she had apparently entered the youth selection for the various mage and warrior institutions. For what reason, he didn¡¯t know, but all that mattered was that she was alive. But that was when the trail went cold. Apparently, she had joined a newly established institute, but not even Saber had any information on this ¡®Yin-Yang Pavilion¡¯. For seven years, Cain hadn¡¯t heard so much as a whisper about his disciple, and although he was worried, as an experienced warrior and assassin himself, he also understood that this was his disciple¡¯s life to live as she saw fit. But almost a year ago now, news of his disciple¡¯s re-emergence reached his ears. When he eventually found her, he realised she was looking for information on the Prey Clan ¨C a family that was taboo amongst saber due to their founder¡¯s apparent hatred for them. Although it had been years since she had seen her master, as the man who had taught her almost everything she knew, she decided to let him in on her truth, hoping he would help her in her pursuit of the truth. Unfortunately, she was mistaken. Though Cain had grown to deeply care for his disciple, the place she held in his heart couldn¡¯t compare to the organisation he¡¯d been a member of for over a century, let alone the fact that Cesar was the man he feared and idolised most in the world. Upon transforming into a Tigerstriped warrior, Cain realised that she was an enemy of Saber, and although he was hesitant in his actions, he ultimately captured her and imprisoned her to gift her to his idol. Still, upon hearing his disciple¡¯s almost hysterical reaction, his heart couldn¡¯t help but tremble slightly. Even when he captured her, she hadn¡¯t been too surprised. On the contrary, it was as if she had somewhat expected it. But upon hearing that there might be people coming to rescue her, her composure faltered. ¡°Alissa¡­¡± Cain started coldly as he stared at his silver-haired disciple, but when he saw the anxiety, fear, and helplessness in her tear-filled eyes, he could only sigh regretfully. ¡°Apparently, two teens named Gol D. Ace and Killian and their lion-type magical beast are looking for you.¡± As soon as her master mentioned the names of the two boys, the image of their faces appeared in her mind, and tears began to stream down her pale cheeks uncontrollably. ¡°Master, please¡­¡± Alissa voiced anxiously. ¡°You have to let me go outside and tell them to turn back. I prom¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Cain said sternly. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Alissa replied, deciding to change her approach. ¡°Ace and Killian are the disciples of experts with the power of Peak Saints. If something were to happen to them, Saber would be courting a disaster that only Cesar would be able to deal with.¡± Alissa¡¯s words caused Cain¡¯s eyes to widen in shock. He had already read the reports of the two boys, and although Saber guessed that Ace and Killian were related to Aiden, who definitely had the strength of a Peak Saint, from Alissa¡¯s words, Aiden wasn¡¯t the only one with the power of a peak saint. Although he hated to admit it, Alissa was right; provoking a force with that kind of power was incredibly dangerous, but when he remembered who was above ground, his heart calmed down. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about Saber,¡± Cain replied indifferently. ¡°Silas is upstairs waiting for them, and his master, Lord Ragnor, should be arriving later. If either of their supposed masters dares to come, they won¡¯t be leaving with their lives.¡± This time it was Alissa¡¯s turn to be shocked. As Cain¡¯s disciple, she was clear about how strong Silas and Ragnor were. Although she knew Mathias and Aiden were powerful experts, she didn¡¯t think either of them would be a match for Cesar¡¯s eldest disciple. Ragnor was supposedly far stronger than your average peak saint. According to her master, Ragnor was at the level of power beneath the prime saints like Cesar. At this point, all Alissa could do was pray that Arianna would come and save Killian and Ace. The armless middle-aged man, who¡¯d been all but silent till now as he struggled to wrap his mind around the contents of the conversation between the master and disciple, suddenly looked up as he felt the whole dungeon shake. ¡°Looks like the battle¡¯s begun!¡± Book 5: Chapter 5 – Ace Vs. Silas (1) Ace, Killian, and Leo had been travelling non-stop for almost a day by the time they finally arrived at Wyning City on the back of an enormous eighth-rank cloud falcon that Ace had conquered. ¡°Looks like they called in the cavalry for this one,¡± Ace noted casually as he looked down at the army on the ground from the back of the giant snow-white falcon. Beneath them were an army of two ninth-rank warriors, almost a dozen experts at the eighth rank, and tens of experts at the seventh rank. It was clear they had no intention of underestimating the demonic trio and allowing them to sully their image any further. Still, Killian merely glanced at them before ignoring them entirely and turning back to Ace. ¡°Can you sense Alissa?¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Ace nodded calmly, his eyes focused on the young man leading the army below. ¡°She¡¯s here, and she doesn¡¯t seem injured either, but she¡¯s being held underground, and the only way to get to her is through them.¡± Ever since finding out about Alissa¡¯s capture, Killian had been unbelievably anxious this whole time. He had no way of knowing if Cesar had already executed her or if she was being tortured, so upon hearing Ace¡¯s words, a sigh of relief escaped the dark-skinned teen¡¯s thick bow-shaped lips. Still, as his eyes fell back on the assassins below, the temperature in the surrounding area seemed to plummet as a dense killing intent wafted out of him. Without a word, Killian flipped his wrist, summoning his trusted battle-axe before leaping off the falcon and skipping through the air, whizzing towards his enemies. ¡°Leo, stay with him,¡± Ace said softly, his eyes still trained on the white-haired Silas. ¡°And leave him to me!¡± ¡°Be careful,¡± Leo transmitted back mentally via their connection. ¡°He smells dangerous.¡± And just like that, the battle began. Despite the fact that Leo and Killian were so heavily outnumbered, they were able to show incredible skill and teamwork to hold their own. The explosive sounds of weapons clashing and the cries of the falling assassins rang through the air, but Ace and Silas didn¡¯t so much bat an eyelid, both calmly eyeing each other up as if to size up their soon-to-be opponent. ¡°When I first read the reports about you, I thought they had to be greatly exaggerated,¡± Silas said calmly as he stepped forward, somehow able to walk on air as if it were solid ground. ¡°But just looking at you now, I can see it¡¯s the opposite.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not bad either,¡± Ace said as he, too, walked through the air as though it were solid. Seeing that, Silas¡¯ eyes flickered with surprise. He already knew that all three of the Demonic Trio were able to use a movement technique of some sort that allowed them to move freely in the air, but according to the reports, they had to use a substantial amount of strength, but this¡­ With his vision, he could see that Ace was using Impose to turn the air beneath his foot into a solid, but not only had he never seen anyone use impose with such mastery, the strength of the ¡®impose¡¯ needed for such a feat wasn¡¯t something he could even dream about at his level. Still, he wasn¡¯t the only one taken aback. Ace could clearly sense that Silas was a warrior at the early stages of the ninth rank and a rank seven wind mage. So him being able to use the spells [Supersonic] and [The Soaring Technique] was a given, but the ease in which he did it¡­ Not only did he not have to say a word, but Ace could also sense that the power of both was enhanced to the ninth rank. Upon coming to that realisation, Ace instantly understood that his opponent¡¯s comprehension of the laws of wind had also reached the ¡®profound¡¯ stage. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Ever since the founding of ¡®Saber¡¯, there has only ever been two times when people have actively taken the fight to us,¡± Silas said softly, allowing the wind to carry his voice directly into Ace¡¯s ear as he came to a stop only 20 meters away from his target. ¡°First was that shitty little ape over a decade ago, and now you.¡± ¡°Kong did it too?¡± Ace asked, slightly surprised, before that surprise turned into a soft chuckle as he remembered exactly who they were talking about. ¡°Never mind. That does sound like something he¡¯d do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you got beaten by him too,¡± Ace smirked when he sensed the shame and embarrassment Silas was trying to hide. Silas glared threateningly at the young teen as the veins on the side of his head bulged. It took almost ten seconds for the young assassin to calm his nerves. If it wasn¡¯t before, it was now painfully obvious how much his defeat to Wukong weighed on him. As the number one genius of the continent¡¯s number one assassin organisation, Silas had extremely high standards for himself. Still, as the number one student in the number one institute for warriors, he could accept losing to Olivier, but Wukong was different. He was a complete unknown at the time. And to add insult to injury, the ape-like young man didn¡¯t seem the slightest bit surprised by the outcome; in fact, he didn¡¯t even pay him any further attention after defeating him. ¡°Since that day, I¡¯ve been training behind closed doors just so that I could challenge and crush him, just like he did me back then. Unfortunately, even with ¡®Sabers¡¯ intelligence, there was absolutely no news on that shitty little Ape.¡± Silas said softly as he slowly drew his sword. ¡°So you can imagine my delight when I heard about you and your connection to Wukong. Since he¡¯s still cooped up under a rock somewhere, I¡¯ll defeat and capture his junior brother forcing him to come out of hiding!¡± As Ace looked at Silas, he couldn¡¯t help feeling pity for the young man. He had no idea just how strong Wukong had gotten in that time. As powerful as Ace had become, he was under no delusions. If Kong were to fight seriously, he would be hard-pressed to take a single strike. He was able to challenge and defeat early saints over six years ago whilst still only being at the eighth rank. Now¡­ Not even Ace knew precisely how strong Wukong had become. But what he was sure of was that whether it was Olivier, Silas, or even both of them together, they were far from his match. Still, he wasn¡¯t Wukong. Silas would undoubtedly prove to be his strongest opponent to date. He knew that even if he were to win, it would be far from easy, and yet, he was filled with nothing but anticipation and excitement as the glaive which had unknowingly appeared in his hand was coated with haki. It was at that moment that the ¡®battle-qi¡¯ of both men coated their bodies before they simultaneously disappeared from their positions, shooting towards each other at unbelievable speeds, especially when considering they were both still just mortals. ¡®Fast.¡¯ Ace noted to himself as, for the first time since his fight with Bebe back in the mountain range of magical beasts, he found himself being overwhelmed by the speed of an opponent. Silas¡¯ body seemed to flicker in and out of existence at speeds that the mortal eye couldn¡¯t follow, his sword piercing and arcing through the air, each strike fast, precise, and deadly. But just like in the fight against Bebe, he was able to use his incredible weapon handling and superior senses to create a flawless defence. Despite his superiority, Silas stared at his younger opponent in shock. The reports mentioned Ace¡¯s incredible spearmanship, but it was only when going up against him that he was able to really appreciate how great it was. Each technique flowed perfectly into the next with incredible fluidity and certainty, leaving no openings for him to take advantage of. It had to be remembered that Silas was by far the faster of the two, so despite Ace having less distance to travel to block or parry, he still needed to know precisely where Silas would strike, and yet, not only was Ace right each and every time, Silas almost felt as though Ace knew where he would strike before him. Fortunately, he was an extremely well-trained assassin with a wealth of experience that would put even some of the strongest assassins to shame. As such, his patience was second to none. He carried on calmly suppressing the young Ace whilst patiently waiting for his opening. Ace, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t able to stay so patient. Even though they appeared to be at an impasse, he was well aware that if things carried on like this, it would be he who faltered first. To fight those at the ninth rank, Ace was forced to go all out. Unfortunately, that meant a constant use of [Observation & Armament Haki], which put significant strain on his spirit and body and his ¡®pseudo-battle-qi¡¯ which drained his mage force. At this rate, he would only be able to last another 20 minutes at most before he was bottomed out. If he wanted to win, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to be patient like his opponent; he had to take a few risks. Book 5: Chapter 6 – Ace Vs. Silas (2) Ace and Silas had clashed well over a thousand times already, but this time it was different. Ordinarily, after having his attacks blocked or parried, Silas would seemingly vanish into the wind, only to appear behind the dark-haired teen aiming for what should be a blind spot, but this time¡­ As the blades of the sword and glaive made contact, Silas was forced several steps back. ¡°You¡­¡± Silas said in shock as he looked at Ace in disbelief, with a trickle of blood falling from the corner of his mouth. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°You really want to know?¡± Ace smirked as his body disappeared, leaving nothing but a trail of fire and a faint afterimage in his wake. ¡°Let me show you!¡± This was the first time that Ace was able to take the initiative, and he had every intention of taking full advantage of it. Silas knew Ace was merely provoking him in the hopes he¡¯d make a mistake, and if he was honest, there was a big part of him that wanted to throw caution to the wind and wipe the smirk off Ace¡¯s annoying face, but what kind of assassin would he be if he allowed him to get riled up so easily. Plus, his insides were still churning. He didn¡¯t know what happened. On the surface, Ace¡¯s last attack had been no stronger than any of the previous ones, but as soon as their weapons made contact, his insides felt like they¡¯d just been rattled by some sort of shockwave. Although it wasn¡¯t life-threatening, it was far from comfortable. As such, as soon as Ace went on the attack, Silas vanished into the wind, hoping to buy some time for his insides to calm. Unfortunately, Ace wasn¡¯t about to let him rest so easily. Silas¡¯ eyes suddenly bulged as he saw his opponent somehow follow him, the obsidian blade of Ace¡¯s glaive arcing through the air to chop off his head. It had to be understood that Silas¡¯ movement technique, [Vanishing Winds], was a movement technique created and perfected by his master, Ragnor, that allowed the user to truly become one with the wind, allowing them to all but hide their presence entirely. The profundity of the technique meant that the only way to find the user was for you to have a higher comprehension of the laws of wind or have access to the ¡®divine sense¡¯ of a deity. Ordinarily, the only way to counter the users of this particular technique was to wait for them to attack, as they became visible again when attacking, but Ace genuinely seemed able to locate him. Silas knew that Ace wasn¡¯t a wind user, and even though he had a powerful soul that surpassed his own, which allowed him to sense the presence of the other assassins from ¡®Saber¡¯ that had tried to ambush him in the past, it definitely wasn¡¯t at the level of a deity. Just to err on the side of caution, during their first few exchanges, Silas made sure to pay special attention to Ace¡¯s reactions whilst he was merged with the wind, and although Ace had been able to somehow block all of his attacks, he could see from his expressions that Ace wasn¡¯t actually able to sense his presence whilst he wasn¡¯t attacking. Silas¡¯ shock was understandable, but there was no time for him to sit and think about how Ace was able to do it. Ace¡¯s glaive was nearing his neck, and he didn¡¯t have time to dodge. As unwilling as he was, all he could do was allow Ace¡¯s flame-coated blade to clash with his battle-qi-coated sword, praying to the sovereign of wind that Ace wouldn¡¯t be able to use the same technique again. ¡°Ugh!¡± Silas grunted, coughing a mouthful of blood as he used the force of the impact to help him create some distance. ¡®[Internal Destruction] really is a useful technique!¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he continued to chase after his white-haired opponent. Unfortunately, Silas had learnt from his previous mistake. Instead of relying on the invisibility aspect of his movement technique, he focused on his raw speed to put as much distance between them as possible, and even with the new and improved [Soru], the difference in speed wasn¡¯t exactly marginal. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°So much for capturing me to force Kong out of hiding,¡± Ace teased as he continued to chase after Silas. ¡°At the moment, you don¡¯t seem to be able to do anything but run away!¡± It was at that moment that Ace¡¯s brows raised with a hint of surprise. Silas¡¯ body suddenly split in two, creating two virtually perfect versions of himself. So perfect that not even Ace, with his [Observation], could sense the difference. ¡°Since you¡¯re in such a hurry to die, allow me to send you on your way!¡± Silas voiced coldly as both bodies tore through the air. Even though he couldn¡¯t tell which was the real body, Ace wasn¡¯t worried. As Silas was running away previously, Ace had to use his ordinairy [Observation] to keep track of the white-haired assassin as his compressed [Observation] only covered a total of 70 meters. What shocked him was that even when Silas entered the range of his compressed [Observation], he still couldn¡¯t tell the original from the clone. Whether it was their mind, body, or even soul, the two Silas¡¯ appeared to be exactly the same. Fighting one Silas was hard enough. Fighting two and finding a chance to counterattack with both seemingly equal to the original in every way was nigh impossible, especially as he didn¡¯t even know which body he should be focusing on. Unless¡­ Ace¡¯s eyes flashed with resolve as he steeled himself. The two clones were approaching from different sides in an attempt to force Ace to have to make a choice on which body he wanted to deal with, and if anyone were able to watch, it¡¯d look like Ace had frozen with fear, but as soon as the two clones were a fraction of a second away, Ace¡¯s eyes flashed, as his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] exploded out of him. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Ace exclaimed as one of the two clones appeared dazed before he could land his attack. Ace shifted his body slightly so the sword aiming towards his heart from his rear would miss any vital organs, whilst the blade of his glaive created a perfect arc in the air, cleanly slicing through the neck of the body Ace had found to be the original. Before Ace could celebrate, his eyes suddenly turned into pinholes as he felt what the sword of whom he believed to be the clone exiting his back. Without a second of hesitation, the fiery ¡®battle-qi¡¯ coating his body exploded from behind, just enough to slow the sword piercing towards his head. Ace hurriedly turned to face his opponent as his glaive shot forth like a meteor leaving a trail of fire in its wake, barely making it in time to meet the incoming sword. As the two blades met, both Ace and Silas leapt back, creating some space. Ace ignored the hole in his back as he studied the young man in front of him incredulously. He knows his haki definitely attacked the consciousness of the real body, and yet, he could only watch in shock as the body he was certain was the original faded out of existence. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible. Unless¡­¡± Ace muttered softly, still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. ¡°Your consciousness can swap bodies at will.¡± As surprised as Ace was, how could it compare to Silas¡¯ shock? Ace was a child more than half his age, and yet, even though he had suffered an injury, he had lived through his secret technique. For ten years, he locked himself behind closed doors to train in order to avenge his loss to Wukong. In that time, not only did he reach the ninth and seventh ranks as a warrior and mage respectively, his comprehension had even stepped into the profound realms. Something that evaded even Olivier ¨C ¡®The Sword Prodigy¡¯ ¨C Akerlund till now. He genuinely believed that with the help of his secret technique, he would be able to avenge his loss. But if things keep going as they are, before he even gets the chance to challenge Wukong, he might actually lose to a teenager whom he suspects to be Wukong¡¯s junior brother. ¡°Ace!¡± ¡°ROAR!¡± Ace looked down at the ground to find Leo and Killian standing in the middle of a gruesome battlefield with the corpses of over 100 assassins lying by their feet. Both stared up at Silas coldly, ready to take action to assist Ace at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me; go find Alissa. She¡¯s still imprisoned with a warrior at the middle stages of the ninth rank guarding her,¡± Ace stated calmly. ¡°Leave this to me!¡± Seeing the blood falling from the wound on Ace¡¯s back worried Killian and Leo, but they both trusted Ace explicitly. After taking one final glance at Ace and his opponent, Leo and Kil turned to hurriedly find Alissa. Silas knew that had Leo and Killian joined Ace, he likely wouldn¡¯t stand a chance, especially with the internal injuries he¡¯d already suffered. Still, his eyes never left Ace for even a second. ¡°I admit it; you¡¯re by far the most talented person I¡¯ve ever met,¡± Silas stated as the shock and unwillingness in his eyes receded, slowly transforming into resolve. ¡°But I won¡¯t lose; I refuse to lose!¡± As Ace met his gaze, he had to admit he was slightly surprised. He could guess that like Chukaya from the Rohault Empire, Silas more than likely grew up being hailed as an unrivalled genius in ¡®Saber¡¯, but unlike the so-called strongest of the Rohault Empire¡¯s three geniuses, when running into someone more talented than him, instead of allowing it to hinder him, Silas used it as fuel to improve himself. ¡°Neither will I!¡± Ace said calmly as the respect he felt for his opponent grew. Book 5: Chapter 7 – Second Chance Even though he didn¡¯t have [Observation Haki], as an apex Divine Beast of the sixth rank, Leonel¡¯s soul was no weaker than that of the average mage of the ninth rank. As such, he could easily sense the auras of others within a kilometre. When Ace mentioned that there was a warrior of the ninth rank guarding Alissa, it was so that Leo knew where he should be going. Within a few minutes of racing through the deserted streets of Wyning City, Leo led Killian to what appeared to be a hidden passage that led deep underground. Not wanting to waste any time, Killian swung his axe with all the strength he could muster, thinking he would be able to slice straight through it like a knife through butter and hurry to free Alissa as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t work out quite like he anticipated. Despite using his most recent comprehension of ¡®wielding heavy as though it were heavier¡¯ to increase the power of his strike, his attack failed to leave so much as a dent on the cellar doors. ¡°It¡¯s made of solid celonite,¡± Killian muttered to himself after finally stopping just long enough to focus on the gate¡¯s material before turning his attention to the jet-black horse-sized lion beside him. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll need to do it.¡± Celonite was an especially durable and expensive ore that was said to be breakable only by ninth-rank experts. Although Killian had made several breakthroughs over the last six months allowing him to take on experts at the eighth rank, a lot of that was due to his skill, versatility, and experience. In terms of raw power, even if he went all out, Killian would, at best, be able to deliver a strike with the power of a seventh-rank warrior. Considering he was only at the latter stages of the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage, that in and of itself was incredibly impressive, but it wasn¡¯t enough for the current task. Fortunately, he had Leonel with him. Power had always been the attribute Leonel had excelled at. Upon breaking through to the sixth rank, his raw strength directly reached the ninth rank, but that wasn¡¯t the only improvement he¡¯d made. Killian watched silently as Leonel¡¯s paw, coated in a skin-tight, burning crimson aura, shot forth, creating a whistling sound as the air around it sizzled. Like his partner, Leo was now also able to use the ¡®pseudo-battle-qi¡¯ method Ace came up with, and the increase in power spoke for itself. The navy-blue gate held steady for all of one second before it came apart, with the area Leo¡¯s paw landed melting under the heat of Leo¡¯s ¡®profound¡¯ flame-coated paw¡¯. As impressive as it was, Killian had long gotten used to Leo¡¯s freakish power. As such, the moment the gates had been ¡®opened¡¯, the dark-skinned teen unhesitantly stepped forward to find his ¡®classmate¡¯ as soon as possible when a familiar but worried voice entered his ears. ¡°DON¡¯T COME DOWN! RUN!¡± Alissa screamed frantically from her adamantine cell. Just as he heard Alissa¡¯s screams, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on edge. Reacting purely off his well-trained instincts, Kil leaned back just in time to avoid having his heart pierced by the dagger of Alissa¡¯s master ¨C Cain. Cain swiftly pulled his blade out of the boy¡¯s shoulder, preparing to behead the youth who came to rescue his little disciple when he was forced to move like a flash and leap back. Leonel¡¯s furious roar sounded throughout the whole city as his burning paw slashed at the place where the assassin¡¯s head was, aiming to turn it into a burnt paste. Although his connection with Killian was nowhere near as close as it was to Ace, after spending every day together for almost a year, Leo had developed a strong bond with Killian, but most importantly, he knew how much Ace loved his ¡®little¡¯ brother. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The thought of Killian dying right beside him infuriated the Divine Beast to no end. Without a second thought, Leo charged straight at the middle-aged assassin, his whole body now coated in skin-tight flames. Cain couldn¡¯t believe what was going on. Even though he wasn¡¯t a mage, the strength of his soul still allowed him to pay attention to what was going on around him. He could sense that aside from ¡®Young Master¡¯ Silas, all the other Saber assassins had been killed, and the young master, who was even stronger than him, was clashing against a warrior who, by all intents and purposes, should¡¯ve been defeated by even the weakest assassin assembled today. ¡®I guess the reports about the ¡®Demonic Trio¡¯ were true after all,¡¯ Cain thought to himself as he clashed with the black-furred lion. Killian ignored the wound on his shoulder as he glanced coldly at the assassin fighting Leo, or more specifically, at the man¡¯s fighting style. As the one who spent the most time with Alissa, he was able to spot the almost identical manner in which both Cain and Alissa wielded their daggers. Still, he knew now wasn¡¯t the time to waste paying attention to such things. Seeing how Leo seemed to be able to hold his own, Killian quickly darted into the cellar, following the winding passage until he found the cells. ¡°It really is a brat coming to save you, little lass,¡± the armless prisoner said in a mix of surprise and amusement as he saw the wounded Killian appear in front of their cells. ¡°Kil, you¡­¡± Alissa stared at the familiar figure standing valiantly in front of her cell. For a moment, all her fears and worries disappeared, leaving only an endless warmth as she saw the concern on his usually stoic face as he stared at her. But when she remembered where they were, all her fears came flooding back. ¡°Kil, you need to take Ace and go! It¡¯s too dangerous here!¡± She didn¡¯t know what was going on outside or even how Killian had made it this far, but she couldn¡¯t bear the thought of Killian and Ace dying because of her. Still, Killian didn¡¯t seem to pay her words any attention whatsoever as he glanced at the bars of the cell keeping her imprisoned. ¡°Key?¡± He asked indifferently, not even bothering to try and break it. He couldn¡¯t leave so much as a dent on Celonite which may as well have been a flimsy plank of wood in the face of Adamantium. ¡°What?¡± Alissa asked, taken aback by Killian¡¯s indifference to their plight. ¡°Did you not hear me? You need to hurry up and take Ace and go before you get yourselves killed. Just forget about me and¡­¡± ¡°Key?¡± Killian repeated once more, cutting Alissa off mid-sentence. ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re an interesting kid,¡± The armless man said, causing Killian to glance at him before turning back to Alissa with a questioning expression. ¡°I can tell you where to find the key,¡± the man continued, grinning wildly as he looked at the youth before him. ¡°As long as you promise to free me as well¡­ Provided you¡¯re able to live that long.¡± ¡°Kil, ignore him and go!¡± Alissa said. ¡°If you were to free him, your actions would provoke the O¡¯Brien Empire.¡± Killian glanced at the man indifferently. As the man was doing nothing to hide his presence, Killian was able to sense that, like Cain, he, too, was a warrior at the middle stages of the ninth rank. Although far more powerful than him, Kil wasn¡¯t alone. Both Ace and Leo were able to take on experts of that calibre, so as far as Killian was concerned, he had nothing to be fearful of. Instead, what really caught Killian¡¯s attention was Alissa¡¯s last statement. He didn¡¯t know who the man was, but after everything that¡¯s happened over the last year, an enemy of the O¡¯Brien Empire was a friend of theirs. As such¡­ ¡°Key?¡± Killian asked, his eyes trained on the armless prisoner this time. ¡°Haha, I knew I liked you,¡± The man chuckled. ¡°That little lass¡¯ master has it on him, but it¡¯s not in his storage ring. The assassins of sabre have a masochistic tendency of storing small but important items in their body by cutting themselves open and sewing themselves shut after putting it in. Isn¡¯t that right, lass?¡± Alissa didn¡¯t reply to him, instead giving him a frosty glare before turning back to Killian, only to find he had already turned to run back to the battlefield. As warm as it made her knowing that Killian genuinely cared for her enough to risk his life in this way, it also filled her with endless worry. Unfortunately, she also knew Killian well enough to know that there was no way for her to talk him out of it. Killian and Ace were both the stubborn types; once they had made their minds up, there was virtually no going back on it. All she could do was pray to whichever sovereign would listen that they would be successful and be able to leave here today with their lives. At the same time, a seed of hope began to take root in her heart. Before this, she had all but given up on life, knowing she would die without knowing the truth about her origins. But if they were to get out of this alive, as selfish as it was, not only would she be given a second chance to find out the truth, she would also be given another opportunity with the person she had grown to love. Book 5: Chapter 8 – No Longer Master & Disciple Leo and Cain were still in the middle of their battle when Killian returned, and at that point, they both still appeared to be even, much to Cain¡¯s shock. It had to be remembered that the ninth rank ¨C whether it was for mages or warriors ¨C was unique in that the difference between each sub-rank was as great as the difference between a whole rank for other ranks. As hard as it was to believe, Cain thought that even if the rumours were true and the lion-type magical beast was genuinely able to fight warriors of the ninth rank as a sixth-rank beast, that started and stopped with your average early ninth-rank expert. There was no way it would be able to fight on par with him ¨C a mid-stage ninth-rank warrior. It was only when he saw and felt the strength of the beast¡¯s flames that he understood that it was able to close the gap with its profound comprehension, but that realisation only left him even more dumbfounded. On a fundamental level, the universe was fair. Magical Beasts were innately more powerful than humans as mortals because of their bloodlines. Still, because of their inferior intelligence, they struggled more when it came to comprehension, and yet, here was a sixth-rank beast who had already begun comprehending the profundities of the laws of fire, whilst he, a warrior of the ninth rank, who¡¯d been alive well over a century already was yet to even comprehend impose. Leonel had no idea how much of a shock his performance thus far had come, and even if he had known, he wouldn¡¯t care. He was solely focused on killing his opponent as quickly as possible. It was only when he noticed Killian¡¯s return that he allowed himself to momentarily focus on something but Cain. ¡°He has the key to the cells,¡± Killian replied calmly as his cold eyes focused on the assassin, who was frowning slightly at the return of another opponent. Killian may be just a teen, and yesterday, Cain might¡¯ve allowed himself to underestimate him, but after experiencing Leo¡¯s incredible prowess, he now knew better. Still, with his wealth of experience, he wouldn¡¯t allow such a thing to cloud his judgement and make him make a mistake unnecessarily. Before Leo and Killian had finished their exchange, Cain immediately changed targets, believing and hoping that Killian would be weaker than his bestial companion, and right he was! But despite knowing that he was wholly inferior to even the weakest of experts at the ninth rank, Killian remained completely calm. Cain moved at a speed that Killian was incapable of following at his current level, but as he knew the man¡¯s target was undoubtedly himself, he didn¡¯t have to be able to see him to be able to react. ¡°[Supergravity Field], [Earth Guard], [Shield of Earth]¡­¡± ¡®Where did all of these freaks come from?¡¯ Cain thought to himself as he watched in all new disbelief as his new target insta-cast defensive spell after spell, each of which held the power of a powerful fifth-rank spell. Even though the spells of someone so much weaker than him would do next to nothing to stop his attack, it didn¡¯t keep him from appreciating the talent needed to achieve such a feat, but if that wasn¡¯t enough, Killian¡¯s last spell almost made his eyes pop out of their socket from shock. ¡°¡­ [Destructo-Pulse]!¡± Killian voiced softly as grey spherical energy exploded out of him. ¡°Edict of Destruction?!¡± Cain exclaimed as he hurriedly evaded the new spell. Most ordinairy civilians had never even heard of the four edicts, but for those who had, they understood that each of the four edicts wasn¡¯t just rare but exceedingly mystical. It wasn¡¯t that the four edicts were any more powerful than the ordinairy laws of the seven elements as such, but they all had a speciality, and when it came to that speciality, they were unmatched. For example, those who specialised in the edict of life were unmatched when it came to healing. Whether it was themselves or others, they were the very best healers. It was said that as long as you had even a breath of life left in you, a saint who specialised in the edict of life would be able to completely heal a mortal from even the most deadly and life-threatening injuries and diseases. As for the edict of destruction, its speciality was in the name ¨C Destruction! When it came to raw destructive power, the edict of destruction was peerless! For Cain, this was his first-time meeting anyone with an affinity to any of the edicts, but he had read about them. As such, all he knew was that the edict of destruction was unmatched when it came to offensive might. But unfortunately, there was nothing scarier than the unknown. If he had known better, he would¡¯ve understood that as powerful as the edict of destruction was, it wasn¡¯t so powerful that it¡¯d be able to simply allow the user to jump four whole ranks to defeat someone as strong as him. Unfortunately, just the sight of the grey mageforce put the fear of god in him! The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The moment he saw it, he instinctively jumped backwards to evade the cocoon-shaped spell. That in and of itself wasn¡¯t a big deal, but the problem was that he was so focused on dodging Killian¡¯s spell that he forgot about his original opponent. A sigh of relief escaped Cain¡¯s thin lips when the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on edge. ¡°YAAAAAH!¡± Cain roared as he summoned all his might to slash at the descending mountain-sized lion¡¯s paw made of pure fire. As the two attacks met, Leo¡¯s [Divine Descent] paused for all of two seconds before exploding. The shockwave of the explosion sent Killian flying in the opposite direction, causing his right shoulder to dislocate as he crash-landed on the floor. Unfortunately, Cain wasn¡¯t so lucky. In the middle of the crater created by the explosion, the middle-aged assassin lay motionless with over half his skin and flesh burnt. If not for the sound of his muffled breaths and the rise and lowering of his burnt chest, almost anyone would assume him to be a mere corpse, but the vitality of a warrior at the ninth rank was not to be underestimated. ¡°WAIT!¡± Killian shouted to stop Leo, who had already leapt towards the half-dead assassin to finish the job. Leo¡¯s razor-sharp claws were mere millimetres from Cain¡¯s face when he looked up questioningly towards Killian. After the last year they¡¯d spent together, Leo knew that Killian wasn¡¯t the type to show sympathy to an enemy, so he had no idea why he was stopping him from killing him. ¡°I think he¡¯s related to Alissa in some way,¡± Killian said as he remembered the identical style in which both he and Alissa wielded their daggers. ¡°Let her decide how to handle him.¡± Even though he had no intention of killing the man, Killian had no qualms about worsening his already severe injuries. The moment he saw the glint of the keys protruding from the man¡¯s visible innards, he casually pulled it out, ignoring the man¡¯s pained grunt as a relieved smile suffused his lips. He had initially been worried that the explosion would¡¯ve destroyed, or at least damaged it, but thankfully, Cain¡¯s battle-qi and flesh had been enough to keep it out of harm¡¯s way. Both Alissa and her fellow prisoner were surprised to see Killian back with the key so soon, and from the looks of things, he didn¡¯t seem to be in too bad a condition ¨C all things considered. ¡°Looks like I was right to put my trust in you after all,¡± the armless prisoner voiced, a cautious glint flashing across his eyes as he looked at the giant lion eyeing him back. Even though he didn¡¯t recognise the lion, what he did know was that the fact that since it could directly go up against a warrior like Cain ¨C who had been the one to defeat and capture him ¨C meant that with his current injuries and lack of weapon, he likely wouldn¡¯t be the beast¡¯s match. Still, after getting over his initial surprise, he didn¡¯t seem too bothered by the lion¡¯s presence. Instead, he was far more excited about getting out of there. Unfortunately, he would have to wait as Killian walked straight past his cell, only coming to a stop when he reached Alissa¡¯s. ¡°You¡­ You big oaf!¡± Alissa voiced tearfully as she watched her former classmate and travel companion open the gate to her cell. ¡°Why did you come? Why couldn¡¯t you just let me¡­ Woah, what are you¡­¡± Alissa couldn¡¯t even get her words out before she was forcefully, yet gently hoisted up into Killian¡¯s arms. Even though there weren¡¯t many people there to witness Killian carrying her like a princess, Alissa¡¯s pale cheeks still took on a rosy tint as she subconsciously buried her head in his shoulders, unable to take the embarrassment. ¡°Wait here,¡± Killian said softly as he put her down to rest against the wall behind Leonel before making his way back to the other locked cell. Alissa had been so caught up with Killian previously that it was only when she was resting against the walls that she paid attention to his new four-legged companion, and it was as she did that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets in shock. As an assassin, her senses had always been reliable, but after awakening her ¡®Tigerstriped Warrior¡¯ bloodline, they had become several times sharper. So the moment she began to actively pay attention to the lion, only two words came to mind, ¡®Divine Beast!¡¯ Unfortunately, now was neither the time nor the place to figure out where they would¡¯ve met such a rare creature or how they managed to tame it. ¡°I thought you were gonna go back on your word,¡± the armless man commented as he watched Killian undoing the lock to his cell and the chains tying his feet up. With Leonel beside him, Killian had nothing to worry about, despite the man he was freeing having the strength to literally kick him to death. Still, even though he wasn¡¯t worried, he didn¡¯t feel like making small talk. As soon as the chains were undone, the man ignored the threatening looks he was getting from the lion as he watched with an amused smile as Killian picked Alissa back up and made his way towards the exit with Leo in tow. Upon making it back outside, Alissa noticed the cooked body in the middle of the street. ¡°We left him alive so you could decide what to do with him,¡± Killian explained. ¡°He has some sort of relationship with you, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Alissa nodded, a hesitant expression forming on her pale face. The truth was, she really did feel betrayed. Cain was the closest thing to a father she had ever known. Although she knew, he, like most assassins, was loyal to ¡®Saber¡¯ and Cesar, she still hoped that his loyalty to a man he had never even met before would come second to the child he practically raised. If it were virtually anyone else who betrayed her, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to plunge her dagger through their heart, but for Cain, she owed him too much. Still, there was no going back from this. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me in the past,¡± Alissa voiced sincerely as she climbed out of Killian¡¯s embrace. ¡°But this marks the end of our relationship. No longer are we master and disciple!¡± Killian could hear the emotions the fatigued silver-haired teen was trying to suppress, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He knew this was something she had to do on her own. Cain felt a pang of pain in his heart upon hearing his former disciple¡¯s words, but before he could even attempt to say anything in response, a pained grunt escaped his lips as the ground beneath his back trembled violently. ¡°ACE!¡± Killian shouted worriedly. As much as he wanted to give Alissa a chance to say her goodbyes in peace, Ace¡¯s safety was of far more importance. Without another word, he lifted Alissa back into his arms and took off toward his brother¡¯s ongoing battle, right behind Leonel, who was the first to move. Book 5: Chapter 9 – Coming With Us Ace and Silas stood on the ground facing each other. Their breathing was ragged, and their bodies were covered in gaping cuts and burns, but their eyes filled with fight and resolve. This had by far been Ace¡¯s most challenging fight since coming to this world, so difficult in fact that despite rapidly approaching its climax, it was still too close to call. Both warriors understood that the winner would be decided by this final exchange, but from the looks in both of their eyes, neither believed they would or could lose. It was at that moment that a pleasantly surprised smile suffused Silas¡¯ cracked, dry lips. ¡°Haha, I really need to thank you!¡± Judging by the surprise flickering in Ace¡¯s jet-black eyes, it appeared he didn¡¯t need his opponent to explain. It was obvious from the third clone that had suddenly materialised out of thin air that Silas¡¯ comprehension had taken another step forward. Ordinarily, it was Ace¡¯s opponents who had to suffer because of his suddenly gaining insights mid-fight. This was the first time Ace had been on the receiving end, and he had to admit, he wasn¡¯t a fan. A frown took shape on Ace¡¯s lips as he watched all three of Silas¡¯ bodies surround him to keep him boxed in. Keeping up with two bodies was already a bit too much for Ace. If it weren¡¯t for his willingness to exchange injury for injury, he would¡¯ve long since lost this battle. ¡®I only have two hands; I can¡¯t keep up with three of them,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he considered all his options. ¡®Unless¡­¡¯ ¡°ACE¡± ¡°ROARR!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t intervene,¡± Ace commanded upon sensing the intentions of Kil and Leo, who appeared with Alissa and a man he didn¡¯t recognise. None of them, not even Killian, had ever seen Ace this beat up before, but instead of a look of despair, worry, or fear, all they saw was an excited grin on his youthful face. ¡°What kind of technique is that?!¡± The armless man asked, almost unable to believe what he was witnessing. He wasn¡¯t the only one shocked at that moment; Alissa turned to Killian as if to ask if what she was witnessing was real. The last time she saw Ace, he still had his affinities sealed and now¡­ His comprehension of the profound mystery of the essence of fire was only half a step away from completion, meaning he could control his fire to make virtually any shape he wanted. Upon realising his distinct disadvantage, Ace decided to level the playing fields somewhat by creating four more arms made of pure fire. And if that wasn¡¯t shocking enough, with a flick of his wrist, each of his new hands was holding a weapon of a fallen foe. Two hands held sabers, another a katana, and another an axe, each of which was coated with haki to stop them from burning prematurely. It was an odd sight, to say the least, but as Ace shot toward the still-stunned Silas, he was filled with confidence. As surprised as he was, Silas was still an experienced assassin. The moment he saw his opponent speeding towards him, he suppressed his shock, and all three of his bodies moved to intercept the dark-haired boy. As this was Ace¡¯s first time fighting in such a way, his control was far from perfect, but with his [Observation], he could barely keep up. The only unfortunate thing was that, although he was able to use basic [Armament Haki] to coat the four new weapons, not only was his skill with each of the weapons lacking, but he also couldn¡¯t use [Internal Destruction], a point Silas had noticed immediately, filling the young man with confidence. Still, Ace wasn¡¯t the slightest bit discouraged; in fact, judging by the excited grin on his face, he was happy with the way things were going. Ace¡¯s perception in his last life was nothing special, but in this life, because of the power of his soul, his perception was beyond amazing. As such, those watching were able to see Ace¡¯s control increasing with each attack. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. It was as though each swing of an ¡®arm¡¯ allowed him to test and adjust so that the next attack was that little bit more fluid and controlled. Although he had no intention of making this ¡®six-armed¡¯ fighting style permanent, it did have its benefits. For one, he had originally believed that his control over fire was near perfect, and to some extent, it was. If his comprehension had made another breakthrough, it would mean complete comprehension of his first profound mystery, but what he hadn¡¯t realised was that he could still improve his subtle control. These subtle improvements he was making wouldn¡¯t do anything to directly increase his power output, but what it would do was improve his foundation. For example, he would be able to form spells and attacks that little bit faster, which could mean the difference between life and death at battles of his level. The second benefit it brought was concerning his control over his [Armament Haki]. By imbuing four more weapons with haki through his flames instead of his own hands, was a lot more challenging than he initially believed. Still, as his control improved, he could feel that he was getting closer to comprehending [Conqueror Infusion]. The third, final, and arguably most satisfying benefit for Ace was his weapon handling. To most mortals, Ace¡¯s glaivesmanship was already perfect, but he knew of three mortals who surpassed him. His master, Aiden. The man he saw as something of an older brother, Wukong. And the woman who was head of the Pavilion¡¯s warrior department, Kimika. Excluding bloodline abilities and the difference in realm, each of them was able to dominate him if it were a pure battle of skill. Unfortunately, Ace¡¯s improvements in that regard had come to a grinding halt for a while, but now, although slow, Ace could feel himself improving. The longer the fight went on, the more Silas began to feel agitated. This was his first fight since losing to Wukong all those years ago. His first fight since coming out of seclusion, and yet, despite making a significant breakthrough mid-fight, he still couldn¡¯t find a way to beat a mere teen. And to add insult to injury, he could also see Ace improving at a visible speed. He, Silas, the leading genius of the Pavilion, the grand disciple of one of the most powerful humans on the continent, had been reduced to a mere whetstone! Ordinarily, he was a very calm and calculating warrior, but the pressure of this fight was beginning to become too much for him. He was becoming more and more reckless with his attacks, desperately searching for a win. If he had been able to keep his calm, he would¡¯ve been able to sense that Ace¡¯s mageforce was circling the drain. It would be at most another minute before Ace was completely out, at which point it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to defeat him. Unfortunately, his frustration had got the better of him. Sensing his opponent¡¯s shift in mood, Ace decided to go for broke. Silas felt a familiar energy threatening to crush his consciousness. Ironically, Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] threatening to knock him out had the effect of waking him from his agitated state. Unfortunately, it was too late¡­ He tried to migrate his consciousness into one of his clones, only to find that they¡¯d both already been dealt with. In the end, all he could do was leap back as quickly as possible, hoping to put some distance between himself and his opponent, but before he could escape Ace¡¯s range, he felt the bottom of a small but powerful foot drive into his gut launching him backwards through the air coughing a mouthful of blood. Ace was officially out of mageforce, but he had just enough strength left in his body to put an end to this fight once and for all. Alissa and her formerly fellow prisoner watched in awe as Ace, a warrior and mage of the fifth rank, chased after a rank nine warrior in an attempt to kill him. Forget the armless man, even Alissa, who was used to Ace¡¯s incredible feats, was left speechless by what she was witnessing. Only Killian and Leo were able to remain calm with a hint of relief as they watched the battle come to an end, but their relief quickly turned into shock, fear, and worry as an unassuming middle-aged man suddenly appeared between Ace and Silas. ¡°Who are¡­ UGH!¡± Ace grunted in pain as he, too, was sent flying in the opposite direction. The man¡¯s cold black eyes scanned the battlefield with complete indifference, stopping briefly on Ace with a hint of shock flashing through his abyss-like iris¡¯ as he watched the teen stumble back to his feet before turning towards Alissa, a helpless sigh escaping his lips. Whether it was Ace, Killian, Leo, or Alissa, none of them was able to recognise the man. What they did know was that, since he was wearing the same black robes as all the other members of Saber, he too was a member of the organisation, and more importantly, seeing as he was able to hover a few inches off the ground, he was a saint. They may not have recognised him, but the armless man was clearly more informed than the three teens. As he stared at the handsome blonde-haired man casually hovering in the centre of the battlefield without so much as a care in the world, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh helplessly. ¡°Curse my luck,¡± he said self-mockingly. ¡°I actually escaped my prison only to run into you, Ragnor!¡± That¡¯s right; the middle-aged man is the only living disciple of Cesar ¨C the king of killers. A peak saint whose name inspires fear in just about every nation throughout the continent. Ragnor glanced lightly at the man causing his heart to literally skip a beat in pure fear, before looking back at Alissa as though the man¡¯s presence meant nothing to him. But before he could say a word or move a muscle, Killian and Leo had both stepped in front of Alissa, with Ace appearing like a flash in front of them. His body was riddled with deep cuts from Silas¡¯ blade, and four of his ribs had shattered from Ragnor¡¯s last attack, an attack so fast, not even Ace¡¯s [Observation] had been able to follow it. He had shards of his broken ribs lodged in his lungs, making him feel like his lungs were burning from the inside out with each breath. He was out of mageforce, and his body was almost completely out of stamina. Ace knew he was running on fumes at this point, but as he looked at Ragnor, not an ounce of hesitation could be seen. ¡°Alissa is coming with us!¡± Book 5: Chapter 10 – The Hard Way Unlike when looking at the armless prisoner, there was no killing intent when Ragnor¡¯s eyes silently fell on Ace. There was only curiosity. He knew how hard his last strike was. Forget rank five¡¯s like Ace, even warriors of the seventh rank would¡¯ve died, and yet, not only had the teen survived, he was even able to move by himself. He had seen the ¡®blackened¡¯ skin when his fist met the boy¡¯s chest, and although he had never seen or heard of an ability like that before, he understood that it was an ability of some sort to strengthen the user¡¯s body. Still, that was only one reason for his surprise. It had to be remembered that the young man sprawled out unconscious on the ground behind him was his disciple. A disciple, he had spared no expense when it came to training. He, better than anyone, understood how strong Silas was right now, which made it all the more confusing for him to have lost to a boy not even half his age. Had his opponent been Olivier, Wukong, or even the princess from the Dark Alliance, he might¡¯ve understood it, but aside from the three of them, there shouldn¡¯t have been anyone else from the younger generation that could fight on par with his disciple, let alone defeat him. Unfortunately, like his disciple and master, he, too, had spent the last few years in seclusion, attempting to make a breakthrough of his own. If it weren¡¯t for one of his right hands coming to him with news of one of their younger members awakening their Tigerstriped warrior bloodline, he would still be in seclusion now. As such, he hadn¡¯t read the reports of Ace and Killian¡¯s exploits these last few months. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ragnor asked curiously. ¡°They¡¯re my fri¡­¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Gol D. Ace,¡± Ace replied, cutting Alissa off mid-sentence. ¡°And Alissa¡¯s coming with us!¡± ¡°Gol D¡­?¡± Ragnor repeated to himself, trying to search through his memories to figure out if he had heard of such a ¡®unique¡¯ name in the past, but no matter how hard he tried, the name didn¡¯t ring any bells. Focusing back on Ace, he noticed the boy to his right tightening his grip on his axe and the lion on his left growling threateningly; it was clear that they had no intention of budging. Speaking of the lion, as Ragnor¡¯s darkened eyes fell on Leo, they couldn¡¯t help but pause briefly. With the power of his soul and his wealth of knowledge and experience, he was able to sense the power it radiated. ¡®Divine Beast?!¡¯ As he came to that realisation, a flicker of greed flashed across his dark iris¡¯. He knew from the limited records of them that even the weakest of Divine Beasts were innately prideful and wouldn¡¯t lower their heads to follow anyone unless they saw that individual as family, and as ace wasn¡¯t a magical beast of any kind, let alone a lion, he also guessed that it had already formed a bond of equals with one of the two boys. Still, all wasn¡¯t lost. ¡°How would you like to join ¡®Saber¡¯ as my own personal disciple,¡± Ragnor suddenly suggested, much to the shock of all those present. ¡°In fact, for a talent of your level, my own master mi¡­¡± ¡°Not interested!¡± Ace stated directly, leaving no room for debate. Number one, he already had a master, and he had no intention of taking another, but more importantly, with his senses, how could he have missed the greed flashing through the eyes of the peak saint in front of him? He could tell he wasn¡¯t lying about his master being interested in taking him as a disciple, but he was undoubtedly more interested in Leonel. Other than those from the Pavilion who all had faith that they would one day reach the deity realm themselves with time, every other force on the continent would die to have a divine beast among their ranks, and Saber was no exception. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I see,¡± Ragnor sighed as his eyes went back and forth between Ace and Alissa as if he was hesitating. Ace could sense the man¡¯s hesitation; he could also feel the man¡¯s growing killing intent and resolve, which was why when he heard Ragnor¡¯s following words, he wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Ragnor said with his eyes closed as a regretful sigh left his lips. ¡°But I can¡¯t allow a boy with such talent and a strong prejudice against my ¡®Saber¡¯ to live.¡± Ace frowned when he heard Ragnor¡¯s declaration, not because he didn¡¯t expect his decision but because, to him, it almost sounded like the person he was apologising to wasn¡¯t him, but Alissa. Still, even though he knew he would stand no chance against an opponent like Ragnor, even if he weren¡¯t injured, he wasn¡¯t the least bit worried. In fact, a relieved smile appeared on his immature face as he looked into the distance. ¡°It¡¯s about time you showed up, old man,¡± As he said that, the eyes of Alissa, Leo, Killian, and the armless man followed Ace¡¯s line of sight, only to see a burly figure standing in the skies with a giant war cleaver resting on his shoulder, looking down at them calmly. The only person not surprised by the man¡¯s appearance was Ragnor, who appeared to have long since sensed him. ¡°Master!¡± Killian called out as his body relaxed from its previously tense state. ¡°Do you brats have to go around provoking all the major forces?¡± Mathias asked helplessly as he looked at Ace, who seemed to have the same knack for causing trouble as his junior brother ¨C Wukong. Even though he said that, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief that he made it in time. When he heard the reports of the demonic trio¡¯s exploits over the last few years, he had been rushing around trying to find them, praying he could get to them before they provoked any of the old monsters hiding in Saber. After doing a cursory scan of Ace and Killian to make sure neither of their injuries was fatal, his eyes moved back to Ragnor, whose eyes were still on the group of youngsters, or more specifically, Leonel. ¡°I would like to apologise on behalf of the children for all the damage they¡¯ve done these last few months,¡± Mathias voiced calmly. ¡°And as Alissa¡¯s a disciple of the Pavilion, she too will need to come with us. As payment, we¡¯d be willing to pay appropriate remuneration.¡± ¡°The pavilion?¡± Ragnor asked indifferently as his eyes left the lion for the first time since Mathias¡¯ arrival to meet the gaze of the newcomer. ¡°Never heard of it.¡± ¡°We¡¯re still new, so all of our members are incredibly important to us,¡± Mathias replied calmly. ¡°I see. Well, you can take the dark-skinned boy and be on your way,¡± Ragnor stated dismissively, not putting a mere mid-staged saint in his sights. ¡°The girl won¡¯t be going anywhere, my master will want to see her personally, and as for that Ace boy, for trying to kill my disciple, he will need to pay with his life.¡± ¡°What kind of saint goes around killing other juniors for defeating their disciples?¡± Ace snorted disdainfully. ¡°Pathetic! I have respect for Silas, but it¡¯s a miracle he reached his current level of strength with a master like you!¡± Before, he only wished to kill Ace to free the Divine Beast of its bond of equals so that he could force it to submit to him instead, but now¡­ He had been a saint for over a millennium now, and as one of the few saints belonging to the most prolific assassination guild, second only to his master, it had been a long time since anyone dared to disrespect him to his face. The killing intent radiating from Ragnor was so terrifying that it had Alissa, a highly trained assassin quivering in fear. Even Killian felt a cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck, but Ace remained unphased. He had to admit, it was the most potent killing intent he¡¯d ever felt, which was to be expected from such an old monster who specialised in killing, but, with willpower like his, he was able to shrug it off as though he couldn¡¯t feel it at all. ¡°You can die,¡± Ragnor snorted upon realising his killing intent didn¡¯t have the intended effect. With a seemingly gentle wave of his palm, a giant crescent-shaped blade of wind tore through the air aiming to cleave him in two. Ace was far too injured to dodge, and Killian and the others were too slow to even react, but still, Ace remained calm. A subtle smile appeared on his immature face as Mathias¡¯ sturdy body appeared between them. ¡°You used my movement technique!¡± Ace smirked when upon noticing Mathias using [Soru], albeit at a much higher level than he could. ¡°You sold it to the pavilion,¡± Mathias reminded this carefree disciple of his. ¡°It¡¯s my movement technique now.¡± Ace ignored Mathias¡¯ retort as he sighed helplessly. As it stood right now, Ace could only perform 31 kicks when using [Soru], but with his [Observation], Ace watched Mathias perform over 300. The difference was more than ten times. He knew that the difference wasn¡¯t due to a lack of comprehension but because, as a saint, Mathias¡¯ body was far stronger than Ace¡¯s; as such, his body was capable of handling a lot more strain than Ace¡¯s. Mathias paid no more attention to the troublemaker. Focusing his attention solely on the man before him, a sigh escaped his full lips. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to do this the hard way.¡± Book 5: Chapter 11 – End Of The Fight Though the expression on Mathias¡¯ face was light and carefree, he didn¡¯t dare to underestimate the man in front of him. He knew full well that, aside from the few Prime Saints on the continent, there weren¡¯t many who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Ragnor, but he wasn¡¯t scared; in fact, he was excited. It had been a long time since he had got to really let loose. Ragnor, on the other hand, felt more peeved than anything else. Not only was he a peak staged saint, he was half a step away from becoming a prime saint. The number of people who could defeat him could be counted on two hands, and none of those figures included a mid-staged saint. Even the likes of Shelia ¨C the Empress of the Dark Alliance wasn¡¯t his match without using the treasures in the Cult of Darkness. And yet a trivial mid-staged saint dared to not only reject his goodwill but also stand against him. ¡°It seems like the world¡¯s forgotten about me during my time in seclu¡­¡± ¡°Stop your nonsense!¡± Mathias snorted as he appeared before his opponent, his axe slicing straight through Ragnor¡¯s afterimage. ¡°Haha, very well,¡± Ragnor laughed coldly. ¡°Then you can die too!¡± ¡®So it¡¯s possible to use the Law of the Winds Profound Mystery of Wind Walking like this,¡¯ Ace noted as he studied the fight intently. When he first read it in the Pavilion¡¯s notes, Ace believed that wind walking was a simple, profound mystery that allowed the user to walk on air, but it was only after seeing Ragnor that he realised how much more it entailed. Walking on air as though it was solid ground was one of the more basic abilities one could do with this ability, but for those with enough insight into the profound mystery, they were able to walk WITH the wind, essentially allowing their bodies to become one with the wind, improving not only their speed but also their concealment. Even with his [Observation], Ace struggled to see Ragnor even when he stood still, appearing as nothing more than a slight distortion. And the moment he moved, it became nigh impossible to see him. Ace didn¡¯t doubt for one moment that had Ragnor completely comprehended Wind Walking, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see him at all, even if he stood right behind him. ¡®[Vanishing Winds], huh¡­ What a terrifying movement technique.¡¯ Ace thought to himself, understanding that because the profound mystery Silas had begun to comprehend was the mystery of ¡®doppelgangers¡¯ instead of ¡®wind walking¡¯, he hadn¡¯t been able to exhibit its true might. ¡®There really appear to be no inferior profound mysteries, depending purely on how they¡¯re utilised!¡¯ Upon coming to that realisation, Ace had a sudden urge to enter seclusion himself. At the moment, all his techniques were either ones he¡¯d created in his previous life before deciding to wield the glaive or techniques created by other people that he¡¯d either modified slightly to better suit him, like the improvised [Soru] he copied from the World Government, or [Divine Descent] a technique created by Leo¡¯s father. Because of all of Ace¡¯s abilities and incredible comprehension, it made jumping ranks easy for him, meaning it was harder to spot his weaknesses, but he knew the moment he became a deity, these little chinks in his armour would become glaringly obvious. It was better to fix them now before they cost him his life. Plus, even if he didn¡¯t make any other breakthroughs, he knew, just by making those adjustments, his strength would see a significant improvement. Whilst Ace was distracted by the direction of his future training, the battle between Mathias and Ragnor was in full swing. Unfortunately, it appeared that Mathias was the one being suppressed. ¡®The speedy ones are always the ones who give me the most trouble,¡¯ Mathias sighed. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Like Ace¡¯s, his body was now also riddled with cuts, but unlike in the fight with Ace and Silas, Ragnor didn¡¯t have so much as a tear in his clothing. As a saint of the edict of destruction, Mathias¡¯s raw power was unmatched, but his speed wasn¡¯t exactly his strong suit. It only made it worse that, unlike Silas, Ragnor didn¡¯t lose his concealment when he attacked, allowing him to attack as and when he liked. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he made sure to avoid each of his opponent¡¯s strikes, not wanting to clash head-on with Mathias¡¯ destruction battle-qi, this fight would¡¯ve long been over. Like Cain, Ragnor too was surprised to find someone with an affinity to the edict of destruction, especially a powerful saint, but that was all it was ¨C surprise. Though rare, Mathias wasn¡¯t the first person he¡¯d met with said affinity; he wasn¡¯t even his first opponent with the affinity. One thousand plus years as an assassin, and you were bound to run into some interesting targets. As such, he could remain perfectly calm as he patiently whittled his opponent down, one cut at a time. Still, Mathias didn¡¯t seem the slightest bit hurried. In fact, he didn¡¯t even seem phased by his injuries. As his injuries slowly accumulated, Mathias patiently bided his time, only attacking when attacked, despite knowing his wild power swings were unlikely to land. ¡®It¡¯s time to end this!¡¯ Ragnor¡¯s eyes flashed coldly as he saw a slight flicker in his opponent¡¯s grey battle-qi. The flicker was so faint that Killian and the others missed it, but Ragnor knew precisely what he was waiting for from the beginning. That flicker was a sign that Silas was weakening. The only other person who noticed the flicker was Ace. He knew the flicker wasn¡¯t staged by Mathias to lull Ragnor into a false sense of security; he could sense that Mathias really was starting to weaken, but after hundreds of small cuts by his opponent¡¯s knife, that was hardly surprising. But Ace wasn¡¯t worried. He could sense the emotion Mathias radiated wasn¡¯t worry or fear but anticipation. He didn¡¯t know what the principal of the pavilion was planning, but he knew he had a plan. ¡°NOO!¡± Killian roared as he subconsciously stepped forward upon seeing Ragnor stab through his master¡¯s heart from behind. If it weren¡¯t for Ace holding him back, Killian really would¡¯ve jumped in without thinking and gotten himself killed. ¡°GET OFF, ACE!¡± Killian struggled violently. ¡°Master needs help!¡± If not for his [Armament Haki], Ace would never have been able to successfully hold him down; even so, Killian¡¯s struggling made his wounds worsen. ¡°Calm down, Kil,¡± Ace said whilst using what little strength he had left to pin down his brother. ¡°The old man¡¯s just fine; he let himself get stabbed on purpo¡­¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, Ace and the others were all sent flying by a terrifying shockwave. It was exactly like Ace said, Mathias allowed himself to get stabbed on purpose. He knew Ragnor was simply too fast to get hit by any of his ordinairy strikes, and he also knew he was too observant to see through a faint. So Mathias had to channel his inner masochist and wait till he was really fatigued, knowing an assassin like Ragnor would go for the kill. The only thing he had to do was find a way to lure his opponent into attacking his heart instead of his head, so he purposely focused all of his attention on protecting his head throughout the fight. As a result, the moment Ragnor smelt weakness, he aimed to pierce the heart. What he didn¡¯t know was that Mathias was born with his heart on the right side of his chest. As such, when Ragnor stabbed Mathias, instead of dying like he expected, Mathias used that momentarily lapse to use a spell that Killian was all too familiar with ¨C [Destructo-Pulse]. Though shocked by the sudden development, Ragnor was still a peak saint known for his speed. He reacted quickly, attempting to pull his knife from Mathias¡¯ chest, only to find his opponent had tensed his muscles to keep it in place. He proceeded to let the knife go; unfortunately, that fraction of a second wasted trying to free his weapon meant he was a little slow in escaping. He escaped with his life, but his hand ended up turning to dust as he shot back. But before he could wrap his head around what just happened, the hair on the back of his neck stood on edge. Looking up, he saw a grey crescent-shaped beam of pure destruction mere inches away from tearing him in two. Which was when Mathias¡¯ cold and deathly voice entered his ears. ¡°[World Sundering]!¡± Without a moment of hesitation, he leapt out of the way. Unfortunately, he, for the second time in this fight, and maybe only the second time since becoming a saint, was too slow to completely dodge. ¡°ARRGHHHH!¡± Ragnor roared in pain as he watched his arm turn to dust under the might of Mathias¡¯ attack. Mathias had no intention of giving the assassin a chance to regain his composure. The moment his last attack had been executed, Mathias had already begun moving, already anticipating his slippery opponent to be able to dodge. His destruction-styled battle-qi-coated war cleaver came hurtling down, aiming to split the man in two, only to find the body was, shockingly, nothing but an afterimage. Ace, whose injuries had only gotten worse after being sent flying by the last shockwave, barely managed to stumble to his feet in time to see a man who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s donning a long baggy black robe casually opened down the middle carrying the badly injured Ragnor over his shoulder. ¡°Cesar, I presume,¡± Mathias said calmly as he put his axe back in his storage ring. Book 5: Chapter 12 – Luenna Cesar¡¯s thoughts were too hard to read, as his face showed no emotion. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was staring right at him, Ace wouldn¡¯t be able to sense anything at all. His very presence was like a dark void. Cesar¡¯s emotionless eyes scanned the battlefield, nodding at times and furrowing his brows at others. Not even the pained grunts of his handless disciple did much to distract him. It was only when his indifferent eyes fell back on Mathias that he opened his mouth for the first time. ¡°You must be related to that little monkey kid and his master,¡± Cesar speculated aloud. ¡°A mid-staged saint with the comprehension of a prime saint¡­ Not bad.¡± ¡°And you¡­ To defeat that grand disciple of mine as, despite being three ranks lower and half his age, not bad at all,¡± Cesar nodded before Mathias could voice a reply as his eyes fell on Ace, a hint of interest and amusement flickering through them. ¡°Are you another of that woman¡¯s disciples? If not, you could become my disciple. If you do, I¡¯ll train you till your strong enough to beat up that cheeky little ape!¡± This time, whether it was Ace, Mathias, or even the dumbfounded Silas, who appeared to have just regained consciousness, they all looked speechlessly at the middle-aged man. He was completely flippant and nonchalant. He could clearly see that hundreds of his men had been killed. Even his grand and personal disciples had been defeated, and yet, he wanted to take one of the perpetrators as his disciple. This wasn¡¯t the attitude one would expect from the so-called king of killers. The only one not surprised by Cesar¡¯s actions was Ragnor; he appeared to be very much used to this lazy and carefree master of his. ¡°So¡­¡± Cesar asked again. ¡°What do you say?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Ace shook his head calmly. ¡°Not interested.¡± Though still taken aback by Cesar¡¯s attitude, he had no interest in taking another master. Not even one as powerful as the Yulan continent¡¯s most prolific assassin. ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± Cesar sighed regretfully as the most dense and terrifying killing intent Ace had ever felt exploded out of him. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to kill you all then.¡± Ace had felt the killing intent of many powerful individuals, but without fail, they all paled in comparison to the man before him. Ace¡¯s eyes became pinholes as he froze in fright. For the first time since he had comprehended [Observation: Future Sight], he felt like it didn¡¯t matter how hard he tried, he could only die in front of Cesar. It was a such a terrifying feeling that for what felt like the longest three seconds of his life, Ace genuinely forgot to breathe. Then as if it never existed in the first place, Cesar¡¯s horrifying killing intent vanished as quickly as it appeared. ¡°Ooh, you actually managed to stay on your feet?¡± Cesar voiced in a congratulatory manner as he flashed an amused smile. Of the mortals present, only Ace managed to stay on his feet; the others had all fallen to their knees or flat on their faces under Cesar¡¯s display of terror. ¡°Please stop intimidating the children, Cesar,¡± As Ace heard the voice of who he immediately recognised to be his master¡¯s wife, Arianna, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief as he fought to catch his breath. Looking over his shoulder, he found the reliable figure of the Pavilion¡¯s spiritual guardian, her face, as ever, the picture of grace and elegance, as she calmly looked at Cesar admonishingly. ¡°No need to be so uptight,¡± Cesar replied, his voice still calm, but Ace could sense a faint apprehension. ¡°I was only playing around.¡± ¡°Playing around?¡± Arianna asked back. ¡°In that case, I¡¯d like to ¡®play around¡¯ a bit as well.¡± This time it was Cesar¡¯s turn to show fear. Other than the one who rules over the Forest of Darkness, Cesar had met all the deities on the continent, but it was the woman in front of him who scared him most. She, like Mathias, was only a mid-staged saint-level warrior and mage, but her true power was simply unfathomable. He knew that if she wanted him dead, he¡¯d be lucky to last one strike. Not wanting to lose any more face in this situation, Cesar could only clear his throat and hurriedly change the subject. ¡°So what¡¯s going on here anyway?¡± Cesar asked as he tossed his disciple off his shoulder, glaring at him threateningly, as if to say he had better fill this awkward silence. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Arianna knew Cesar was trying to change the subject, but she merely smiled and did nothing to embarrass him further. Ragnor was used to his master¡¯s eccentric and shameless behaviour; what shocked him was the genuine fear Cesar tried to hide. Ragnor had seen his master interact with both the War God and the High Priest at different points in time. Although cautious, Cesar hadn¡¯t looked to be scared. It was then he remembered a caution his master had given him and the other high-ranking members of Sabre after the incident with Wukong. ¡°Don¡¯t look for revenge with that monkey kid or anyone related to him, and if a mission comes in to assassinate him, reject it directly!¡± At the time, he and the others had all been surprised as, till now, other than the few deities and prime saints, there was no mission Sabre didn¡¯t dare to take on. Whether it was the various world leaders, generals, or saint-level experts, Sabre was willing to take it on. It was only when speaking to him alone that Cesar explained that Wukong¡¯s master was a saint no weaker than himself. Though surprised that there was a prime saint that Sabre hadn¡¯t heard of roaming around the continent, Ragnor didn¡¯t think much more about it; after all, each of the prime saints were terrifying figures capable of slaughtering saints like him with ease. What he didn¡¯t even consider was his master¡¯s words, ¡°A saint no weaker than me¡±, meant that she was actually stronger, but looking at the way in which his carefree master reacted to this woman¡¯s presence, told him everything he needed to know. Coming to that realisation, Ragnor couldn¡¯t help but take another look at the woman standing calmly behind Ace, but no matter how hard he studied her, all he could see was a mid-staged saint. The only thing that was slightly out of the ordinairy was that she had reached the middle of the saint stage as a mage and a warrior, but she wasn¡¯t the first talent to focus on both paths; even the man who¡¯d left him handless was at the same stage. It was only when he thought back to Mathias¡¯ last attack that he realised something strange. ¡®The profundities infused¡­ They¡¯ve reached the Prime Saint level!¡¯ Ragnor¡¯s dark eyes almost popped out his socket when he realised that, as it meant that if Mathias were to make another breakthrough and reach the peak of the saint rank, he would directly become a prime saint. As his comprehension had reached such a stage, there was no reason for him to still be a mid-staged saint¡­ Unless it was by choice! He didn¡¯t know why anyone would choose to keep from breaking through, but as soon as he came to that realisation, he understood that the only way for this mystery woman to be a mid-staged saint but be stronger than his master was if her insights surpassed his own, which would mean her insights were equal to that of a deity. Upon coming to that realisation, he looked at Arianna as though he were looking at a monster. If it weren¡¯t for his master clearing his throat, he would¡¯ve continued staring foolishly, forgetting their current situation. ¡°Sorry,¡± Ragnor said with a newfound respect before turning back to his master. ¡°I was told by one of our members that a young member of the Prey Clan had been captured by one of our assassins in an attempt to please and impress you.¡± ¡°Impress me?¡± Cesar snorted disdainfully. ¡°What¡¯s impressive about capturing a child?!¡± ¡°Because after you slaughtered your way into the Prey clan, you never bothered to explain yourself, and rumours began to circulate about your apparent hatred of that particular branch of the four supreme warrior descendants,¡± Ragnor explained, exasperated by his master¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°Since then, any descendant discovered was assassinated by the junior members hoping to do right by you.¡± Alissa trembled when hearing that. She could only imagine the fear her fellow Pray Clan family members must¡¯ve felt as they were continuously hunted down. ¡°Idiots! A bunch of idiots! What kind of foolish idiots have you allowed into my organisation?!¡± Cesar spat as he continuously cursed his subordinates as though they could hear him. ¡°Pass down an order from me; anyone found to kill a member of the Prey clan for no reason will be executed by me personally!¡± ¡°Master¡­¡± Ragnor called, only to be ignored. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the little Prey girl is another of your disciples?¡± Cesar asked, turning back to Arianna apologetically. ¡°On behalf of my stupid subordinates, I apologise. You have my word; she will be free from any further attempts on her life by my organisation.¡± ¡°MASTER!¡± Ragnor shouted. ¡°What? Why are you screaming like a child?!¡± Cesar snapped back frustratedly. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m talking here?¡± ¡°I know, but I wasn¡¯t finished explaining,¡± Ragnor sighed. ¡°What more is there to say?¡± Cesar rolled his eyes. As far as he was concerned, the quicker they sorted this mess out, the sooner he could leave and get as far away from the monster in front of him as possible. ¡°Look at her,¡± Ragnor said, motioning towards the silver-haired teen who was the cause of all the commotion. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she look a little¡­ Familiar?¡± ¡°Familiar? Why would¡­¡± The moment Cesar stopped to really pay attention to the little Tigerstriped warrior, he couldn¡¯t help but freeze in disbelief. Alissa had been listening intently, hoping to gleam any bit of information she could about her background, but till now, she was left with more questions than actual answers. Still, she didn¡¯t dare to interrupt. Though she was effectively the topic of conversation, she knew she was too weak to interject, and she didn¡¯t dare do anything to annoy the ¡®King of Killers¡¯, but before she could react, Cesar had disappeared from his original position, only to appear in front of her. Alissa hadn¡¯t been the only one too slow to react. Despite paying constant attention to the dark-robed killer, Killian, who was standing right beside his ¡®classmate¡¯, had only noticed Cesar¡¯s appearance after it was too late. Still, he reacted instinctively by swinging his axe with all his might, a ferocious glint flashing through his eyes as he ignored the obvious difference in strength. Unfortunately, the difference in strength couldn¡¯t be closed just by wishing it so. Despite being a mighty warrior in his own right, the blade of his trusted battle axe shattered upon making contact with Cesar¡¯s body doing absolutely no damage to anyone but himself as his arms numbed under the impact. Cesar, though, didn¡¯t seem to notice the boy¡¯s attempt. His full attention was solely on the silver-haired teen. Though shocked and terrified by the sudden development, Alissa didn¡¯t find the killing intent or anger she had expected. In fact, if she didn¡¯t know better, she would¡¯ve sworn the so-called ¡®King of Killers¡¯ was looking at her with hesitation, disbelief, and even affection. ¡°Your mother,¡± Cesar asked softly. ¡°What was your mother¡¯s name?¡± It took everything Alissa had to stay standing; her emotions were too chaotic to even think about replying. ¡°Your mother¡¯s name,¡± Cesar said gently, not minding her inability to respond. ¡°Was your mother¡¯s name, Luenna?¡± Book 5: Chapter 13 – A New Subordinate Alissa¡¯s body trembled violently at the mention of the name, Luenna. Her mother had died when she was still very young. Still, that was a woman she would never forget. As she was still only young when she passed, Alissa didn¡¯t remember a lot, but the one thing she would never forget was the love and affection she held in her eyes when she looked at her. Till now, her deceased mother was the only one who¡¯d ever looked at her like that. Not even Cain, the man she saw as the closest thing to a father in her life, had ever looked at her like that, but now, despite only meeting for the first time today, Cesar appeared to be looking at her in the same way. Cesar sighed when he saw her reaction. He didn¡¯t need her to answer him; her reaction was answer enough. ¡°You know, throughout my life, I had only ever taken on two disciples. The first is that idiot over there,¡± Cesar explained softly as he pointed towards Ragnor. ¡°And the second was Bakaiyo¡­ Bakaiyo Prey.¡± Cesar¡¯s words came as a shock to everyone present, but no one was more shocked than Alissa herself. ¡°Bakaiyo was born at a time when the bloodlines of all the descendants of the four supreme warriors were waning, but unlike the others of his generation, the purity of his bloodline was abnormally high. The higher-ups of your Prey Clan arranged a marriage between him and a member of the Hyde Clan, who also had a pure bloodline, in the hopes that their children would have a high purity of either bloodline. But Bakaiyo didn¡¯t care about that; he just wanted to live freely. As a result, he ended up running away from home.¡± Cesar smiled warmly as he reminisced about his youngest disciple. ¡°Not having thought it through, he ended up out of money very quickly, but he was determined to make it on his own and never return to the Prey Clan. Still, since he had to keep his identity a secret, his options were limited. Ultimately, he decided to join Sabre, which was when he met me. Even though he was hiding his bloodline, his talent was incredible. Not too dissimilar to your own, in fact. Anyway, he quickly rose through the ranks and enjoyed an incredible career and later got married to a young and talented mage ¨C Luenna Klear. He was so taken with her that he even took her name, not caring how the rest of the world saw him. Unfortunately, that was when things took a turn for the worst. At some point during their travels, he was found by the Prey Clan. Realising he was a rank nine warrior at the time, the patriarch at the time decided to go out personally. Even though he was a saint after transforming, the patriarch at the time was a peak saint before transforming, giving him the power of a prime saint after transforming.¡± Cesar snorted a hint of his killing intent leaking out before he quickly hid it, not wanting to scare Alissa any more than he already had. ¡°In the end, he was forcibly brought back, and because of his unwillingness to cooperate with their wishes to continue their bloodline, he was executed. That was the real reason I slaughtered my way into their clan. And for the record, I didn¡¯t kill all of them,¡± Cesar rolled his eyes, thinking about the actions of his foolish subordinates. ¡°Only their experts¡­ ¡°I knew your mother was pregnant at the time, but I had no idea she had survived,¡± Cesar sighed regretfully. ¡°Otherwise, I never would¡¯ve allowed you to grow up without a family.¡± ¡°It must¡¯ve been tough on you all these years.¡± Cesar looked down at Alissa dotingly as he gently wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°Grandpa¡¯s sorry he didn¡¯t find you sooner.¡± Alissa felt a jolt of electricity coursing through her body as soon as the word ¡°grandpa¡± left Cesar¡¯s mouth. Even when she imagined the day she learnt the truth about her background, she never imagined for one second that she would actually have any family left, but as she looked up at Cesar, a warmth that she never believed she would feel again flowed through her body. ¡°Your mother, Luenna¡­¡± Cesar said, snapping Alissa out of her daze. ¡°What happened to her?¡± ¡°Mother¡­ She died of an illness when I was still young,¡± Alissa explained, unable to hide her sadness. ¡°It was only when I went through her stuff, looking for a memento, that I found a saber medallion. I didn¡¯t know what it meant at the time, but I figured that joining Saber was my best shot at finding answers.¡± ¡°You two probably have a lot to catch up on,¡± Arianna said gently. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to it; just make sure to bring her back to the pavilion at some point in the next few months. All the students are due to be going out on a little mission.¡± ¡°The Pavilion? Students?¡± Cesar asked. ¡°It¡¯s the school I joined a few years ago,¡± Alissa explained. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°School? No granddaughter of mine needs to go to school!¡± Cesar scoffed. ¡°What school could possibly provide you with better training than me, the king of killers?!¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± Arianna gently cleared. It was only when he heard that not-so-subtle reminder that he remembered the monster that was standing behind him. For the first time in god knows how many months, Alissa chuckled. Cesar¡¯s attitude towards her put her mind at ease. Although she still had many questions, at the very least, she felt comfortable around him to laugh at his unusually casual behaviour. ¡°The Pavilion is my home,¡± Alissa explained. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave.¡± Cesar stared at the only daughter of his now-dead disciple as if he were deep in thought. The intensity of his gaze made Alissa worried, but as much as she wanted to get to know this ¡®grandpa¡¯ of hers, she wouldn¡¯t if it meant being forced to leave the pavilion. It was clear things would¡¯ve worked themselves out one way or the other after Ragnor and Cesar arrived, but the fact that not only Ace and Killian but even Mathias and Arianna all came out to find her let her know that the Pavilion was her family too. ¡°Since you want to stay in the Pavilion, then I¡¯ll join too!¡± Cesar declared matter-of-factly before turning to face Arianna nervously, having almost forgotten she was still there. ¡°If that¡¯s alright with you, that is?¡± His words came as a shock to everyone. Even Arianna was taken aback by Cesar¡¯s sudden decision. Still, she pointed towards her bloodied disciple. ¡°Ask my disciple; it¡¯s his school.¡± Mathias was still speechless by the sudden turn of events when his master through him under the bus. ¡°I guess it¡¯s alright,¡± Mathias replied, knowing that with his master¡¯s presence, Cesar wouldn¡¯t be able to try anything. ¡°What about Saber?¡± Ragnor asked, about to palm his face at his master¡¯s impulsiveness, only to remember he had no hands left. ¡°It¡¯s yours,¡± Cesar shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve been running it the last few centuries anyway.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to choose one or the other,¡± Mathias explained, amused by Cesar¡¯s unrestrained take on life. ¡°The pavilion gives all its members freedom to join or start other factions, aside from the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness.¡± ¡°See, there you go; you don¡¯t need to cry about not having me to clean up after you,¡± Cesar berated his eldest disciple. Ragnor merely rolled his eyes, too lazy to get into a war of words with this shameless old man he called master. ¡°I think he and your master are going to get on,¡± Arianna said soft enough that only Ace could hear her. ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t remind me,¡± Ace groaned as he imagined how annoying the two would be together. ¡°Now, when should we go?¡± Cesar asked, turning towards Arianna, no longer as fearful as he was, believing now that they were members of the same organisation, she wouldn¡¯t do anything to him. ¡°After I heal your disciple and grand-disciple,¡± Arianna replied. Her words came as no small surprise to the handless Ragnor, but before he could even react, she had already appeared in front of him, moving at a speed that not even he could follow. ¡°This¡­ You¡­¡± Ragnor looked down at his ¡®stumps¡¯ in disbelief as he watched new flesh forming and taking the shape of a pair of hands, no different to the ones he lost. ¡°Than¡­¡± He looked up to thank the goddess who¡¯d healed him, only to find she¡¯d disappeared just as quickly as she appeared. Looking back down at his hands, Ragnor clenched and unclenched his fist, marvelling over how it felt no different to the original. If he was unsure before, he was certain now. ¡®Her comprehension into the laws of light are well into the deity realms.¡¯ Aside from Alissa, Silas may well have been the most confused person present. Not only had he lost to a teenager, but when he woke up, he found his master handless and his grand-master, whom he could count on one hand the number of times he¡¯d actually met in person, agreeing to join another faction. He didn¡¯t even react to his healing until after Arianna had left his side to return to her group. If not for his master¡¯s reminder, he likely wouldn¡¯t have snapped out of his daze for some time. ¡°Quickly, Silas,¡± Ragnor hurriedly said to his disciple. ¡°Say thank you!¡± ¡°Ahh, right,¡± Silas said, shaking his head to get rid of his jumbled thoughts before turning to face Arianna and bowing respectfully. ¡°Thank you for healing me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, child,¡± Arianna replied, grabbing Ace, and unceremoniously lifting him on her shoulder, before turning to Mathias. ¡°Are you ready to head back?¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± Ace grunted. ¡°You know I¡¯m injured too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Mathias replied, doing the same to Killian and Leonel. ¡°I¡¯m ready too,¡± Cesar interjected, gently putting Alissa on his back. Arianna nodded gently, preparing to take off before stopping to look at the armless warrior. ¡°Is he with you?¡± Arianna asked curiously as she glanced back at Ace. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him before,¡± Ace shook his head. ¡°I set him free,¡± Killian voiced suddenly. ¡°I thought he might make a good ally ¨C he also has a feud with the O¡¯Brien Empire.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace said, curiously sizing the man up from Arianna¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Errm¡­ Ah¡­ Cirulus,¡± The man said nervously, having never been in front of so many saint-level experts before. ¡°Cirulus Reacher.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your problem with the O¡¯Brien Empire?¡± Ace asked. ¡°They killed my dog, so I killed their prince and his guards,¡± Cirulus stated straightforwardly. ¡°You provoked one of the biggest empires on the continent because they killed your dog?¡± Ace asked incredulously. It wasn¡¯t just Ace; everyone looked at the armless man as though he were insane. Cirulus didn¡¯t bother to explain himself, he knew how he sounded, but he didn¡¯t care. He had originally been a faithful serving Colonel in the O¡¯Brien Army, and because he opposed a mission to slaughter a bunch of innocents who had offended the 13th prince, the prince had his men kill his dog. He didn¡¯t care that he had effectively been banished from his home, nor that he had a death sentence because of it hanging over his head; if he had to go back, he¡¯d make the same choice each and every time! He was accustomed to the looks he was currently receiving, so he didn¡¯t mind; what he didn¡¯t expect was Ace¡¯s reaction. Ace suddenly burst out laughing, only stopping due to the pain from his injuries worsening. ¡°Haha, I wasn¡¯t expecting that,¡± Ace said as he refocused on the man. ¡°How do you feel about the O¡¯Brien Empire now?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got your freedom back now, and the O¡¯Brien Empire still don¡¯t know where you are,¡± Ace explained, seeing the look of confusion on Cirulus¡¯ face. ¡°If you want to go into hiding and live out the rest of your life in peace, I won¡¯t stop you, but if you want to continue to make the O¡¯Brien Empire suffer in the future¡­ Follow me!¡± As he heard Ace¡¯s offer, Cirulus couldn¡¯t help but take a deep look at the mysterious youth in front of him. Truth be told, he didn¡¯t have much interest in continuing to oppose the O¡¯Brien Empire, not because he wasn¡¯t still angry with them for throwing away all his years of service for an arrogant and ungrateful prince, but because he knew no matter how hard he tried, with his strength, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do any real damage. Even if he became a saint in the future, that wouldn¡¯t change. He didn¡¯t know what Ace¡¯s problem with them was, but just thinking about his talent and the experts he had backing him, he could see a day of reckoning in the future of his former homeland, and he wanted nothing more than a front row seat to that fateful day. ¡°Your faithful servant, Cirulus, greets Young Master!¡± The armless man voiced respectfully as he knelt down to show his answer. Book 5: Chapter 14 – New Mission Cirulus and Ace were being carried by Arianna as she led the others back to the Pavilion. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she was skilfully using her battle-qi to shield them from the wind as she flew, neither Ace nor his new subordinate would¡¯ve been able to bear the wind pressure, but that was the last thing on Cirulus¡¯ mind at that moment. ¡®I can¡¯t believe it,¡¯ Cirulus thought to himself as he looked down at his new arms, still trying to get over his disbelief. ¡®Following this kid may be the best decision I¡¯ve ever made.¡¯ During their flight, Arianna casually healed all the injured members of the group, but unlike Cirulus, the others took it in their stride, already very much used to Arianna¡¯s incredible ability. ¡°What did you mean earlier?¡± Ace asked his master¡¯s wife, ignoring his excited new subordinate. ¡°You mentioned something about us going on a new mission?¡± ¡°Your headteacher has decided that it¡¯s time that the Pavilion officially opens its doors to the public for a fresh batch of students.¡± Arianna calmly replied. ¡°It¡¯s about time,¡± Ace nodded to himself, knowing that if Mathias¡¯s plans for the Pavilion were to become a reality, they needed fresh blood. ¡°But what does that have to do with us and a mission?¡± ¡°Yours, Killian¡¯s, and Amira¡¯s exploits over the last year have done a lot to spread the name of the Pavilion, but it has still left the majority with more questions than answers,¡± Arianna explained. ¡°Mathias has decided to capitalise on the Pavilion¡¯s growing intrigue by sending each of you students along with an instructor to each of the leading institutes for you to single-handedly challenge and defeat all their most powerful students.¡± ¡°Ooh, fair enough,¡± Ace nodded. He could see the value in doing such a thing, and he knew that even the weakest of their cohort could easily suppress the top students of the continent¡¯s top schools for mages and warriors. Still, at his current level, it was hard for Ace to get excited about challenging children ¡®his own age¡¯. ¡°Not interested?¡± Arianna asked with a hint of amusement, able to guess what was going on in Ace¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ace shrugged. After everything the Pavilion had already done for him and his family, how could he possibly say no to this request, especially as it¡¯s a minor one for him? ¡°What if I told you your target is a certain school for warriors in the O¡¯Brien Empire?¡± Arianna asked. Still, Ace¡¯s need for revenge was no longer focused on the O¡¯Brien Empire as a whole, so be it the War God¡¯s academy or the Yulan Institute, it made no difference to him; they were still too weak to arouse his excitement. ¡°Still not interested?¡± Arianna asked, glad that he wasn¡¯t driven by a misguided need for vengeance. ¡°What if I told you that one of your targets would have plenty of warriors of the ninth rank for you to challenge?¡± It was only at the mention of experts at the ninth rank that Ace¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°One of my targets?¡± Ace asked, no longer uninterested. ¡°You didn¡¯t think that the continent¡¯s leading empire for warriors would only have a single school for those under 30, did you?¡± Arianna asked, amused by Ace¡¯s reaction. ¡°If they had, there¡¯s no way little Kong would¡¯ve ever felt an impulse to challenge them.¡± When Ace first heard of Wukong challenging the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s school for warriors, he was still just an ignorant ¡®child¡¯ who knew nothing about this new world and its various forces, and since then, he hadn¡¯t thought much about it, but Arianna was right, it would¡¯ve only been a little under two decades ago which would¡¯ve made Wukong, at least at the seventh rank. It had to be remembered that the majority of mage and warrior schools were only for youths under 30, and most would choose to leave or become a member of staff upon reaching the sixth or seventh rank. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. With Wukong¡¯s thirst for battle and incredible talent, there was no way he would voluntarily choose to challenge those at the same rank as him. Thinking to there, Ace¡¯s eyes shone with excitement, and his battle intent surged. ¡°I thought that might get your attention,¡± Arianna teased. ¡°Whether it¡¯s the Yulan or O¡¯Brien Empire, they both have institutes for the best and brightest warriors and mages of their respective empires. Even the Cult of Shadows and the Radiant Church have matching institutions, but the Yulan Empire¡¯s College of Light and the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s War God¡¯s College are by far the best of the best.¡± Whenever she mentioned the Yulan Empire, Ace could sense a heavily suppressed killing intent leak out of his master¡¯s wife. A killing intent so faint that even with his incredible senses, Ace almost missed it. Arianna was the very definition of tranquillity and serenity, so it was no wonder it took Ace by surprise. Still, he respected Arianna¡¯s privacy enough not to bring it up, especially as he knew he was too weak to deal with his own problems, let alone an expert like her¡¯s. ¡°Although it¡¯s possible for one to be accepted from anywhere as long as they meet the entry requirements of being 20 or under and a warrior or mage of at least the sixth rank,¡± Arianna continued with her explanation, not seeming to notice Ace¡¯s reaction. ¡°Most of the students of each college are graduates of either the Ernst Institute or the War God¡¯s Academy. But the thing that makes them so attractive to warriors and mages all over the continent is that the best students of each college have the opportunity to become the direct disciples of one of the two human deities, and even if not them, there¡¯s still a very real chance of becoming a disciple of a saint. Unfortunately, as it stands, you¡¯re the only one capable of challenging the strongest students of the colleges, so whilst the others are focused on defeating the disciples of the various ordinairy schools, your challenge is to defeat all the students of both the War God¡¯s academy and the War God¡¯s College.¡± ¡°Is that really a good idea?¡± Ace asked with a slight frown as he couldn¡¯t help but worry about the potential fallout. Ace would be lying if he said that he wasn¡¯t excited about going up against some of the most powerful and talented mortal warriors on the continent, especially as there was a chance one of them would become the direct disciple of O¡¯Brien himself. Still, he wouldn¡¯t allow that excitement to cloud his judgement. An approving smile suffused Arianna¡¯s enchanting face as she knew that Ace¡¯s concern had nothing to do with his safety and everything to do with the safety of his mother. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about anything other than defeating all the students of the college,¡± Arianna said with a comforting smile to put Ace¡¯s mind at ease. ¡°Leave everything else to me,¡± Seeming to understand the hidden meaning behind his mother¡¯s master¡¯s words, Ace¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°If we¡¯re going to show off the imposing might of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, we can¡¯t just leave it up to you students now, can we,¡± Arianna said lightly. ¡°Plus, if we want your mother to overcome her tainted soul without external help, that disciple of mine needs to understand that you¡¯ll be safe with me around.¡± Though she didn¡¯t come right out and say it, Ace immediately understood that even if O¡¯Brien showed up in person, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him, not with the monster that is Arianna behind him. ¡°Good!¡± Ace said as a fiendishly handsome grin took shape on his face. ¡°Very good!¡± Cirulus didn¡¯t understand everything that was said, but what he did understand was that his former homeland was in for quite the shock. With the speed of three incredibly powerful saints, it was only a few hours before they finally returned to the Yin-Yang Pavilion, where they found everyone else already waiting for them at the peak of the mountain. Joel and the others didn¡¯t recognise the man carrying Alissa, but even though they knew he was a saint, with Arianna and the other instructors all present, they felt no fear as they rushed past him to welcome their fellow classmate back. ¡°Alissa, we were all worried sick about you!¡± Kannal exclaimed as he gave the silver-haired teen a big hug. This was the first time in who knows how long that his presence had been all but ignored¡­ By a bunch of kids, no less. He couldn¡¯t help but be amused. Still, as he scanned each of the youngsters, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in amazement. Alissa had already told him everything about the Pavilion, so he had already expected each student to be incredibly talented, but seeing them in person was still surprising. Each of them was a genius among geniuses, the type of genius that just about all the major forces would fight to recruit, and yet here they all were, under one roof. He knew that if all these children were allowed to mature, they would undoubtedly usher in a new era, and the Pavilion would undoubtedly stand at the peak of that new era. Still, he better than anyone understood how hard such a thing would be. The moment all the other peak forces found out that there were so many genius-level talents under one banner, it wouldn¡¯t be long before they were targeted. He knew that Mathias and the other instructors were incredibly powerful, all of whom could jump ranks to fight, but he also knew that even with Arianna¡¯s presence, things wouldn¡¯t be so simple. But all he cared about was ensuring the safety of his fallen disciple¡¯s only child. Book Five: Chapter 15 – Two Months Whilst Alissa was surrounded and overwhelmed by the excitement of her classmates, Ace was being suffocated himself. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you so much,¡± Milianna said as she hugged Ace as tight as she could, as though she was scared he¡¯d disappear again if she let him go. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you too, Mom,¡± Ace replied sincerely as he returned her hug. ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt yourself whilst you were out, did you?¡± Milianna asked as she separated from her son just long enough to examine his body for any injuries. ¡°No, Mom, I¡¯m fine,¡± Ace replied helplessly whilst silently thanking Arianna for healing him before he returned. He didn¡¯t even want to imagine how she would¡¯ve reacted had she seen the wounds from his battle with Silas earlier. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Milianna replied. ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°What are you doing here, old man?¡± Wukong asked curiously as he appeared by Cesar¡¯s side. ¡°Good question,¡± Cesar said as the corners of his mouth crept up. ¡°Call me Grandpa, and I might tell you!¡± ¡°Grandpa, this king¡¯s arse!¡± Wukong snorted. ¡°Just wait till this king becomes a saint; this king will definitely wipe that hateful smirk from your face!¡± ¡°Ooh, is that so?¡± Cesar said with a fiendish grin that made Wukong¡¯s spine shiver. ¡°In that case, I should probably make more of an effort to enjoy your days as a mortal.¡± ¡°Ahh shit¡­¡± Wukong said as he hurriedly tried to leap back. Unfortunately, as fast as he was, in terms of movement, he was no match for the king of killers. ¡°Ahh, you shitty old fart, get off me!¡± Wukong shouted as he was forcibly put in a headlock, much to the amusement of everyone present. Most of the students had no idea who Cesar was, but Wukong had a tendency to go around provoking most of the students in his free time. Joel and the others had long since wanted to teach Wukong a lesson. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too big. So when they saw his precarious predicament, they all took no small amount of pleasure from it. It was only when Mathias cleared his throat that everyone remembered they had been summoned to the mountain peak for a reason. ¡°I know you all have a lot to catch up on, but before that, there are a couple of things I need to announce,¡± Mathias said, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°First, I would like to introduce you to Cesar ¨C the Pavilion¡¯s new Guardian.¡± As he said that, all the other kids looked at Cesar in awe. They didn¡¯t recognise him, but each of them understood what it meant to become a Guardian. It was a position reserved for those more powerful than Mathias himself. ¡°Cesar?¡± Joel asked suddenly. ¡°As in the King of Killers?¡± As a direct descendant of the Dawson family, he had a much more comprehensive understanding of the most influential figures on the continent compared to his classmates. As such, as soon as he put the name Cesar with the identity of a saint more powerful than Mathias, he immediately put two and two together. The name Cesar may not have meant much to them, but there weren¡¯t many who hadn¡¯t heard of the infamous King of Killers. Tales of his high-profile assassinations are still told to this day. ¡°Good to know my name hasn¡¯t been forgotten,¡± Cesar said, basking in the looks of fear and awe of the other students. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be scared,¡± Alissa said when she saw Julius and the others slowly backing away. ¡°He¡¯s my Grandpa; he won¡¯t hurt you.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°As I was saying,¡± Mathias sighed helplessly at the reaction of his students ¨C not that he could blame them. ¡°The second and final thing I want to announce is your upcoming missions¡­¡± At first, the others were still trying to get over the shock of Alissa¡¯s revelation, but when they heard they were about to face a new mission, they focused back on their headteacher, especially when they heard the details of their assignments. As geniuses, other than Ace and Julius, the others all had a burning desire to challenge and defeat all of the leading talents of this generation, so how could they be anything but excited when they heard that they would be challenging the top schools of the continent? ¡°Who¡¯s going to which school?¡± Joel asked eagerly. ¡°That depends on each of you,¡± Mathias revealed. ¡°As it stands, the rankings are as follows: First: Ace Second: Julius Third: Amira Fourth: Joel Fifth: Killian Sixth: Osiris Seventh: Faye Eighth: Alissa Ninth: Yulana Tenth: Kannal Other than Julius, who¡¯s excused from this exercise, the rest of you will have a school picked out for your challenge depending on your ranking.¡± As they heard that, several of them were looking around at each other eagerly as if they were preparing to make a challenge in order to get a higher ranking. The only two whom everyone appeared to be avoiding were Ace and Julius. Ace¡¯s strength spoke for itself, and as for Julius, even if he was fighting, it was unlikely that he would be challenged. He had already reached the middle stages of the seventh rank as a mage, and although his comprehension of the laws of fire and the edict of fate hadn¡¯t reached the profound realm, according to Lazerim ¨C the head of the Pavilion¡¯s mage department ¨C in terms of the laws of fire, he wasn¡¯t far off. ¡°Not so fast,¡± Mathias said suddenly before they started fighting right there and then. ¡°Amira will be back in two months, so you have till then to improve your strength as much as possible. When all ten of you are present, we¡¯ll hold a little competition to determine the new rankings.¡± As he said that, Mathias nodded appreciatively as he saw the resolve in each of their eyes. Although two months wasn¡¯t enough for most of them to make any major breakthroughs, if used wisely, they could still see some improvements. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all from me,¡± Mathias announced. ¡°How you spend the next two months are up to you, don¡¯t waste it.¡± . . . Over the next two months, Ace spent all his time at his mother¡¯s cabin in the forest behind the Pavilion. During his time there, he couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the results of Lance¡¯s training over the last year, having already reached the early stages of the seventh rank as a warrior, comprehending ¡®Wielding heavy as though it were light¡¯ and even becoming a mage of the third rank. His current strength would be enough to rank him amongst the upper echelon of any force on the continent, and yet he trained harder and harder with each passing day. Before leaving for the Rohault Empire, Ace used all his contribution points, asking Lauriella to buy anything Lance could use to improve his strength as much as possible. In the last year, Lance had consumed a number of herbs to aid his training, but the biggest factor contributing to his improvement was, without a doubt, the spear in his hands. The shaft of the spear was crystal white with dark blue runes etched into it and an azure blue blade. Despite only being a spear made from mortal materials, it was the weapon Lauriella was most proud of forging. Its shaft was made from the smelted bones of the Azure Dragon, and its blade from the Divine Dragon¡¯s core. That in and of itself made it a treasure that many saints would kill for, but with the techniques Lauriella used to forge it, after bonding with it, Lance¡¯s own affinity for the element of water increased from the average grade to beyond exceptional, faintly matching Ace¡¯s affinity to the laws of fire. Although he had to be in direct contact with his spear to benefit from that perk, it was more than worthwhile. Because of that, Lance was able to become a mage of the third rank in the space of a year. Despite all his improvements, Lance didn¡¯t let his improvements go to his head. He understood better than anyone that his accomplishments had less to do with his own natural ability and more to do with the treasures he¡¯d been given. But instead of allowing that to fuel his insecurities and feelings of inferiority, he used it as motivation ¨C he refused to let Ace¡¯s gifts go to waste! Ace spent a lot of time accompanying his mother, feeling guilty after having left her for almost a year; he even spent some time most mornings training with Lance. Still, he made sure not to neglect his own training. Even though he didn¡¯t put the students of the War God¡¯s Academy in his eyes, he didn¡¯t dare underestimate the students of the War God¡¯s College. Even if they weren¡¯t as talented as him or his classmates, they were still elites, and more importantly, they were all double his age. He had spent the last two months consolidating his comprehension and further refining his fighting style, and although he hadn¡¯t made any breakthroughs in terms of realm, he felt as though the current him could trounce the him of two months ago. At that moment, Ace was sitting cross-legged in the middle of an open field just outside his mother¡¯s cabin under the night sky. There wasn¡¯t much he could do now to further his comprehension, but after reading through his master¡¯s notes of the usages of ¡®Impose¡¯, he had one final aspect of his training to complete before he was ready for his upcoming battles. ¡®It¡¯s now or never,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as his eyes flashed with resolve. Book 5: Chapter 16 – A Frantic Mother ¡°Are you ready?¡± Arianna asked, turning her attention from her husband¡¯s disciple to her own. ¡°Why do I need to be the one to heal Ace from his injuries if you¡¯re here, Master?¡± Milianna asked, her worried eyes never leaving the body of her dear son for even a second. ¡°I know you said the Edict of Life is better suited for healing than the laws of life, but as a saint, you¡¯re much better at healing than I am.¡± ¡°Even though you¡¯ve mastered all the spells for your current level, you¡¯ve never had to use it on a real target,¡± Arianna explained softly. ¡°Even though I¡¯m still better than you at healing right now, there will eventually come a day when I won¡¯t be by your side, and you¡¯ll need to use it for real. I need to ensure you don¡¯t freeze up when that day comes. Even though the injuries Ace is about to get will be self-inflicted and aren¡¯t life-threatening, they could still affect his future if not healed properly, making this the perfect opportunity to get some experience handling these sorts of situations.¡± Milianna didn¡¯t respond; instead, she just clenched her fists tighter as her eyes were filled with worry and hesitation. Seeing that, a flicker of unwillingness flickered in Arianna¡¯s eyes as she knew what she was doing was a double-edged sword. Putting her disciple in this situation with her tainted soul in its current would either break her or pave the way for a brighter future. It had to be remembered that the only reason she was still able to retain her pure-hearted nature despite her tainted soul was because of Ace. Should something happen to him, especially if she¡¯s made to feel responsible, she would inevitably lose herself in an abyss of pity and misery, but if she¡¯s successful, her soul would stabilise and likely take a step forward on the path to recovery. Arianna was hesitant when Ace came to her with this idea, but when she saw the unwavering confidence in Ace¡¯s eyes, she decided to bet on him. The plan was definitely far riskier than anything Ace would ordinarily be willing to do when it came to the safety of those he cared about, but Ace¡¯s confidence wasn¡¯t exactly unwarranted. It had to be remembered that Milianna had already demonstrated that she was born with [Conqueror¡¯s Haki]. He knew that he was in a new world, so there was no guarantee that only those born with the qualities of a king ¨C and his bloodline ¨C were able to awaken [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], but since learning to control it, he could feel the pride and confidence coursing through his body. It wasn¡¯t arrogance; it was just an unwavering confidence he had in himself. It was the same confidence he had seen in those like Whitebeard and Garp from his previous world. As far as he was concerned, since his mother had it too, there was no way she would allow herself to fail this little tribulation. Even though she had decided to trust Ace¡¯s judgement this time, she had already brewed the potion to heal her tainted soul; if she felt for even a second that her disciple would fail, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to force it down her throat, even if it meant that Milianna would lose her talent. Still, since she had decided to go along with this crazy plan, she would give her all to ensure success. ¡°Remember what I said, Milianna,¡± Arianna said with a calm indifference Milianna wasn¡¯t used to hearing from her master. ¡°No matter what happens, I won¡¯t be getting involved; either you heal Ace, or you bear responsibility for ruining his future.¡± Milianna¡¯s body shuddered, causing a pang of guilt and pain in Arianna¡¯s body, but before either could say anything further, they heard a grunt of pain coming from Ace¡¯s direction. Looking over, they could see Ace¡¯s body trembling as he forcibly suppressed his pain and clenched his teeth to continue. Aiden had devised many innovative ways to utilise Impose, but this had to be, by far, his most ingenious. As most know, Impose effectively allows a warrior to become one with nature. Many years ago, when looking for a way to enhance his strength further, Aiden realised that whilst using Impose, he could sense the essence of nature in the world around him and with his powerful soul, he could even control them similar to a mage. At the time, he was just at the peak of the sixth rank, and unless you were born with a special bloodline or physique, that was the highest level an ordinairy human could reach without cultivating battle-qi. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. One day over 1000 years ago now, he came up with the crazy idea of forcefully absorbing the essence of nature into his body to continue to strengthen it. His plan had worked; in fact, it had worked better than he ever could¡¯ve hoped for, but what he didn¡¯t foresee was that the human body was too fragile to absorb so much pure energy in one go. If it weren¡¯t for Arianna being there to heal him, he likely would¡¯ve killed himself. Still, the pros were definitely worth it. Not only did he successfully break through to the seventh rank as an ordinairy human, but it had also reforged his body, further increasing his talent, allowing him to cultivate all the way to the peak of the seventh rank as an ordinairy human. At which point, he had to use his crazy method once again to break through the shackles of his talent. Upon reaching the peak of the ninth rank as a warrior, he realised it was impossible to break through to the saint realm, even with this masochistic cultivation technique. But instead of giving up in his pursuit of strength, he decided to continue absorbing the essence of nature, but this time, instead of absorbing it into his body, he used it to refine his soul. He was successful, but the pain of refining the soul was infinitely more painful than refining the body. What made it worse was that the laws of life, light, and water could only be used to heal physical injuries, not spiritual ones. Fortunately, his control of Impose had increased drastically in that time, as had his control of his spiritual essence, so he never went past the point of no return. Still, it was only with the help of alcohol dulling the pains to his soul that he was able to bear it. The name of the crazy technique was [Imposing Devourment]! His master was still in the Rohault Empire, but not only had the notes Aiden left him explained the pain Ace could expect, Arianna, who had also used the technique to refine her soul, had also explicitly warned him. Still, the pain was far more excruciating than he had expected, but so too were the results. He watched as his mageforce skyrocketed, breaking through to the mid and then the late stages. It was only when his cultivation as a mage caught up to his warrior cultivation that he allowed the absorbed essence to impact his body and dantian. ¡®Peak of the fifth rank,¡¯ Ace noted to himself in glee. ¡®Just a bit more, and I¡¯ll¡­¡¯ Ace didn¡¯t even get the chance to finish his thought before he let out a heart-wrenching scream that resounded right through the territory of the Yin-Yang Pavilion. As soon as they heard it, there wasn¡¯t a single person who didn¡¯t drop what they were doing to speed towards the source of the scream. Ace had already been warned about the potential dangers of using this method, including the risk of crippling himself if he went too far, but with the power of his soul and his current ability to control it, he didn¡¯t give it much thought. Unfortunately, the feeling of growing in strength so quickly was too infatuating! He had come dangerously close to going too far, stopping just short of incurable injuries. Still, if he didn¡¯t get treatment immediately, he would be left with hidden injuries that would impact his future. ¡°AACCEEE!¡± Milianna screamed as she hurried to her son¡¯s side, the fear of losing her pride and joy threatening to break her. Blood was pouring from each of Ace¡¯s orifices, and his body was covered in wriggling veins as his body trembled from the pain. ¡°Master, heal him. Please heal Ace!¡± Milianna exclaimed in a panic, only to find Arianna staring back at her in total indifference. ¡°I already told you; you heal him yourself or live with the consequences,¡± Arianna calmly said whilst cursing Ace¡¯s recklessness. It was at that point that people started turning up and looking at Ace¡¯s gruesome body in disbelief, with only the other instructors, who not only knew about Milianna¡¯s condition but also Aiden¡¯s insane cultivation technique, able to piece things together. Still, they looked at their master speechlessly. Ace¡¯s condition didn¡¯t allow for hesitation and wasting time. It was clear that he had gone overboard, but with the faith they had in their master, none said anything. As true as that was for Mathias and his Junior brothers and sisters, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Killian and the other disciples of the Pavilion. All they knew was that Ace was grievously injured, and if he didn¡¯t receive any treatment, he could die. ¡°ACE!¡± Killian shouted with worry. After everything they¡¯d been through together, there was no way he could just sit back and watch him die. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do personally. None of his affinities were suited to healing. ¡°HEAL HIM!¡± Killian roared, turning to glare at his master¡¯s master as he summoned his battle-axe as though he were ready to attack if she said no. ¡°If you don¡¯t make a move now, Ace could die,¡± Arianna said indifferently, ignoring Killian¡¯s threatening posture. ¡°I said¡­ Ugh!¡± Before Killian could make a move, his body crumpled onto the soft bed of grass beneath his feet. ¡®So fast!¡¯ Cesar noted to himself in shock. He was the strongest person present besides Arianna, and even he could only barely see that she had moved before returning to her previous position as though she had never left. ¡°Kil!¡± Alissa exclaimed as she hurried to his side, only to glare threateningly at Arianna. ¡°Calm down,¡± Cesar hurriedly said, not wanting his ¡®granddaughter¡¯ to provoke the demoness in front of them. ¡°He¡¯s just unconscious; he¡¯ll be fine as soon as he wakes up.¡± Like Cesar, Carter was worried his son ¨C Leo ¨C would act impulsively out of worry for his partner, but although he could see worry and fear, he was strangely calm. Looking back at Ace, he realised there was definitely more to the current situation than meets the eye. The only way Leo wouldn¡¯t have made a move like Killian was if Ace had told him not to. ¡°HELP HIM! YOU HAVE TO HELP HIM! HELP HIM¡­ ANYBODY¡­ PLEASE!¡± Milianna screamed frantically, her emotions becoming more and more chaotic as she begged for someone to save her son. Book 5: Chapter 17 – Two Words Arianna could sense that her disciple was rapidly approaching breaking point. Knowing it was now or never, she was just about to make a move and put an end to all this when she saw Lance step forward. Although Ace was confident his mother could overcome this trial, he better than anyone knew that sometimes, all we need is a gentle push from the ¡®right person¡¯ to overcome our demons. For him, that person was Amira, and for his mother, all he could do was hope that Lance was the right person. ¡°Calm down, Milli,¡± Lance said, gently taking his partner¡¯s dainty hands in his. ¡°Do you remember what you told me? The reason you began cultivating in the first place?¡± Milianna was still at the point of no return; her face had lost all its natural colour, and her eyes were vacant, but Arianna could feel that she had stopped worsening, so she allowed things to play out. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to cultivate so that you could do your part to support your son?¡± Lance asked, his voice oddly firm but gentle. ¡°Well, now¡¯s the time. Your master has faith in you, I have faith in you, and even Ace has faith in you.¡± Milianna subconsciously looked down at her son as she heard Lance''s words. He was barely conscious, and it took all his willpower not to scream so as not to worry his mother any more than she already was, but still, his bloodshot eyes were full of warmth as he tried to give his mother a look of reassurance. ¡°Ace,¡± Milianna muttered softly, as though she was scared that speaking any louder would worsen Ace¡¯s condition. ¡°You can do this!¡± Lance whispered, giving Milianna the final push she needed. Her eyes were full of hesitation as she knelt by her son¡¯s side, raising her milky white palms over Ace¡¯s trembling chest. ¡°Have faith in yourself,¡± Arianna voiced gently, seeing her disciple¡¯s hesitation. ¡°For the sake of your son, have faith in yourself!¡± Her master¡¯s words in that moment resonated with her soul. The resolve in Milianna¡¯s eyes grew firmer with every word as she began chanting the incantation for the spell [Luminous Life]. [Luminous Life] was a unique spell within the edict of Life in that, even though it was a simple spell of the second rank, it was the only spell with a slight variation for each rank. Whilst her son was away, despite the precarious condition of her soul, Milianna had long since managed to reach the middle stages of the fourth rank, and as a disciple of Arianna, Milianna was more than capable of insta-casting it, but as her son¡¯s life and future was hanging in the balance, she refused to take any risks. Everyone surrounding them watched in shock as Milianna¡¯s resolute and unwavering eyes seemed to glaze over, and the power of her spell seemed to skyrocket, reaching the sixth rank ¨C surpassing her own by two. ¡°Sudden enlightenment¡­¡± Cesar muttered, taken aback by the spectacle. ¡®Freaks! Why are there so many freaks in one place!¡¯ ¡®Looks like Ace was right after all,¡¯ Arianna smiled radiantly. ¡®He really did inherit his freakish talent from his mother, after all.¡¯ ¡®I knew you could do it, Mom,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he looked up warmly at his mother¡¯s focused face. He could feel his injuries rapidly stabilising, but his focus was on his mother. Even though he genuinely believed his mother could overcome this hurdle, he was still over the moon when she proved him right. Though Milianna¡¯s sudden enlightenment also had the effect of increasing her comprehension of the edict of light, its most pronounced effect was on her soul. Ace and Arianna could feel the condition of her soul improving dramatically. Because of the extent of Ace¡¯s injuries, there was no way Milianna, at her current level, would have been able to completely heal him. Arianna had initially planned to finish the treatment when Ace¡¯s condition became stable, but even as her mageforce began to wane, Milianna refused to stop. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. It was only when her tank was completely emptied and she lost consciousness that she finally stopped. Arianna could¡¯ve stopped her long before reaching this stage, but she knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only had she gained over a year¡¯s worth of insight in over a minute, her mage realm had broken through to the peak of the fourth rank, but most importantly, the condition of her soul had improved drastically. Not only had the damage inflicted by the arrival of Kenyon a year ago been reversed, but her condition had also improved even further. This was the best state she had been in since her soul was initially tainted 16 years ago. Arianna moved just in time to catch her disciple before her unconscious body hit the ground. ¡°Alright, the show¡¯s over,¡± Mathias announced, wanting to give Ace and his family their space. ¡°Amira will be back tomorrow morning, so the competition will be held tomorrow afternoon. Go back now and get some rest.¡± ¡°You are just as impulsive as that master of yours,¡± Arianna sighed helplessly as she passed Milianna¡¯s body to Lance, giving Ace the side eye. Ace smiled wryly as he rolled over, hissing in pain as he forced himself to his feet. He knew he went a little overboard with his actions tonight, but the feeling of improving so rapidly was too invigorating. ¡°Thankfully, things ended with the best possible outcome,¡± Arianna said, a gentle smile gracing her flawless face as she looked down lovingly at her peacefully sleeping disciple. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest of your recovery to your mother.¡± ¡°What about the competition tomorrow?" Ace asked helplessly, wanting to be at his best in case he was challenged. Everyone in the Pavilion knew how strong Ace was at this point; the chances of anyone actually challenging him were minuscule. Still, Ace would rather be safe than sorry. Even though all the serious injuries had been healed, it still felt like every muscle in his body was burning from the inside out. And his dantian felt uncomfortably bloated. ¡°You should¡¯ve thought about that before you pulled your reckless stunt!¡± Arianna snorted before continuing. ¡°Plus, it might be best for your mother¡¯s future to be the one to finish what she started.¡± A helpless sigh escaped Ace¡¯s mouth, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. As unfortunate as it was, Ace knew Arianna was right. ¡°Ooh, and carry Killian back with you,¡± Arianna added as the afterimage of her body vanished with the wind. Mathias and Alissa both considered carrying Killian back with them, but all things considered, they both knew that when he awoke, there was nowhere he¡¯d rather be than by Ace¡¯s side to make sure he was okay. As such, they all left him be when they took their leave. Ace was about to pick him up when Leonel, who was the only other individual to remain behind, casually flung the little giant onto his back. ¡°Thanks, buddy,¡± Ace said as he stroked Leo¡¯s mane. ¡°Not sure I would¡¯ve been able to carry him on my own as I am now.¡± Ace, Lance, and Leo walked back to the cabin in silence. Or at least Leo and Lance were silent. The sound of Ace¡¯s strained grunts, as he followed behind them, could still be heard. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s alright?¡± Lance asked suddenly, still looking affectionately at the sleeping beauty in his arms with a hint of worry and concern. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Ace replied confidently. ¡°When she wakes up, her personality should return to how it was before the incident with Kenyon. In fact, she should be even more stable.¡± After spending the last two months accompanying his mother and Lance, Ace had noticed that even though she wasn¡¯t as distraught as she was before he left, she was still a lot more needy than usual ¨C not that it bothered him. He knew that it was a result of her condition. Still, he could imagine how much she must¡¯ve relied on Lance to keep her pacified in his absence. It couldn¡¯t have been easy, and yet, Lance did it with a smile on his face. The appreciation Ace felt for his mother¡¯s partner only increased with each passing day. ¡°As long as she¡¯s fine, that¡¯s all that matters to me,¡± Lance said softly. ¡°If it means she stays safe, I wouldn¡¯t mind her staying as she has been this last year for the rest of our lives together.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ace nodded, understanding that Lance¡¯s words were more than just mere words. ¡°But I mind,¡± Ace continued. ¡°I want to return everything that was taken from my mother and make the man responsible pay with his life ¨C My mother deserves at least that much!¡± Lance stopped suddenly as he processed Ace¡¯s declaration. Till now, he hated the thought of Milianna being forced into what was effectively the line of fire just so that she could regain her talent. There was a small part of him that believed Ace was being selfish. That the best course of action was to give her the potion to restore her personality, even if it came at the cost of her talent. Even if she never became an immortal, she would be able to live a full and happy life as a mortal. But he knew it wasn¡¯t his place to say anything, so he vowed to silently do his part, even if, deep down, he disagreed. But Ace¡¯s words made him realise that it was he who was being selfish. As her man, it was his job to not only protect her from harm but also to do everything he could to right any wrongs that she suffered and help her fight for what is rightfully hers. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Lance stated simply. It was only two words, but those two words were filled with an unwavering resolve. Book 5: Chapter 18 – The Truth The sun had just risen, and Ace would¡¯ve long since gotten up to start his morning training with Lance on an ordinary morning, but after last night¡¯s activities, his body was still far too sore to move as he would¡¯ve liked. As such, all he could do was meditate in an attempt to further his comprehension of the profound laws of fire. Beside him was Leonel, who was the one to carry him outside on his back before closing his eyes and also entering a deep state of meditation, along with Killian. After waking up, Ace felt a need to explain in detail everything that happened so this ¡®little brother¡¯ of his didn¡¯t bear any resentment towards Arianna. After hearing Ace¡¯s explanation, Kil felt more than a little upset on behalf of Milianna, the woman who effectively raised him like he was her own, but unlike Lance, he didn¡¯t feel like Ace was in the wrong. In part because he would also do whatever it took to cure her of her illness, but mainly because he still had unwavering trust in Ace. All three of the demonic trio were training just outside the cabin when Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, and he feebly rolled to his feet. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Ace said when he saw both Kil and Leo turn towards him. ¡°You guys stay here; I need to speak to my mother.¡± Hearing that, Leo went back to his meditation whilst Killian went back to practising his axemanship, understanding Ace¡¯s need for privacy. Ace had just reached the first step to the porch when Milianna opened the front door, her eyes relaxing slightly when she saw her son on his feet ¨C albeit just about. Although Lance had already told her that Ace was okay, her concern wouldn¡¯t dissipate until she saw it for herself. Still, Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel a hint of surprise as he assessed his mother¡¯s state. He already knew that she wouldn¡¯t be as frantic and needy after the improvement of her soul last night, but still, seeing the calm expression on her face still took him by surprise. If this were two days ago, after seeing Ace with such horrifying injuries, she would be all over him, suffocating him with love and affection, but now¡­ ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± Milianna said gently as she looked at her son with a calm yet loving expression on her face. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly say ¡°okay¡±,¡± Ace smiled helplessly, grunting as he stepped up on the porch to approach his mother. ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Milianna questioned with a hint of admonishment before continuing with a sigh. ¡°You and Master should¡¯ve told me exactly what you were planning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame Arianna,¡± Ace interjected. ¡°Everything that happened last night was my idea. If not for my insisting, she never would¡¯ve agreed to take such a risk.¡± ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Milianna asked, her angelic voice laced with sarcasm as she shook her head helplessly. Ace stared at his mother speechlessly. Although he could still feel her usual gentle warmth and love, he wasn¡¯t used to her admonishing him for anything. ¡°Master would never choose to take such an unnecessary risk voluntarily,¡± Milianna continued, not paying any attention to her son¡¯s reaction. ¡°That decision could only come from a reckless idiot.¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± Ace said hesitantly as he looked down with guilt and shame. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°A reckless idiot who would do anything to help his mother,¡± Milianna said as she gently raised her son¡¯s lowered chin so they were making eye contact. ¡°A reckless idiot who believed in his mother¡¯s ability¡­ My reckless idiot!¡± Ace was once again rendered speechless as he saw the radiant smile on his mother¡¯s face. He couldn¡¯t detect even a hint of displeasure or blame, only appreciation and love. ¡°Thank you for believing in me, son,¡± Milianna continued. ¡°But from now on, you aren¡¯t to make any more unilateral decisions that concern both of us on your own; we work together. Understand?¡± ¡°I¡­ I understand,¡± Ace voiced, looking at his mother as if she was a completely new person. ¡°Good,¡± Milianna nodded. ¡°Because that means when you go to the O¡¯Brien Empire to challenge their students, I will be coming with you!¡± ¡°What?! No! Absolutely not!¡± Ace stated directly. Although Ace¡¯s decision seemed reckless, since awakening his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], Ace finally understood what it meant to be born with the qualities of a King. The belief he had in himself was unwavering! Had his mother not already shown that she had the same ability, the plan from last night never would¡¯ve crossed his mind, but since she had, he knew that she had those same qualities; they just needed a jump start, and judging by his mom¡¯s current state, he had been completely right. Still, a calculated risk like that was nothing compared to what his mother was proposing. She wanted to follow him into the lion¡¯s den, where anything could happen. Unfortunately, Ace wasn¡¯t the only stubborn one out of the two. ¡°I refuse to watch the little boy I gave birth to repeatedly put himself in danger to quite literally save my soul whilst I, your mother, sits back, does nothing and watches from the side-lines,¡± Milianna said, her voice radiating a calm resolve. ¡°What if you¡¯re recognised?¡± Ace asked back, unable to stop himself from thinking of the worst possible outcome. ¡°What if O¡¯Brien appears?¡± ¡°Then we face him together,¡± Milianna stated. Ace watched as his mother¡¯s body trembled. She tried to hide and suppress it, but the fear that man instilled in her wasn¡¯t so easy to get rid of. Still, the look of resolve in her eyes spoke volumes about who she was. Even though Ace knew she had the qualities of a ¡®king¡¯, this was the first time she was truly exhibiting them, and as much as he wanted to keep his mother safe, Ace knew this was just as much her fight as it was his, if not more. A look of hesitation flickered across Ace¡¯s mind as he looked at his mother. Till now, Amira was the only person who knew the truth about his reincarnation, and although he felt guilty about hiding it from her all this time, he also knew how fragile she was and how much that fragility was linked to their relationship. If he told her the truth and she went on to feel like he had lied to her or if he wasn¡¯t really her son, it may be the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, but now¡­ In her current state, he felt as though there was nothing she couldn¡¯t handle. ¡°Mom, there¡¯s something I need to tell you¡­¡± He had told himself all this time that he had only kept it to himself so as not to hurt her, and whilst that was true, it definitely wasn¡¯t the only reason ¨C the other reason was fear! He had gone the whole of his previous life without experiencing the love of a parent, and the thought of losing it in this life was petrifying. As Ace explained the truth behind his reincarnation, he also made sure to shut off his [Observation Haki]. He needed to get it all out without distractions, and sensing her emotions could end up being the biggest distraction. ¡°¡­ And when I opened my eyes, I was in your arms,¡± Ace concluded, still too scared to look up. ¡°Huh¡­ Mo¡­ Mom?¡± Ace stammered as he felt himself being tightly embraced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through all that, my poor boy,¡± Milianna whispered. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re not mad?¡± Ace asked softly. ¡°Mad?¡± Milianna asked back. ¡°Of course not! The matriarch of my former orphanage once told me that after death, all the souls of the dead go to heaven, where they are wiped clean before being reincarnated. I used to believe she had just said that to keep us from mourning her after she passed, but it appears she was right. I don¡¯t know why or how you were able to keep your memories after being reborn, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are now and always will be my son in this life.¡± Hearing her words, Ace¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but well up with tears. ¡°I know it must¡¯ve been hard keeping it to yourself all these years, not wanting to make things any harder on me, but thank you for trusting me now,¡± Milianna said gently, wiping the tears threatening to fall from her son¡¯s eyes. ¡°And I promise, from here on out, I will be the type of mother you can lean on!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it,¡± Ace nodded, flashing a happy and relieved smile. ¡°Good,¡± Milianna replied before stepping back and raising her palms out in front of her. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see if we can heal you a bit more before the competition begins. [Luminous Life]!¡± As she said that, Ace felt a warm and soothing energy coursing through his body, easing the pain his body was in from his breakthrough. Book 5: Chapter 19 – All Here After another round of healing, Ace was feeling much better. It appeared that after waking up after fainting from fatigue, Milianna¡¯s abilities had taken another step forward. Although he wasn¡¯t 100%, he felt strong enough for some light sparring. Thinking about the competition, Ace couldn¡¯t help but be interested to see how strong everyone was now. Ever since their training exercise in the mountain range of magical beasts, it had been one thing after the next. As a result, it had been over a year since he¡¯d seen the majority of his classmates fight, with the exceptions being Killian, whom he¡¯d been travelling with this last year, Amira, who fought alongside him against the O¡¯Brien Empire and Julius, who was a member of his team during their former training exercise. After a quick breakfast, Ace and Killian lead the way, with Milianna, Leo, and Lance following behind as the group made their way back to the Pavilion. ¡°Looks like everyone¡¯s anxious to begin,¡± Ace said as they made it to the Yin-Yang mountain¡¯s peak, only to find Alissa and the other students already there waiting. ¡°Ace, you¡¯re okay!¡± Faye said with relief. ¡°You had us all worried.¡± ¡°Are you completely healed?¡± Kannal asked as he sized up his dark-haired classmate curiously. ¡°Not completely,¡± Ace replied honestly. ¡°But im good enough for some light sparring.¡± ¡°Well, there goes our chance at snatching first place,¡± Joel sighed after seeing the confidence in Ace¡¯s eyes. Even with all the improvements he had made over the last year, he didn¡¯t believe for even a second that he or anyone else in their cohort would be able to defeat Ace, even if he couldn¡¯t go all out. Forget the Ace of today; they¡¯d be hard-pressed to defeat the Ace who defeated Wharton a year ago, even if they all fought together. Their only chance would be if Ace were too injured to take part. Still, as much as he wanted a better ranking today, he wouldn¡¯t want it if it came at the expense of his classmate¡¯s well-being. ¡°Looks like the rest of us can only fight it out for third place and below,¡± Joel continued, glancing helplessly at the overweight teen stroking Leo¡¯s silky dark mane. Even though Julius had no interest in taking part, no one could say anything about his ranking as even if he was to take part, there more than likely wasn¡¯t anyone able to defeat him. He was already a mage at the middle stages of the seventh rank, and according to Lauriella, his comprehension of the laws of fire was half a step away from reaching the profound level. At the same time, Milianna and Lance, who had separated from Ace and the others to allow the teens to talk among themselves, approached Arianna and the other instructors. ¡°Sixth sister, you look¡­ Better,¡± Mathias greeted, inwardly surprised by Milianna¡¯s enormous change. Though there were no physical changes, Mathias and the others could all see a giant difference in how she carried herself. She was like a completely new woman. ¡°I feel better,¡± Milianna replied calmly before an abnormally sombre expression appeared on her face as her eyes fell on her master. All the other instructors tensed up when they saw that. They could all remember how harsh their master had been on this junior sister of theirs last night. Even though everything worked out in the end, they all knew that as Ace¡¯s mother, Milianna had every right to be upset, but they never would¡¯ve guessed the following words to come out of Milianna¡¯s mouth. ¡°I¡¯m going with Ace to the O¡¯Brien Empire,¡± Milianna stated directly, her tone calm but firm, leaving no room for discussion. Other than Cesar and Cirulus, who didn¡¯t know the truth about Ace and Milianna¡¯s past, the others all looked at Milianna in disbelief, even Arianna. ¡°Sixth sister, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s such a good idea,¡± Lazerim interjected when Arianna remained silent. ¡°If you get recognised again, word might get back to O¡¯Brien, and who knows what will happen after that.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Third Brother¡¯s right,¡± Kimika added. ¡°You going could put both yours and Ace¡¯s lives at risk.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already made our mind up,¡± Milianna replied, her eyes never leaving her master¡¯s as she patiently waited for her response. ¡°We?¡± Lauriella asked as he glanced at Ace in surprise, knowing exactly how protective he was of his mother. ¡°You mean that brat of yours actually agreed as well.¡± ¡°Like I told him,¡± Milianna explained slowly. ¡°I can¡¯t continue to sit on the sidelines whilst my son puts himself in danger to save me.¡± As they heard that, everyone stared at Milianna in amazement. They still couldn¡¯t believe that this was their same meek junior sister. This was the first time they¡¯d ever seen someone¡¯s mentality change so significantly after just one night. ¡°HAHAHA! Well said!¡± Wukong nodded appreciatively. ¡°Master, let me go with them. As long as that old bastard O¡¯Brien doesn¡¯t step out of his cave, I can protect sixth sister and the brat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with him!¡± Lauriella added. ¡°Me too,¡± Lazerim and Kimika declared simultaneously. ¡°No,¡± Mathias shook his head. ¡°As the most senior of us, I should be the one to go.¡± Infected by Milianna¡¯s display of bravery, each of her senior martial brothers and sisters unhesitantly volunteered to dive headfirst into what may well be a one-way trip to hell. ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Cesar thought to himself. ¡®I might finally get to learn how strong you are exactly,¡¯ He didn¡¯t know the details, but from this conversation, it was obvious that the Pavilion would soon be directly opposing the war god and, by extension, the O¡¯Brien Empire. Other than Alissa, he didn¡¯t particularly care about the future of the Yin-Yang Pavilion one way or another, so as long as he kept Alissa safe, he would be free to watch as things played out. ¡°Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to show strength in the face of adversity, despite fear¡­¡± Arianna said as she looked appreciatively at this disciple of hers. ¡°And you, Milianna, may well be the bravest person I have ever met!¡± Like Ace, Arianna could also feel the fear Milianna was emitting, but she saw none of it in her eyes. In her eyes, all she saw was a woman who was ready to stand on her own two feet and fight for what she believed in. ¡°The rest of you can accompany the other students; I¡¯ll be taking Ace and Milianna,¡± Arianna said, putting the discussion to bed. Wukong and the others said nothing else on the matter; they all knew that as the strongest of them, this way was for the best. ¡°One more thing,¡± Milianna said suddenly, her tone becoming especially sombre, recapturing the focus of her senior brothers and sisters. ¡°If something does happen, I want you to prioritise the safety of Ace over me,¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, child,¡± Arianna smiled confidently. ¡°Not even O¡¯Brien is capable of laying a finger on either of you with me around!¡± Though he didn¡¯t say anything, Cesar looked suspiciously at Arianna. He knew her strength had long since surpassed the realms of saints, but he assumed she could, at most, fight on par with the average low-ranking deity, but from Arianna¡¯s tone, she didn¡¯t put deities like O¡¯Brien in her sights at all. At first, he believed that she was just bravado to put Milianna¡¯s mind at ease, but the more he looked at the casual expressions of her other disciples, as though her words were obvious, the more he began to doubt himself. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough of that,¡± Arianna said as she turned her head towards the distance. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s almost time for the competition to begin.¡± ¡°What are they looking at?¡± Kannal asked as he looked over at the instructors in confusion. ¡°She¡¯s back,¡± Ace said with a gentle smile as he sensed two familiar auras approaching from the distance. Before long, the lazy figure of Aiden strolling through the air, emptying an all too familiar gourd of wine down his throat, could be seen approaching. ¡®I never knew impose could be used like that,¡¯ Cesar thought to himself as his eyes stayed on Aiden, watching as Aiden mysteriously travelled 10s of meters with each seemingly casual step. ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯ Beside him was an enchanting light-skinned girl leaping through the air to keep up, but it was this girl that had Ace¡¯s undivided attention. At least until¡­ ¡°Oww!¡± Ace exclaimed, rubbing his head as an empty wine gourd fell to the floor beside him. ¡°What was that for, you old bastard?!¡± ¡°Why is it that me and little Mira come back together, but you only pay attention to one of us?¡± Aiden asked as he suddenly appeared by Ace¡¯s side to pick up his wine gourd and carry on drinking from it as if nothing had happened. ¡°Who wants to pay attention to your wrinkly old face?¡± Ace snorted disdainfully. ¡°Hmm, what did you do to your body?¡± Aiden asked as he scanned his disciple¡¯s body, paying no attention to being called old. ¡°Ahh! Stop that already!¡± Ace shouted after his master began poking and prodding him without permission. ¡°Ooh, you ignored the notes and went overboard when using [Imposing Devourment],¡± Aiden said, ignoring Ace¡¯s plea. ¡°You couldn¡¯t even break through to the sixth rank before causing your body to break down? Idiot!¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Ace replied, too lazy to get into a war with words with his wannabe-drunkard master, his attention returning to Amira. ¡°You¡¯re finally back.¡± ¡°Did you miss me?¡± Amira teased. ¡°Yes!¡± Ace replied straightforwardly, catching Amira off guard as he took her in his embrace. Ace¡¯s honesty filled Amira with warmth as she silently returned his hug. ¡°When did this happen?¡± Alissa asked curiously as her eyes travelled back and forth between the two love birds. ¡°No one mentioned this over the last couple of months.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Julius replied, just as taken aback by the closeness of his two classmates. ¡°They weren¡¯t this close when we were still in the mountain range.¡± ¡°Did this happen when you guys went to the Rohault Empire?¡± Faye asked as she turned to the person who¡¯d spent the most time with Ace since the end of the training exercise. ¡°Are they finally together?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Killian shrugged indifferently. Amira had been so captivated by the intensity of Ace¡¯s sincerity that she had forgotten there were other people around, but hearing them speak about them so intently¡­ She couldn¡¯t help but blush furiously as she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. It was only when Mathias cleared his throat, taking the attention off her, that she could calm down ¨C albeit only slightly. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, the ranking competition can finally begin,¡± Mathias announced. Book 5: Chapter 20 – Ranking Competition (1) ¡°As I mentioned two months ago, each of your next assignments will consist of you nine, not only challenging but also defeating the strongest students of each of the top nine institutions for young mages and warriors on the continent,¡± Mathias explained slowly, mainly for Amira¡¯s benefit. ¡°The institute you get assigned will be determined by your rankings at the end of the day. As it stands, the rankings are as follows: First: Ace Second: Julius Third: Amira Fourth: Joel Fifth: Killian Sixth: Osiris Seventh: Faye Eighth: Alissa Ninth: Yulana Tenth: Kannal Other than Julius, who won¡¯t be directly participating in the upcoming assignment, you are free to challenge anyone ranked above you. Each of you has one free challenge, and if you win, you take the rank of your opponent and receive another free challenge.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair that we can¡¯t challenge Julius,¡± Yulana complained. ¡°I know he doesn¡¯t like fighting, but his monthly allowance as second of the core students would allow any of us to improve at a faster speed.¡± As a fifth-rank warrior and mage of the fourth rank, Yulana knew that even if Julian were competing, she wouldn¡¯t be his match, but her words weren¡¯t for her benefit but for Joel¡¯s. Even after all this time, her loyalty to her young master hadn¡¯t waned in the slightest. As far as she was concerned, even though Julian had already broken through to the middle stages of the seventh rank as a mage, Joel wouldn¡¯t necessarily lose to him. Looking around, Mathias could tell that although no one said anything, many of the others agreed with her. ¡°The rules of the Pavilion are fair; although Julius doesn¡¯t take place in fights, as long as any of you are able to display strength that matches his, you will automatically take his place as second of the core disciples,¡± Mathias explained slowly, exciting many of the other more confident core students. ¡°But before you get ahead of yourselves, you should know that Julius isn¡¯t merely a mage of the seventh rank; his comprehension of the laws of fire has reached the profound level.¡± As soon as his words came out, the heads of every single teen present snapped toward the overweight teen in shock ¨C even Ace. Seeing that, Julius smirked as he raised a hand, creating a straightforward ball of fire, something just about any fire mage could do. But what shocked them was the heat of that simple ball of fire. ¡°Profound mystery of heat,¡± Ace muttered, instantly recognising the ability. The rules of the pavilion stated that a student must comprehend impose before being allowed access to the library for saints; as such, other than Ace, no one else was able to recognise the profound mystery, but it didn¡¯t stop them from sensing the mysterious power of the laws infused into that seemingly simple fireball. Any doubts they may have had before about Julius¡¯ rank were quickly dispelled. As it stood, Julius had the power of a mage of the ninth rank, something that, other than Ace, none of them were capable of countering on their own. ¡°If there are no more questions, let¡¯s begin,¡± Mathias declared, turning towards the youngest of the Core Students. ¡°Kannal, as the lowest ranking student, you get to challenge first.¡± With a calm nod, Kannal nodded as he leapt onto the ring, turning his attention to Yulana. No words needed to be said, as the student ranked ninth, Yulana had long expected to be the first challenge of her junior brother. In fact, she would¡¯ve been more offended had he skipped her to challenge someone ranked higher. As soon as the fight began, everyone watched with rapt attention looking to see how far the two had come. ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Amira asked from beside Ace. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°They¡¯ve both improved a lot since I last saw them,¡± Ace said, watching the fight appreciatively. ¡°But if I had to guess, I¡¯d say Kannal.¡± Yulana had reached the fifth rank as a mage and the peak of the fourth as a warrior; she could even wield her whip as though it was heavy, giving her impressive power. With her seamless combination of whip-manship and her water magic, she would be hard-pressed to find an opponent in the sixth rank. Still, Kannal¡¯s improvements were no less impressive. In fact, considering he was by far the weakest when they enrolled, the fact that he had caught up at all was inspiring. Despite being two years younger at only 13, he was already a warrior at the fifth rank and a mage at the peak of the fourth rank. And having comprehended wielding light as though it were lighter, his liuyedao sword flickered through the air at incredible speeds, making it hard for Yulana to follow at times, especially with the addition of his wind spells. The fight was intense and eye-opening for both Cesar and Ace¡¯s new subordinate ¨C Cirulus. Both considered themselves well-travelled, but still, a genius at the level of either of the two would be one you would expect to stand at the peak of a generation, and yet, both were ranked at the bottom of this batch of students. Kannal and Yulana had no idea what was going through the mind of their audience; they were too focused on their battle, knowing that if either of them were to lose concentration for so much as a second, that would be it for them. Still, the fight had to come to an end at some point. As Ace predicted, the battle ended with Kannal defeating his opponent. ¡®If only your sister could see you now,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he the image of a valiant young woman giving her life in a battle to the death against a twin-headed silver dragon for the sake of her city. An appreciative smile suffused Ace¡¯s face as he recalled the day he and Kannal first met. Back then, Kannal was just a snivelling child who was almost too scared to dream of avenging his sister, and now, despite his age, he had reached a level of strength that wasn¡¯t that much inferior to his sister back then. The immaturity from back then had all but disappeared, leaving a young expert that all of Silverlight City would be proud of. Ace wasn¡¯t the only one impressed with Kannal¡¯s growth. Whether it was students or instructors, everyone looked at the youngster appreciatively. They all knew exactly how hard he had worked these last few years. Although he was talented, who among the ten teens wasn¡¯t? No, what set him apart from his peers was precisely his work ethic. Not many pushed themselves as hard as he did to improve. In fact, there were only two others who did ¨C Ace and Killian. And finally, it appeared that all his hard work was starting to pay off. ¡°Kannal, as the winner, you are granted another challenge opportunity. Would you like to use it now or wait?¡± Mathias asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to wait,¡± Kannal replied. ¡°Understood,¡± Mathias nodded before turning to Yulana, who could only sigh helplessly. ¡°Yulana, you now have the opportunity to challenge any of those ranked above you. Would you like to make a challenge? You can forfeit your challenge right, but should you choose to do so, you won¡¯t be given another chance later.¡± Everyone knew Yulana was put in a difficult position. She¡¯d just gone through an arduous battle, and now, if she wanted to improve her ranking, she would have to go through another one. Still, she didn¡¯t complain; she and all her classmates knew this was done intentionally. The Pavilion made a point ¨C whenever possible ¨C of teaching their students that life was rarely fair. If they wanted to succeed in life, they needed to use their own strength to make it a reality. In the eyes of Mathias and the other instructors, it was best they learnt that lesson here, behind closed doors, instead of outside in the real world, where a mistake like that could cost them their lives. Having been a member of the Yin-Yang Pavilion for almost seven years now, Yulana was used to these types of situations. As such, instead of wasting time complaining, she simply took a deep breath, steadying her breathing. Her eyes steeled as she turned to another of her classmates. ¡°I challenge you, Faye,¡± Yulana decisively declared. ¡°Your funeral,¡± Faye sneered at her long-time rival. Although Faye ranked seventh, no one disagreed with Yulana¡¯s decision. Technically, Yulana could challenge Kannal to a rematch, but although their previous match was close, everyone could see that Kannal was definitely superior. Therefore, if they were to fight again, the match would almost certainly end with the same result. As for Alissa, who was ranked eighth, that was even more foolish. Before she left, purely in terms of talent, she was already considered to be ranked near the top along with Ace, Amira, and Julius ¨C and that was before she had awoken her Tiger Striped Warrior bloodline. After a couple of months of training with Cesar, no one knew exactly how much she had improved, but what they did know was that she had already broken through to the mid-stages of the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage. She was one of the few everyone already expected to improve their rankings; they just didn¡¯t know how much by. Either way, knowing that challenging the current ninth and eighth place was futile, she could only challenge Faye in seventh. Faye was currently at the fifth stage as a warrior and at the peak of the fourth as a mage, making her the equal but opposite of Yulana. Book 5: Chapter 21 – Ranking Competition (2): Alissa’s Improvements As soon as the fight began, many regretful sighs could be heard from the surrounding audience. Had Yulana been at 100%, it may have proved to be an equal battle. Unfortunately, she was anything but. The moment the fight began, Faye directly overwhelmed her, not giving Yulana a moment to breathe. Yulana tried desperately to use her whip and magic to keep Faye at a distance, but the club-wielding teen was relentless. Within a minute, the match was over. ¡°Kannal, it¡¯s back to you,¡± Mathias announced. ¡°Would you like to continue challenging or forfeit your right?¡± Although he would¡¯ve preferred a little more time to rest, Kannal quickly leapt on stage, standing in front of Faye. ¡°I challenge Faye,¡± Kannal declared. ¡°Haha, come on then, brat!¡± Faye grinned fiendishly. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since this big sister of yours ruffed you up!¡± Mathias quickly announced the start of the fight, and although he faired better than Yulana, Kannal also ended up losing convincingly. Still, whether it was the audience or Faye herself, they all knew that at this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be long before Kannal surpassed the club-wielding teen. ¡°Alissa, you¡¯re up next,¡± Mathias declared as Faye hopped off the stage. ¡°Who would you like to challenge?¡± Everyone looked at the elegant silver-haired teen curiously. It was clear that eighth place didn¡¯t suit her current strength; the only thing they didn¡¯t know was whether she would play it safe and challenge those above her one rank at a time or¡­ ¡°Joel,¡± Alissa declared with a confident grin as she leapt on stage. Even though they had half expected Alissa to jump a few ranks, no one thought she¡¯d directly challenge Joel, who was currently fourth. A sombre expression took shape on Joel¡¯s handsome face. Even though he was at the Early stages of the sixth rank as both a mage and warrior, he didn¡¯t dare underestimate the petit teen on stage awaiting him, and reality proved he was right not to underestimate her. As soon as the fight began, glistening white fur with jet-black stripes coated Alissa¡¯s body granting her a one-rank increase as a warrior, bringing her to the mid-stages of the sixth rank, surpassing Joel by one sub-rank. Despite the difference being so minor, Joel understandably wanted to play it safe and keep the fight at range using lightning spells, knowing that Alissa remained a mage of the fifth rank, but the young Tigerstriped Warrior had other plans. Despite being in the sixth rank, the speed she displayed had reached the seventh. Using Soru, her body moved like a blur allowing her to calmly evade Joel¡¯s barrage of spells and rapidly close the gap. As soon as the fight became a close-quarters battle, Joel quickly found himself outclassed in every possible way. Not only was she faster and stronger, like him, Alissa had also comprehended both states of wielding, the difference being in how they used it. Although Joel could use both, Alissa was able to seamlessly go from one to the other with a graceful fluidity that her opponent couldn¡¯t match. ¡°Her training with Cesar these last couple of months really paid off,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°At this rate, she should be able to fuse both states of wielding within another month or two,¡± Amira calmly assessed. ¡°True, but I wasn¡¯t just referring to her near flawless control of ¡®wielding¡¯,¡± Ace said as he watched Alissa dominate with clear appreciation. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed the change in how she wields her daggers?¡± Hearing that, Amira¡¯s brows furrowed as she took a closer look at Amira¡¯s fighting style. ¡°Now that you mention it, each of Alissa¡¯s strikes are a lot more¡­ Deadly!¡± Though Alissa¡¯s former style was still very deadly, there was a lot of wasted movement, and it lacked its current decisiveness. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It made Joel, who was the one facing her feel a lot more pressure mentally as each strike was aimed at a vital organ. Ace couldn¡¯t help but think back to his former opponent ¨C Silas. Although he wielded a single short sword, there was a distinct similarity between their current fighting styles. What really made him look at Alissa in appreciation was that it had only been two months, and yet, the silver-haired Tigerstriped Warrior was able to use this new fighting style with such proficiency that it looked like she had been using it for years already. He knew that Alissa¡¯s natural talent for combat was likely the highest amongst their cohort, including himself ¨C if he didn¡¯t have his [Observation] to assist him ¨C but this confirmed it. ¡°I give up!¡± Joel resigned helplessly when he felt the cold steel of Alissa¡¯s blade against his neck. A sigh escaped his mouth when he saw the grin on the face of his younger opponent. Since their enrolment, Joel had consistently been ranked fourth behind the three freaks that were Ace, Julius, and Amira. He knew this wouldn¡¯t last forever as although he would be considered a genius to the rest of the world, here in the Pavilion, he was distinctly average. Still, he didn¡¯t expect that time to come so soon. ¡°Alissa, as the winner, you are now ranked fourth. Therefore, you have the option to carry on challenging now or wait for your next turn to come,¡± Mathias announced. As the fourth-ranked core disciple, the only people left above her were the three monsters. Although she was confident in her new abilities, the psychological shadow left by the other three wasn¡¯t so easy to ignore. ¡°I¡¯ll wait,¡± Alissa voiced before calmly jumping off the stage. Next up, Faye chose to challenge the aloof bowman ¨C Osiris. She knew that nine times out of ten, she wouldn¡¯t be Osiris¡¯ match, especially as he was a fifth-stage warrior and mage, but as they were limited to the stage, she felt confident. Unfortunately, Faye was destined for disappointment. This was the first time in a long time that many of them had seen Osiris in action, and although they expected him to have grown stronger, the level of skill he displayed was still impressive. Like the rest of his classmates, Osiris¡¯ comprehension had grown by leaps and bounds during his time in the pavilion. He was able to skilfully apply both concepts of wielding his arrows, forcing Faye to take each arrow seriously as with his seemingly never-ending barrage, it was sometimes hard to tell which state of wielding he applied to each arrow, and if that wasn¡¯t impressive enough, his adept use of his darkness styled magic allowed him to layer his archery with an added layer of subterfuge. But without a doubt, the hardest thing for Faye to deal with was Osiris¡¯ movement. Although it was true that stepping outside of the ring would count as disqualification, that was only if your foot hit the ground. In her planning, she had forgotten to take into account that after reaching the fifth rank, Ace had taught all of their class how to use [Geppo] ¨C a skill that Osiris, as an archer, was all too eager to master. She had also learnt [Geppo] and [Soru] from Ace, but she was far from a match for her opponent in either regard. As such, she was nothing more than target practice for the dark-haired archer. ¡°I give up!¡± Faye snorted unwillingly, knowing she stood no chance. Next up, it was Osiris¡¯ turn to challenge, but having a cursory glance over at those ranked above him, he chose not to make any challenges. He wasn¡¯t like the others; he didn¡¯t have a burning desire to get a higher rank. Plus, he also knew all those above him were substantially stronger than him. Next up was Killian, who was now ranked sixth, with Alissa pushing them all down one rank. ¡°Joel,¡± Killian declared decisively before hopping on stage and summoning his axe from his storage ring. As soon as the match began, other than Ace and Leonel, who had the clearest understanding of Killian¡¯s strength, everyone else looked at him in surprise when they noticed how easily he seemed to be finding it to suppress Joel. They were both at the early stages of the sixth rank as both a warrior and mage, but it was clear after this last year fighting against one high-level opponent after the next, constantly being put in life-or-death situations, Killian¡¯s battle sense was a couple of levels superior. The difference was so glaring that, despite not using a single spell, Killian was able to dominate the fight. ¡°I give up!¡± Joel sighed. Despite seeming so at ease with it all, deep down, Joel was overwhelmed with feelings of shame. When he was first accepted into the Pavilion, he had such high hopes for himself and his future. With his talent, he didn¡¯t expect to find many who could match him, but between the top three monsters, he was quickly humbled. Still, in terms of strength, he was hovering near the top, but now¡­ Ace and Julius had long since left him in their dust. He didn¡¯t know how strong Amira was now, but he didn¡¯t doubt that with her talent, she wasn¡¯t much weaker. And now, both Alissa and Killian had surpassed him. His emotions were completely understandable. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the chance to stew in his emotions as next up to make a challenge was him. Looking at the new top five, he had already been beaten by Killian and Alissa, he knew he didn¡¯t stand a chance against Ace, and Julius was off-limits ¨C not that he could beat him even if he weren¡¯t. The only person left that he even remotely stood a chance against was Amira. Taking a deep breath, Joel turned his attention to Amira. No words needed to be said; it was clear from the sombre expression whom he was choosing to challenge. Amira wasn¡¯t an idiot; she could guess how Joel was feeling at that moment. Still, she wasn¡¯t about to go easy on him because of it. One, her pride wouldn¡¯t let her, and two, she knew it¡¯d only hurt Joel more winning out of pity like that. ¡°Ready when you are,¡± Amira said lightly. Book 5: Chapter 22 – Ranking Competition (3): Joel’s Breakthrough The moment the match began, Joel insta-cast one of the strongest spells he could cast ¨C [Thunderstorm Descent]. It was a powerful spell of the sixth rank that summoned bolt after bolt of lightning down within the user¡¯s target range. Joel knew full well that, similar to Alissa, Amira¡¯s most impressive attribute was her speed. And even though he was no slouch himself and was in the rank above, he wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to try and compete with her in a match of speed. Instead, he thought it was best to take the initiative and limit her movement from the jump. A tactic that proved worthwhile. Though Amira was fast enough to dodge each of the descending lightning bolts without too much trouble, there didn¡¯t seem to be a path forward ¨C at least not for her. As the spell¡¯s caster, Joel created a path to his opponent that coincidentally hid his figure. Unfortunately, though not as freakish as Ace¡¯s, the strength of Amira¡¯s soul had always been monstrous. The moment he entered her range, Amira¡¯s swords sprang to life. Wielding one as though it were as light as a feather, appearing in front of Joel as though space was no hindrance to it and wielding the other as though it were heavy, it swinging down with near-unstoppable momentum as if to cleave her opponent in two. Though he was able to skilfully deal with both attacks, Joel still ended up being steadily suppressed by Amira¡¯s onslaught. To most of the other students, it looked as though Amira was genuinely trying to win with her overwhelmingly superior ability, but Ace¡¯s eyes were able to see a lot more than theirs. ¡°Big softie,¡± Ace muttered so softly that no one else heard him. ¡°Soft?¡± Alissa asked, looking back at Ace as though he was an alien. ¡°What about the beating Mira¡¯s giving to Joel¡¯s ¡®soft¡¯?¡± ¡°Look closer,¡± Ace replied casually as he continued to watch the fight. ¡°Each of Mira¡¯s strikes are perfectly aimed at Joel¡¯s weak spots.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Alissa exclaimed, clearly having noticed that point already. ¡°How does that make her soft?!¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s using the perfect amount of speed and power to force Joel into a corner without defeating him,¡± Ace explained as a soft smile appeared on his face. As he said that, the eyes of Alissa, Killian, and Osiris lit up with understanding as they seemed to understand what Ace was saying. ¡°I get that you have a point, but why don¡¯t I understand what it is?¡± Faye asked as she tilted her head slightly in confusion. ¡°Because you¡¯re an idiot,¡± Yulana snorted disdainfully. ¡°Who are you calling an idiot number 10?¡± Faye snapped back. ¡°I may not understand, but we both know you don¡¯t either. ¡°Shut it, you wench! Don¡¯t you dare lump me in with you, you barbarian!¡± Just as the two girls were about to restart their rematch, Kannal slid between them to de-escalate the situation. ¡°No need to fight,¡± Kannal sighed helplessly at just another episode of the two girl¡¯s bickering. ¡°I think what Ace is trying to say is that big sis Mira is pointing out Joel¡¯s weak points to force Joel to correct them, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Ace nodded with an appreciative smile. ¡°You have to remember that without fail, every single one of us is the cream of the crop in terms of talent. It¡¯s what allows us to improve far faster than our peers.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Now that you mention it, it does appear that Joel is improving at a speed visible to the naked eye!¡± Yulana exclaimed, extremely happy for her young master. ¡°Wait, if she¡¯s able to point out Joel¡¯s weaknesses, despite one sub-rank lower, just what level has Amira¡¯s battle sense and comprehension reached in the last year?¡± Faye asked in disbelief. It had to be understood that to accomplish what Amira was doing, the difference in ability between both fighters would have to be significant, to say the least. It wasn¡¯t just Faye; both Killian and Alissa looked at Amira solemnly. They knew that if either of them wanted to take third place, they¡¯d have to face her, but they also knew that despite much they had improved, neither of them was capable of doing such a feat, especially to Joel. ¡°How do you expect me to know?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°I¡¯ve been here with you guys the last couple of months. The last time I saw Mira was a little over eight months ago, and back then, she hadn¡¯t reached this level.¡± Even though he said that he couldn¡¯t help but sneak a glance at the instructors. Specifically, his master, who, in turn, glanced at him before refocusing on his alcohol, was clearly more interested in his attempts at getting drunk than Ace¡¯s curiosity. Though he wasn¡¯t sure how far Amira had come, he had his guesses, and the only person capable of helping Amira come so far in such little time was precisely that man. He was a big part of the reason Ace¡¯s battle sense was so incredible. ¡°Joel¡­ Did he just¡­?¡± Hearing Faye¡¯s shock, Ace turned his attention back to the fight just in time to witness their oldest classmate successfully fuse both states of wielding for a shockingly fast and incredibly powerful slash of his lightning-coated sabre. The blow was genuinely terrifying, so much so that even Alissa ¨C the happy-go-lucky Tigerstriped warrior ¨C looked at Joel solemnly, knowing she would be hard-pressed to deal with that strike. But Alissa wasn¡¯t Amira. A satisfied smile appeared on Mira¡¯s face as she too fused both states of wielding into both of her swords as they arced through the air with renewed vigour. The first katana tapped on the blade of Joel¡¯s sabre, calmly changing its trajectory so it whirred just over her head, the other whistling through the air, appearing by her opponent¡¯s neck. For the third time, Joel Dawson had been defeated, and for the third time, it was by someone younger than him, but unlike the last two times, this time, Joel wasn¡¯t unwilling. ¡°Thank you!¡± Joel voiced sincerely, his eyes blazing with excitement as he looked at Amira in gratitude. ¡°Because of you, I¡¯ve finally fused both states of wielding.¡± As he said that, a hint of bitterness couldn¡¯t help but flicker through his otherwise jubilant eyes as he looked back, his eyes falling on the silver-haired assassin. ¡°Unfortunately, this breakthrough happened a little too late.¡± Hearing his words, Alissa simply poked her tongue out, understanding his meaning. Even with his most recent breakthrough, he still wasn¡¯t confident in defeating Killian as he was now. The ease with which he was defeated hinted that his former opponent was holding back much more than he let on. Still, he was confident he could, at the very least, have defeated Alissa. Unfortunately, as he said, he was too late. He used his one and only challenge on Amira. And seeing as he lost, he wouldn¡¯t get another chance today. But it was worth it in the long run. ¡°I didn¡¯t do much,¡± Amira smiled. ¡°You did all the hard work yourself; I just gave you a little nudge.¡± With that, the bottom five were officially locked in place: In tenth place was Yulana, ninth was Kannal, Faye was eighth, whilst Osiris was now seventh, making Joel sixth. Although it had been quite the reshuffle, other than Joel dropping two places, there weren¡¯t too many other surprises. The only thing left to do was determine the order of the top five. ¡°Next up, in fifth place ¨C Killian,¡± Mathias announced. But before Killian could even think about replying, Alissa abruptly cut him off. ¡°You better not even think about jumping over my head without defeating me first, you big oaf,¡± Alissa said, glaring threateningly at Killian, causing him to blush. ¡°You can¡¯t hide from me anymore!¡± Ever since they had returned after rescuing Alissa from her prison, Killian seemed to have spent the last two months avoiding her ¨C though not even he himself completely understood why. Killian was at a loss for words as he struggled to think of a way out of his current predicament, but before he could, Ace decided to speak on his behalf. ¡°Kil challenges Alissa,¡± Ace shouted, patting his little giant of a younger brother on the back. Killian¡¯s head snapped back towards Ace with a look of betrayal. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much,¡± Ace grinned before whispering. ¡°Trust me, all you need to do is not hold back, ooh, and remember to be honest.¡± Killian looked suspiciously at Ace, who seemed to be sincere in his attempt to help him, but ultimately, he couldn¡¯t follow Ace¡¯s meaning at all. ¡°Just go!¡± Ace said, shooing Killian away towards the ring. Upon reaching his corner of the ring, he was greeted by Alissa¡¯s unfriendly glare. ¡°Now that I have your attention, are you gonna tell me why you¡¯ve been avoiding me?¡± Alissa asked as her black-striped, white fur grew out of her skin. ¡°Or am I going to have to beat it out of you?¡± Book 5: Chapter 23 – Ranking Competition (4): Killian Vs Amira Upon hearing Alissa¡¯s question, a blank expression appeared on Killian¡¯s face as he didn¡¯t quite understand his actions himself. ¡°I guess I¡¯m going to have to beat it out of you after all,¡± Alissa said, frustrated by Killian¡¯s lack of reaction. Everyone watching already knew that Killian fancied Alissa, but after seven years together, they also knew that he was far from the most emotionally intelligent person in the group. Still, they had no intention of involving themselves in their situation. One, it wasn¡¯t their business, and two, this was way more amusing. But as soon as the fight got underway, their mouths dropped in disbelief. Killian may lack the emotional intelligence to understand how best to deal with his current predicament. Still, as soon as Alissa shot towards him with her daggers in her grasp, his body acted on instinct, insta-casting the earth spell of the fifth-rank ¨C [Earth Guard], a feat that was impressive to most, but as a student of the Pavilion, was far from surprising. The surprising thing was the texture of Killian¡¯s [Earth Guard]. At the fifth rank, it was a spell that covered the user¡¯s body in stone. At the seventh rank, it covered the user¡¯s body in jade. Despite being a mage at the early stages of the sixth rank, Killian''s was made of glistening crystal jade, meaning that his [Earth Guard] had the power of an eighth-rank spell. Even Ace, who had seen Killian fight more than anyone else this last year, was taken aback by his little brother¡¯s progress. It was only when he saw the proud father-like grin on Mathias¡¯ face that he realised this must¡¯ve been a recent breakthrough. After being fed the Earth Root Fruit back during their training exercise, Killian¡¯s affinity to the laws of the earth ¨C which was already of the exceptional grade ¨C had skyrocketed. Between that, his constant fighting over the last year, and finally, the individual training of his saint-level master, it had allowed his comprehension to improve by leaps and bounds, having already stepped into the ninth rank, meaning that he was capable of forming an [Earth Guard] of pure platinum. Unfortunately, the drain of his mageforce was too much. Still, a crystal jade [Earth Guard] was more than enough to shield him from Alissa¡¯s onslaught. ¡°Answer me,¡± Alissa exclaimed as her body flickered from one position to another, attacking from just every angle imaginable to no avail. ¡°Or fight me, you big oaf!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it!¡± Kil stated directly as he continued to allow Alissa to attack him freely without attacking back. ¡°Why not?!¡± Alissa snorted, her attacks losing their usual grace as she focused all her energy on trying to crack the turtle shell Killian had erected for himself. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you attack other girls in the past.¡± Hearing that, Killian glanced back at Ace, who was still grinning encouragingly back at him and sighed. ¡°Other girls, yes, but not you,¡± Killian explained helplessly, causing the silver-haired petit assassin to falter. ¡°Wh¡­ Why not me?¡± Alissa asked, standing unmoving just under a meter away from the immovable teen, the blush creeping up her neck hidden by her beautiful soft white fur as her heart began to speed up slightly. In that moment, time seemed to slow down as Killian seriously began to think about his time with Alissa, from the controversial way in which they met to the time they spent alongside one another in the Pavilion. Then he thought about how much he felt like a part of him was missing when she left¡­ It was at that moment that he realised how much Alissa truly meant to him. ¡°Beca¡­ because¡­ because I like you!¡± Killian declared, his chocolate-coloured skin going several shades darker with the blood rushing to his face. Before the target of his confession even got the chance to respond, he was taken by surprise by the sounds of cheering and clapping coming from his classmates and instructors. ¡°Wooh,¡± Ace cheered. ¡°Atta boy!¡± ¡°It¡¯s about time,¡± Faye roared. Everyone seemed excited on behalf of the two love birds. Well, almost everyone¡­ ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, old man?¡± Wukong asked with a knowing grin as he moved closer to Cesar, who seemed to be glaring daggers at the hulking teen on stage. ¡°Hmph! No boy is good enough for that little granddaughter of mine!¡± Cesar snorted disdainfully. ¡°Not unless they pass my tests.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Alissa wasn¡¯t the slightest bit phased by the responses of the audience, a feeling of warmth threatened to overwhelm her as she stared into the depths of Killian¡¯s dark brown eyes. If not for the sound of Mathias¡¯ voice bringing her back to reality, she felt like she could stay like that for eternity. ¡°You two still need to conclude the fight,¡± Mathias said helplessly as he looked at the young love birds. ¡°Ahh right, I give up,¡± Alissa announced casually before hopping off stage, leaving a stunned Killian in the arena alone. ¡°You gave up?¡± Kil asked in a surprised tone. ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°Just like that; I already got what I wanted!¡± Alissa nodded sweetly. ¡°Killian, as the winner, you are now ranked fourth,¡± Mathias stated, snapping his disciple out of his dazed state. ¡°Would you like to continue challenging?¡± Killian¡¯s thoughts were all over the place, but he knew now was neither the time nor the place to get distracted. With a deep breath, he calmly nodded his head. ¡°I challenge Mira.¡± Even though Mira hadn¡¯t made a challenge yet, the only two ranked in front of her were the two freaks of nature. No one really expected her to take one of their places; as such, this was effectively the finals of the ranking competition. The students watched with bated breaths as they wondered if Killian would be the first to shake the position of one of the top three or if he¡¯d fall just short. Amira had just landed in the ring when Ace¡¯s voice rang in the air. ¡°Good luck!¡± Ace cheered from his position. ¡°Who are you cheering for?¡± Julius asked curiously, knowing his cheer could¡¯ve been meant for either of the two on stage. ¡°Both of them,¡± Ace shrugged. He didn¡¯t care who won at this point; he was just happy that it was his brother and future wife in the finals. ¡°I want Killian to win,¡± Alissa perkily interjected. ¡°We know!¡± All the students voiced simultaneously. ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Cesar asked curiously, turning to Mathias. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mathias replied frankly. ¡°From the strength they¡¯ve shown so far, it¡¯ll be a close one.¡± ¡°If this were yesterday, you¡¯d probably be right,¡± Aiden announced as he finished another gourd of wine. ¡°Interesting,¡± Cesar muttered as he sized up the drunkard curiously before turning back to the ring. ¡°I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out,¡± Mathias said before also looking back at the arena to begin what should be the final battle. ¡°You may begin!¡± ¡°[Supersonic Soaring]!¡± Amira called out immediately, instantly surprising the audience with the fusion of two spells allowing her to soar into the sky with surprising speed. [Supersonic] spoke for itself, but the [Soaring] spell was a spell of the seventh rank, meaning that not only was she also capable of insta-casting spells two ranks superior, she had even learnt to fuse them. Still, as incredible a feat as it was, Killian had never expected this to be easy. ¡°[Supergravity Field]!¡± The dark-skinned youth roared as Amira had all but vanished from his vision. Amira¡¯s eyes suddenly bulged as she felt the gravity around her suddenly multiply, causing her to almost crash into the floor before she could make it to Killian¡¯s back. Just as she regained her balance, she was forced to use Geppo to step on the air and barely, yet gracefully evade the battle axe threatening to cleave her in two by mere millimetres. ¡°He really was holding back,¡± Joel sighed as he witnessed the power behind Killian¡¯s last slash, understanding he too had already fused both states of wielding. Ace wasn¡¯t surprised by that; Killian had made that breakthrough months ago. No, what he was surprised by was the amount that gravity had increased by. ¡®His comprehension really has stepped into the ninth rank.¡¯ That¡¯s right, Killian¡¯s [Supergravity Field] had the power of a ninth rank, which was why Amira struggled so much to resist. Still, with her incredible perception and control of her body, it only took a fraction of a second to acclimatise to the new gravity and react accordingly. She calmly watched as Killian¡¯s axe swept just under her nose, slicing off strands of her hair as it moved before stomping on the air with all her strength to close the gap before Killian could readjust from the power of his last strike. Amira¡¯s counter was timed to literal perfection, and for a second, it looked as though she was about to finish the fight already, but Killian¡¯s reaction showed that Amira wasn¡¯t the only one to see a drastic improvement in battle IQ. Just as it looked like he was about to lose, Killian silently undid his gravity spell whilst shifting his body slightly, allowing Amira to pass him by like a rocket. Seeing that, all the students who had been watching with their mouths open could only sigh. Despite being of the same generation, it was now abundantly clear that they had all been left behind by the two on stage; well, not quite all of them. Ace watched with a proud smile as the two continued their incredibly technical battle that left everyone on the edge of their seats. A fight at this level, where there was virtually nothing between them, was basically a game of chess. You had to use skill, feints, and tactics to try and force your opponent to make a mistake. He really didn¡¯t care who won; he was just happy that they had reached a level many could only ever dream of. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect to be pushed this much,¡± Amira said between breaths as the two young experts paused. ¡°If you can block this next attack, it¡¯s my loss.¡± Though her words sounded arrogant, Killian knew that as she was still in the fifth rank, he had a clear advantage in terms of endurance. Even he was starting to slow now, so he could imagine how Amira was doing. If she wanted to win, she had to bet it all on the line now before her fuel tank really hit empty, but that suited him just fine as the earth was known for its defensive qualities. Killian had expected Mira¡¯s final attack to be one of the more powerful wind spells she¡¯d recently comprehended, but when he saw Mira flash in his direction, his brows furrowed. Though she didn¡¯t act in the way he had expected, Killian still reacted appropriately, swinging his axe to intercept her sword, but just as both weapons were about to make contact, Kil¡¯s eyes almost bulged right out of his sockets as he felt the space around him suddenly constrict. It wasn¡¯t just him; aside from Aiden, Arianna, and Ace, who already had his suspicions, everyone watched in surprise as Killian¡¯s slash suddenly slowed just enough for his opponent¡¯s swords to fly straight past unimpeded. ¡°You already comprehended impose?¡± Killian sighed helplessly, ignoring the blades of Amira¡¯s katanas resting against his neck. ¡°I¡¯m convinced of my loss.¡± Book 5: Chapter 24 – Ace Shocks The Entire Pavilion ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use impose earlier?¡± Killian asked as he watched Amira re-sheathe her swords. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have gotten yourself backed into a corner if you had.¡± He knew Amira¡¯s not using it earlier wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t want to; he could sense it during their heated exchange; at the time, she had genuinely been giving it her all, but that¡¯s why it didn¡¯t make sense to him. Although it seemed equal, the truth was, Amira came off slightly worse after each exchange, and even if they both had unlimited energy, eventually, he would¡¯ve won ¨C but that was to be expected as he was one sub-rank higher than her. Still, if she had used impose, he never would have stood a chance. ¡°I only comprehended it this morning with Uncle Aiden¡¯s help,¡± Amira explained. ¡°My control of it is still shaky at best. I¡¯m not quite able to use it freely mid-battle.¡± Other than Ace and Arianna, who seemed to have already guessed the truth, the others all turned to the drunkard with a hint of surprise. ¡°So that¡¯s what you meant when you said about things being different had he challenged her the day before¡­¡± Mathias said, giving voice to his new understanding. ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯s everyone staring at me?¡± Aiden asked with raised brows before summoning a new wine gourd. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a competition to finish?¡± Mathias merely rolled his eyes before turning his head back to the stage. ¡°Mira, as the winner of this round, you have now been promoted to second place.¡± ¡°Second?¡± Faye blurted out. ¡°Isn¡¯t Julius second?¡± ¡°I already told you that to keep things fair, since Julius isn¡¯t competing, one could take his place as long as they display strength matching or surpassing his,¡± Mathias explained slowly to dispel any doubts the rest of the class may have. ¡°And in that last round, both Amira and Killian displayed strength at Julius¡¯ level.¡± His words seemed to come as a shock to all the students, bar Amira, Killian, Ace, and Julian. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Julius casually shrugged, not seeming that bothered by the decision to lower his rank to fourth. ¡°As it stands, with my comprehension stepping into the profound realm, I can attack with the power of a ninth-ranked mage, and although neither Mira nor Kil can match that in raw power, Amira¡¯s speed has reached that level allowing her to dodge those at that level, and Killian¡¯s defensive capabilities have also reached that level, though he still can¡¯t maintain it for long. But that¡¯s just part of the reason; the most important factor is their freakish battle IQ. Even if I were to fight, I don¡¯t doubt that I¡¯d be beaten black and blue by either of them.¡± His words were right on the money, allowing his classmates to understand the truth. Still, they couldn¡¯t help but look at him weirdly. ¡°Who knew fatty could be so perceptive when he stepped out of the kitchen?¡± Yulana voiced as she took a minute to reassess her judgement of the overweight genius mage. ¡°I¡¯m not just a pretty face, you know?¡± Julius exclaimed shamelessly. ¡°No one with skin as thick as yours could ever be pretty!¡± Ace snorted. As the students began bickering and laughing amongst themselves, Cirulus watched it all in awe, having never seen anything like it. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to have so many little monsters under one roof, but for them all to be as close as they are¡­ It¡¯s incomprehensible,¡± Cirulus muttered to himself. He better than anyone understood the innate pride and arrogance of geniuses. Even though he was not quite at the level of his new young master and the rest of his classmates, he was still an elite-level talent at one point. That¡¯s how he was all too aware that whenever a group of peak-level talents congregated, it would eventually become hostile due to their innate competitiveness and desire to be number one, but with these ten, there was none of that. Instead, they genuinely resembled a family. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°We shared your same thought process prior to taking them in,¡± Lazerim, Arianna¡¯s third disciple, explained as he stroked his beard and watched the group of youngsters with a smile. ¡°And had it not been for Ace¡¯s presence, their batch may have been a little more troublesome to manage.¡± ¡°Because of young master Ace?¡± Cirulus asked, not understanding Lazerim¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Arianna¡¯s fourth disciple, Kimika, explained. ¡°If you take Ace out of the mix, though there are still some slight differences in potential and natural ability, it¡¯s not too large, and the laws of the jungle would apply with everyone fighting to be number one, but because the throne is sat on by Ace, everyone else basically fell into line, knowing that chasing his shadow was basically futile.¡± ¡°Haha, this king still remembers how hard they all trained that first year, challenging Ace at least once a month, hoping to close the gap even a little bit.¡± Wukong chuckled. ¡°But because Ace improves too fast, they eventually stopped challenging him as it was becoming too depressing.¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t ask for a better first batch,¡± Lauriella sighed. ¡°I just hope this next batch won¡¯t be too troublesome.¡± Though she didn¡¯t come out and say it, the other instructors knew what she was getting at. The chances of them finding another talent on the level of Ace, who was simply unreachable to his peers, were virtually zero, which meant that the pride and arrogance of this next batch would go untamed. ¡°You worry too much,¡± Wukong replied. ¡°If the new pups start getting ahead of themselves, we still have the older lot to put them back in their place.¡± ¡°Little Kong¡¯s right,¡± Mathias nodded. ¡°But we¡¯re getting ahead of ourselves; we still need to wrap up today¡¯s festivities.¡± As he said that, he turned his head back to the stage. ¡°Mira, as the new second place, would you like to continue challenging or end things there?¡± ¡°Continue challenging,¡± Mira grinned as she turned to face Ace. ¡°I need to ensure our top disciple hasn¡¯t gotten rusty these last few months.¡± ¡°Rusty?¡± Ace asked as an exciting grin suffused his lips. He had a feeling this would happen; it was why he had initially wanted Arianna to heal him completely. Although Mira wasn¡¯t jealous of Ace, it didn¡¯t mean she had given up on chasing his shadow. On the contrary, she would take whatever chance she could get to challenge him. Even though he wasn¡¯t 100%, he had recovered enough to remind his classmates why his ranking would never change. ¡°Good luck, Mira,¡± Killian declared before hopping off the stage to give the pair room. ¡°Mira?¡± Ace asked, feigning heartbreak. ¡°What about me?! I¡¯m your brother!¡± Killian took another glance at the battle-ready little Amazonian before looking back at Ace. ¡°Yeah, but she still scares me more.¡± ¡°Traitor!¡± Ace said back before turning back to face his opponent with a smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take out your weapon?¡± Amira asked as she re-unsheathed her twin katanas. ¡°You better not go easy on me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Ace replied calmly. ¡°I learnt my lesson a long time ago; I won¡¯t be making that mistake again.¡± She knew that Ace was a better warrior than a mage, so she didn¡¯t understand why he didn¡¯t take his glaive out, but as she could sense his sincerity about taking this seriously, she let it go. Seeing that both fighters were ready, Mathias gave the signal for the match to begin, and as he did so, Amira took off at her fastest speed. Julius was right. After using [Soru] in tandem with the fused [Supersonic] and [Soaring], Amira¡¯s speed had reached that of a ninth-rank warrior. Despite having close to 20 meters separating the two of them, Mira had still closed the gap in a fraction of a second, making Ace sigh in appreciation, as he knew that Mira had officially surpassed him in terms of speed now. Still, before the blade of her sword could make contact with his neck, a blazing red skin-tight aura coated Ace¡¯s body slowing her slash to a near crawl where it went on to be stopped by his now blackened skin. Though power wasn¡¯t her strongest attribute, that was still the most powerful physical attack she could muster, combining both states of wielding, impose, and her speed. All things considered, she reluctantly had the power of an early-stage ninth-rank warrior, and yet Ace was able to block her attack with relative ease. ¡°Were you trying to kill me with that last attack?¡± Ace asked as his fiery palm stretched towards Amira¡¯s flawless neck, snapping her out of her dazed. ¡°Only if you had held back,¡± Amira said with a fiendish grin as she leapt back, easily evading Ace¡¯s palm. She was just about to attack again when, despite the fact that it was the middle of the day, the sky seemed to brighten tenfold, and the temperature in the surrounding area skyrocketed. Subconsciously looking up towards the source of the sudden illumination, Mira¡¯s eyes turned to pinholes as her face was covered in sweat. ¡°[Scorching Spear Shower].¡± Ace said calmly. In the skies above were hundreds of crimson, fiery glaives, identical to Ace¡¯s ¡®Newgate¡¯. ¡°You¡­ that¡­¡± Amira stammered as she looked at the spears in disbelief before looking back at Ace. ¡°Peak Arch-Magus¡­¡± That¡¯s right, the power of Ace¡¯s spell had reached the peak of the ninth rank, meaning he held the power of one of the generals. If he were to truly attack¡­ Forget Amira, the whole of the Yin-Yang mountain would end up incinerated. No one could believe what they were witnessing. Though the other students were shocked by Ace¡¯s power which had apparently reached the very apex of the mortal world, the instructors were surprised by something else entirely. ¡°Is that¡­ Has he really¡­¡± Lauriella stammered as her shock got the best of her. ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Mathias asked, no less surprised than his wife. The most shocked by this sudden display was, without a doubt, Cesar, which was why when he heard Aiden¡¯s lazy voice confirming their suspicions, he almost fell on his back. ¡°That brat has officially comprehended his first complete profound mystery.¡± Book 5: Chapter 25 – Mission Assignments As top-level powerhouses, each of them could already sense it, but when Aiden confirmed it, they all felt as though their worlds had been turned on their heads. Even Wukong, who had been cultivating the shortest time among them, had been cultivating nearly three times as long as Ace. But the person with the most violent reaction was, without a doubt, Cesar. Aside from Arianna, he was the oldest expert among them, having lived for over 6000 years already, and yet he had only reached his current level a few hundred years ago, and he hadn¡¯t made any progress since then. For the last few centuries, he¡¯d been a single step away from completely comprehending his first profound mystery; it could be imagined how he was feeling finding that a child that was barely a fraction of his age had already accomplished what he couldn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Cesar snorted, unable to remain in Ace¡¯s presence any longer. ¡°Before you go,¡± Arianna said softly as she flicked her wrist, summoning a large tome from her storage ring. ¡°Here, this is for you.¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Cesar grunted as he casually put it away, too depressed to care about anything else. ¡°Have my granddaughter come get me when it¡¯s time to go.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s the same face the rest of the brats used to pull after challenging Ace,¡± Wukong laughed, deriving no small amount of pleasure from Cesar¡¯s misery. ¡°Serves that old fart right.¡± ¡°I can understand how he feels,¡± Lauriella sighed helplessly, looking up yearningly at the crimson fiery glaives in the sky. ¡°There¡¯s no point comparing ourselves to Ace,¡± Mathias said in an attempt to comfort his wife. ¡°We always knew it was just a matter of time before he caught up and eventually surpassed us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going too,¡± Kimika suddenly announced. ¡°I have a sudden urge to go and break through to the saint realm.¡± Her words should¡¯ve come as a shock, but everyone already knew that Kimika had long since been able to break through to the saint realm; the only thing holding her back was that she wanted to spend a little longer comprehending the laws of nature as a mortal where it was slightly easier. But after being stimulated by Ace¡¯s display, she just wanted to break through so she could stay substantially stronger than Ace for as long as possible. ¡°I¡¯m going too,¡± Lazerim said as he flew towards his private abode. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back here when it¡¯s time to go.¡± Lazerim was the last of the instructors to break through to the saint realm, having done so not long after Ace and Killian departed for the Rohault Empire, meaning that with the addition of Cesar, the Yin-Yang Pavilion now officially had five human saint-level experts, and that didn¡¯t include the peak mortals who had the strength of a saint or the saint level magical beasts. After Lazerim, Lauriella also took her leave, also wanting to continue her training. Even though she was nowhere closer to making another breakthrough, she couldn¡¯t stand the thought of standing around doing nothing when one of her students was making strides to catch up with her every day. ¡°You not going to go back and train as well?¡± Arianna asked, looking back at her former youngest disciple. ¡°Nah,¡± Wukong shrugged. ¡°The state of mind of this king isn¡¯t so fragile that it can be shaken by that snot-nosed brat; plus, there¡¯s nothing this king can do to make any improvements in the short term.¡± ¡°You could break through to the saint realm now as well,¡± Mathias said, knowing full well that the comprehension of this junior brother of his had long since reached the requirements their master had set for him. ¡°This king¡¯s not ready yet,¡± Wukong replied, his ape-like eyes landing back on Ace. ¡°This king won¡¯t break through till his comprehension reaches that of a prime saint.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Although not as bad as the others, Wukong would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t stimulated by Ace¡¯s lightning-fast improvements. ¡°Who knows how long that will be,¡± Mathias replied. ¡°You sure you want to wait till then?¡± ¡°If this king keeps improving at the same rate, it should only be another year,¡± Wukong casually replied as he lazily stretched his body. ¡°Two at most.¡± The last time Wukong had personally made a move was over a year ago against Kenyon when he attempted to grab Arianna, and even then, he had been holding back a fair bit just in case Haydson decided to intervene as well. As a result, everyone knew Wukong had been training seriously, but no one had any idea how much progress he had made. It was only when Mathias heard that did he remember that Ace wasn¡¯t the only true freak of nature in the Pavilion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to announce the winner?¡± Ace asked as he casually dispersed his flaming spears, his voice waking Mathias from his thoughts. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right,¡± Mathias said as his body flickered, appearing on stage just behind Ace and Amira. ¡°As the winner, Ace retains his position as the number one core disciple. Okay, now that the ranking competition is over, I¡¯ll be informing you of your final ranks as well as the school you will be challenging as part of your missions: In tenth place is Yulana. You will be taken by master¡¯s magical beast Jax to challenge the students of the Knights Way Warrior Academy. In ninth place is Kannal. You will be taken by your master, Kimika, to challenge the students of the Saltier Magus Academy. In eighth place is Faye. You will be taken by your master, Lazerim, to challenge the students of the Waning Moon Foundation for mages. In seventh place is Osiris. I will be the one to take you to challenge the students of the Knights of the Night in the territory of the Dark Alliance.¡± ¡®And here I thought I was the only one with a problem with the Cult of Darkness.¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he looked over at the dark-haired stoic archer. Although he had done a good job at hiding it, both Ace and Alissa, who were both extremely sensitive to killing intent, had felt a trace amount seep out of the young archer. Unfortunately, now was neither the time nor the place to ask their classmate about it. ¡°Joel, as you finished sixth, you will be going with Wukong to the Magus Dao Institute. Finishing in fifth place, Alissa, you will be heading to the Rhine Centre of Excellence along with Cesar to challenge their young warriors. In fourth place, Julius, although you won¡¯t be fighting directly, you will go with Yulana as an emissary for the Pavilion. This is so that you can start getting used to your new role as substitute teacher for when you break through to the eighth rank. Killian, as you finished third, you will be going with Lauriella to challenge Slayer Institute for Warriors. But as you finished third, you are being tasked with challenging not only the students but the teachers as well.¡± When they heard that, the others were all surprised. It had to be understood that the Slayer Institute was regarded as the second-best institute for warriors on the continent. As a result, one could imagine the calibre of their instructors. Still, if there was anyone who could do it was their top three core students. ¡°Amira, as you are our second-ranked core disciple, you will be going with martial uncle Aiden to the Ernst instate for mages, and just like Killian, you will be challenging the students and teachers there,¡± Mathias announced, causing Amira to turn head to face Ace with a teasing and excited smile. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to be the first to get to fight Linley since he awoke his bloodline,¡± Amira said gloatingly. ¡°Whatever!¡± Ace smirked. ¡°Just try not to lose!¡± ¡°Lose?¡± Amira snorted disdainfully. ¡°Until I catch up with you, I won¡¯t lose to anyone from our generation!¡± ¡°I believe you,¡± Ace replied sincerely after hearing the conviction in her voice, and if he was being honest, he didn¡¯t believe that she was wrong either. As far as talent went, Amira was literally only second to him. ¡°And that just leaves our top-ranked core student,¡± Mathias said, recapturing Ace¡¯s attention. ¡°Ace, you will be heading to the O¡¯Brien Empire with Master, your mother, Leo, Lance, and Carter, but your mission isn¡¯t as simple as the others. You must first challenge and defeat the disciples and instructors of the War God Academy before challenging and defeating all the mortals in the War God¡¯s College.¡± Ace had already heard from Arianna about his mission, but it was a first for the others. It was public knowledge that the War God¡¯s College was the home of the most talented and powerful young warriors on the continent. Many of the students were even stronger than the instructors of the War God¡¯s Academy; after all, it was from there that O¡¯Brien would choose his next disciple. Still, remembering exactly how much of a freak Ace was and his grudge against O¡¯Brien, Alissa and the others only felt sympathy for the students of the college. ¡°It¡¯ll be my pleasure!¡± Ace replied directly as the blood coursing through his body boiled with excitement. Mathias could only sigh, understanding full well that things definitely wouldn¡¯t end so simply. ¡°Okay, that concludes today¡¯s festivities,¡± Mathias announced. ¡°You¡¯re all dismissed. Be back here in two days so that we can set off.¡± Notice Sorry to get your hopes up, but this is not an official post. As I''ve just informed my P-atreons, I began writing this series as a way to gain some experience, improve my writing, and try out a few different concepts for my own story. For the most part, I¡¯ve accomplished everything I originally intended, and I¡¯m now ready and wanting to begin writing my book. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the time to balance my personal life and write both this and my personal piece, and I¡¯m not willing to spend another 2+ years writing this instead of focusing on my personal creation. Still, I don¡¯t want to stop this half-way like so many other fan-fictions. As a compromise, I have decided that from this point on (Book 7 Chapter 32 on the P-atreon), instead of writing it in the standard chapter to chapter format, I will condense the contents of each book/volume into a detailed plot description. The length of each post will still remain the same ¨C 1500 to 2000 words ¨C but it will be broken down into Book ¡­ Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 etc. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Now I know many of you will be sceptical about this style, but this will not only allow me to shorten the amount of time I spend on this story, but it also has its benefits for you as the readers. It will mean you, as the readers, get to spend less time reading what is essentially fluff and instead absorb just the nitty gritty, which I¡¯m sure, if you¡¯re anything like me, is what you¡¯re really interested in. I''ve made sure to keep in as much detail as possible whilst getting rid of all the fluff that goes into making it a proper story, and I think I''ve done quite a good job (even if I do say so myself). For those of you who are interested, I have just released the remainder of book seven - in full - on the P-atreon. Feel free to head on over and give it a read! XP This won''t affect any of you for who read the book on here, at least not for quite some time, but I just wanted to give those of you who''re considering going over to the P-atreon fair warning. I hope this doesn''t dissuade any of you from heading over to the Patreon, and for the future, I hope all of you will give my original story a try - I''m really excited for it! Thanks again for all the love and support! Book 5: Chapter 26 – Gol D. Milianna Whilst the students were taking their leave, preparing to return to their rooms to rest, Cesar, who was holed up in the little cabin he had made for himself, had just taken out the tome Arianna had given him earlier. ¡°I wonder wha¡­¡± Cesar couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence; the moment he started reading, he was immediately hooked. He was currently reading the same tome Ace had read, which listed each of the profound mysteries for each of the seven natural laws. Though the contents of the book were relatively straightforward in its contents, if the saints, and even some of the deities, knew that this book existed, it would cause a bloodbath as those that stood at the top of the food chain went to war to get their hands on it. It had to be understood that due to certain circumstances and altercations from over ten thousand years ago, those of the Yulan continent had a limited understanding of things that should be simple to those of their level. It meant that the majority was forced to stumble around in the dark as they desperately searched for a path forwards. The truth was that Cesar was far beyond your average genius; in fact, if he had entered the Pavilion with Ace and the others, he would be a genius at the level of Amira. Considering he had no masters or seniors to help guide him, it was incredible that he made it to his current level at all, especially as his element ¨C darkness ¨C though not as rare as the four edicts, was still one of the two rarest natural elements ¨C the other being light. All that is to say that his simply getting an understanding of the profound mysteries of his element was like giving wings to a tiger. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d actually have a sudden epiphany,¡± Aiden said as he looked down at Cesar from the clouds above. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Arianna explained. ¡°With his talent, and considering how long he had spent fumbling around blindly, the moment he found out the truth, it was only natural that he saw a dramatic increase in training speed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Aiden acknowledged casually. ¡°How much do you think he¡¯ll improve? Do you think he¡¯ll break through to the deity realm?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Arianna shrugged. ¡°But I doubt it with how close he was already. If his epiphany had anything to do with the profound mystery of the body of darkness, he would¡¯ve already broken through. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say he¡¯s comprehending one or more of the other mysteries. What about you? Are you any closer to your breakthrough?¡± ¡°Hmm, I guess so,¡± Aiden replied lazily. ¡°But who knows how long it¡¯ll take before my soul finally enters the deity realm. At this rate, it could be tomorrow, or it could be a millennia from today. This is all still unchartered territory.¡± ¡°Just be careful,¡± Arianna said softly, taking her husband¡¯s hands in hers. Having been there from the very beginning, she knew better than anyone the cost of using [The Imposing Devourment]. She could only imagine the pain he was in each day, yet he continued pressing forward every day, never once complaining. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Aiden smiled reassuringly. ¡°I have no intention of dying any time soon.¡± . . . Over the next couple of days, Ace and the others forwent training, having been training like crazy these last few months. Instead, they spent the following couple of days relaxing together. It was the first time in almost two years that they¡¯d all been together, and from the looks of it, they had missed it, but after 48 hours of relaxing, it was finally time to get going. ¡°Where¡¯s Cesar?¡± Ace asked impatiently. As much as he enjoyed these last couple of days, he was dying for his next adventure, and right now, the person holding them up was the newest addition to their group, the master of Alissa¡¯s biological father. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°According to Arianna, Gramps is in the middle of an epiphany.¡± Alissa sighed. ¡°She hoped he¡¯d be done by today, but she said if not, they¡¯d have to postpone our departure date.¡± When Alissa¡¯s words came out, it was met with the groans and grunts of her classmates. Ace wasn¡¯t the only one excited about their upcoming missions. Each of them was geniuses, and although there was likely no one better to compete with than the other teens around them, they understood each other exceptionally well by now. They all wanted to face a new challenge, especially after seeing the improvements made by Amira, Killian, and Ace after this last year. ¡°Okay, guys,¡± Mathias said, addressing the students. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like Cesar will be¡­¡± ¡°What about Cesar?¡± A playful voice asked from seemingly nowhere. ¡°Gramps, is that you?¡± Alissa asked as she looked around for the source of her voice. ¡°Where are you?¡± It wasn¡¯t just her; no one could seem to locate the prolific king of killers. Not even Ace, who had one of the best sensory abilities out of all those present, fared any better. ¡°Looks like he finally made his breakthrough,¡± Aiden said lazily as he glanced at Mathias¡¯ feet. ¡°Alright Cesar, that¡¯s enough,¡± Arianna said lightly as she pointed her index finger at her eldest disciple¡¯s feet, causing Mathias¡¯ shadow to start to glow. ¡°Ahhh, okay, okay, that¡¯s enough!¡± Cesar yelled as he magically hopped out of Mathias¡¯ shadow, smoke coming from his head as though he had been singed. ¡°Spoilsport,¡± Although he seemed perfectly calm on the inside, Cesar was anything but. ¡®I knew I still wouldn¡¯t be that woman¡¯s match, but after comprehending a portion of a new profound mystery and fusing it with my original one, I thought I would at least have been able to close the gap slightly¡­ Just how strong is she exactly?¡¯ During these last couple of days, as a result of his enlightenment, Cesar had not only comprehended a significant portion of the profound mystery of shadows, he had even fused it with the profound mystery of the dark-body allowing his body to physically enter the shadows. Although he still hadn¡¯t reached the power of a Demi-God, he had definitely surpassed the average level of a prime saint. As it stood, other than Arianna, he doubted that a single being below the Deity level could stand up to him, including the invincible prime saint who ruled over the dragon¡¯s pit. He had wanted to show off a bit and test to see if anyone could sense his presence, but not only had both Arianna and her husband seemingly been able to feel his presence, Arianna was capable of directly attacking him. How could he not be astounded? He went from cloud nine to instantly humbled! Still, now that his strength had taken a step forward, he had a sudden urge to go and find some of his old rivals to vent a little, but that would have to wait¡­ ¡°Mathias,¡± Arianna called out, her voice as soothing as ever. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, it¡¯s time for us to get going.¡± ¡°Yes, master,¡± Mathias nodded before turning to the rest of the group. ¡°Okay, everyone knows where they¡¯re going and who with. All I want to say before we leave is that this will be the first time the pavilion truly makes its presence known to the world. I want to show the whole world that we¡¯re the number one school on the continent, and for that to happen, each of you has to go out and suppress all the other so-called elites of your generation. With that being said, I only have one question¡­¡± As he said that, Mathias paused as he looked into the confident and unwavering eyes of each of his students. ¡°Can you do it?¡± Hearing his question, the blood of each of the disciples thrummed with excitement as they thought about their head teacher¡¯s words. The words ¡°suppress their generation¡± ringing in their ears over and over. It was an achievement that had never been done before, and chances are, it would never be done again. If they were successful, their names would likely go down in history for generations to come. Thinking to there, each of them answered in unison. ¡°YES, WE CAN!¡± ¡°Good,¡± Mathias nodded with pride, thanking his lucky stars for getting such a capable bunch for his school¡¯s first cohort! ¡°Then let¡¯s go show the world the invincible might of our Yin-Yang Pavilion!¡± No more words needed to be said; each of the students rolled out with their chosen instructor towards their individual targets. It went without saying that Ace¡¯s group was both the biggest and the strongest, with two saint-level beings going, but with Ace¡¯s knack for causing trouble and the potential dangers involved, it made sense. The two saints in Ace¡¯s group were Arianna and Carter ¨C the bloody-eyed mane lion ¨C and sitting on Carter¡¯s back was his son ¨C Leo, Ace¡¯s subordinate ¨C Cirulus, Lance, Milianna, and the main man, Ace. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Milianna asked as she stroked her son¡¯s hair. ¡°100%!¡± Ace replied with a calm confidence before turning to face his mother¡¯s elegant face, a hint of worry and concern colouring his features. ¡°What about you? It¡¯s not too late to turn back¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me,¡± Milianna smiled gently. She would be lying if she said she wasn¡¯t nervous and scared, but more than anything else, she was determined! She was determined to no longer be that cowering woman she had been these last 16 years! ¡°Plus, this isn¡¯t just a coming out for the Pavilion,¡± Milianna said resolutely. ¡°This is the stage our Gol family comes out to the world; how can I, Gol D. Milianna, not be there?¡± After learning the truth about her son¡¯s mysterious past life, she decided to support him by taking his true father¡¯s name. As an orphan, she never had a last name, so it was no skin off her back, but her choice meant the world to Ace. A radiant smile lit up Ace¡¯s face when he heard that. His mother¡¯s decision that day was the best gift he had ever been given in either life. Even though he didn¡¯t regret taking his previous mother¡¯s name in his last life, since reconciling his emotions, he wanted to do something to show how much he loved his father. He didn¡¯t know if Roger was looking down watching him, but if he was, he wanted to do something that would make him proud. Book 5: Chapter 27 – Someone Stronger The O¡¯Brien Empire was as prosperous as ever, with each of their proud citizens going on with their days the same as usual, not knowing that the seemingly ordinairy dark-haired teen casually walking through the capital on his own was preparing to use their empire as a stepping stone. Ace¡¯s first challenge was against the War God¡¯s Academy, and although renowned for producing some of the greatest warriors, it didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to Ace. As such, Arianna decided it was best for Ace to make this initial challenge on his own so as not to scare them. They would reconvene and move together only when he was challenging the War God¡¯s College, as that would be the main event. ¡°So this is it, huh?¡± Ace said as he looked at the imposing gates of the college. ¡°Quite the sight, isn¡¯t it?¡± A middle-aged man asked as he saw Ace staring. ¡°It¡¯s the dream school of just about every youth in our incredible empire.¡± Ace didn¡¯t say anything; he just calmly listened as the man continued talking at him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel too bad about not getting in,¡± the man said, thinking Ace was a youth who had failed to enter as he wasn¡¯t wearing their uniform. ¡°They only accept the best of the best. Too many children end up heartbroken every year, failing to pass the entry test. Even I myself fai¡­ Hey kid, where are you going? I wouldn¡¯t get too close; the guards are authorised to use force on all non-invited guests.¡± Ace had wanted to stand in silence and get lost in his thoughts. He had no interest in listening to the meaningless speech of some random passerby. As such, all he could do was start his assignment a little earlier than he would¡¯ve liked. Not that it mattered much. ¡°Oi, Kid,¡± the head guard ¨C a warrior in the early stages of the sixth rank ¨C called out when he saw Ace strolling towards them, not wearing the uniform. ¡°The academy doesn¡¯t take walk-ins. Leave now before you¡¯re forced to leave.¡± ¡°Are you deaf?¡± The guard said as he took a step forward to intercept the ignorant teen who seemed adamant about ignoring his kind warning. ¡°Fine, we can do it the hard way!¡± ¡°Kids these days¡­¡± The middle-aged civilian sighed when he saw the guard¡¯s body blur as he shot towards the teen. ¡°They¡¯re too impulsive.¡± Ace could¡¯ve chosen the peaceful method and told them of his reason for being here today, but the chances of that working were slim to none, and even if it did, it would take too long. The quickest way to accomplish the first part of his assignment was through brute force. Even as the guard darted towards him, Ace maintained a very leisurely pace as he made his way towards the front gate. ¡°Foolish brat!¡± The guard snorted as he threw his right fist towards Ace¡¯s temple, believing he was moving too quickly for his target¡¯s eyes to follow. ¡°This¡¯ll tea¡­ Ugh!¡± Ace¡¯s actions had caught the attention of several civilians walking past, each of whom expected Ace to be dealt with easily, but what happened next took them all by surprise. None of them was particularly strong, so they weren¡¯t capable of following Ace¡¯s movements. All they saw was the head guard¡¯s fist near the teen¡¯s temple before he was somehow sent flying back, crashing into the front gate. Ace still didn¡¯t say a word as he walked straight through the now ¡®open¡¯ gates onto the academy¡¯s premises. ¡°Hmm, that way seems to have the biggest congregation of students,¡± Ace mumbled to himself, completely ignoring the shock and disbelief of not just the crowd but also the other guards, whose job it was to prevent incidents like this. Having come to a decision, Ace¡¯s body disappeared at a speed that none of them could follow, leaving nothing but an afterimage in his place. ¡°Should¡­ Shouldn¡¯t we do something?¡± Another of the guards asked as he stared at the unconscious body of his superior. ¡°Right,¡± Another of the guards said, deciding to take charge of what was left of the situation. ¡°Get Kanaru and make sure he¡¯s okay; I¡¯m going to find one of the instructors!¡± At the same time, in the middle of the academy¡¯s campus, there were several youths crowding around a large 100x100 meter ring, watching the two warriors on stage as they prepared to begin their fight. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± A dark-haired teen asked one of the spectators curiously. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The spectator asked as he turned around only to find the dark-haired teen dressed in a plain black pair of cargo pants and a plain white shirt instead of their standard issue uniform. ¡°Ooh, I¡¯m guessing you just returned from leave,¡± The spectator said, believing Ace had just returned from leave and hadn¡¯t had time to return to his accommodation and get changed back into his uniform. After all, it made more sense than him having just forcibly entered the grounds and waltzing over as if he owned the school. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long you¡¯ve been away, but Kalia, our eighth-ranked dragon, just returned from her yearlong training exercise in the mountain range of magical beasts and immediately challenged Merton, who¡¯s ranked fourth,¡± The spectator explained excitedly. Ace hadn¡¯t known a lot about the inner workings of the War God¡¯s Academy previously, but during his stroll through the capital, he had come to understand that the War God¡¯s Academy¡¯s ten young dragons were their ten most powerful students. Apparently, the only way to enter the War God¡¯s College was to graduate as one of the young dragons, but as there were thousands of students, the competition could be imagined. Each of the ten was the very best of the best¡­ Or at least they were if you didn¡¯t include the disciples of the Yin-Yang Pavilions. Ace¡¯s interest was piqued when he heard the teen¡¯s explanation, but the more he watched, the quicker he lost interest. Still, he calmly let them finish. The cold-faced blonde-haired girl, Kalia, appeared to be around 16/17 and had reached the peak of the fifth rank, an achievement that even Ace had to admit wasn¡¯t bad. Her opponent, Merton, appeared to be a year or two older and was also at the peak of the fifth rank. The main difference between them appeared to be in their levels of comprehension. Kalia wielded her light-weighted rapier as though it were lighter, whilst Merton skilfully changed between wielding his halberd as though it were lighter to wielding it as though it were heavy. It allowed him to steadily suppress his opponent with a calm but grating smile on his face. ¡°Kalia had done well to catch up with Merton in terms of realm over the last year, but their weapon comprehension is too different.¡± One of the more senior spectators assessed with a sigh. It was evident that many agreed with the teen¡¯s assessment, but Ace didn¡¯t. He could see that although Kalia appeared to be on the losing side, she remained calm and composed. That on its own didn¡¯t mean much, but when added to the fact that she hadn¡¯t received so much a single injury, Ace knew she was playing the pig to eat the tiger. ¡°That Kalia¡¯s not bad,¡± Ace praised. ¡°Better than that Merton guy.¡± Though his words sounded more condescending than anything else. ¡°Are you blind?¡± Another of the spectators chided. ¡°Can¡¯t you see she¡¯s about to lose?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just about over,¡± Ace stated casually, not paying the teen scolding him any attention. The teen was just about to respond when he heard the gasps of shock from his peers. Turning his head back, he saw something that left him with his mouth open. Not only had Kalia comprehended both states of wielding, she had even fused them. The moment she erupted with her true strength, Merton was instantly defeated. ¡°Not bad at all,¡± Ace nodded, understanding that Kalia hadn¡¯t been holding back to embarrass her opponent but to train her swordsmanship further. Ace had truly meant it as praise, but because of his age and the fact that he was completely unknown, it was grating on the ears of all who heard him. ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± The teen from before asked. ¡°Why does it sound like you think you could do better than senior Kalia?¡± Ace glanced lightly at the youth before turning back to the stage. To the others, it came across that Ace was too scared to even reply, but the youth in question had sweat dripping down his back as he was overwhelmed by fear. The fact that he reacted in such a way to a teen who looked even younger than him was embarrassing, but by the time he recollected himself, the dark-haired teen in question had leapt into the air, gracefully landing on the stage. ¡°Who are you?¡± Kalia asked coolly when she saw an unknown teen land on the stage. ¡°My name¡¯s Ace,¡± the teen replied with a smile. ¡°What the hell do you want, kid?¡± Merton barked, still pissed off about his embarrassing loss. ¡°I¡¯m here on behalf of the Yin-Yang Pavilion to challenge the War God¡¯s Academy,¡± Ace calmly announced, allowing his voice to be heard by all those present. Like the teen from earlier, everyone initially believed that Ace was a student who, for whatever reason, wasn¡¯t wearing his uniform, but from his words just now, it was clear he wasn¡¯t a student at all. ¡°How did you get in?¡± An instructor asked coldly as he leapt on stage, appearing directly before the intruder. ¡°I walked in,¡± Ace shrugged, a teasing smile playing across his face. ¡°I came here today to challenge the War God¡¯s Academy, but if you¡¯re too scared, you just need to say so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re unqualified!¡± The instructor replied, trying his best not to lose his temper in the face of Ace¡¯s blatant provocation. ¡°Is that your way of saying you¡¯re scared?¡± Ace asked back curiously as though he genuinely wanted to know. ¡°Shut up and come with me, you little¡­¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Merton called out frostily, stopping the instructor from grabbing the intruder. ¡°Since he¡¯s here to challenge us, I¡¯ll give him exactly what he¡¯s looking for. If he was to leave just like that, rumours might start to spread that we warriors of the academy were scared.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± Ace praised sincerely. ¡°But you¡¯re too weak; call someone stronger!¡± ¡°What about me?¡± Kalia asked icily as she glared at the dark-haired teen. Until now, she had remained indifferent, but Ace¡¯s arrogance was starting to cross her bottom line as a senior student of the Academy. ¡°Still not enough,¡± Ace shook his head sincerely. ¡°Just die already!¡± Merton roared impatiently as he swung his halberd with unbridled wrath. The moment Merton took action, everyone believed that Ace would lose his head. Not that they cared; it was his own fault for acting so arrogantly. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. Merton held nothing back; his halberd tore through the air like a bolt of lightning as he infused his comprehension of wielding heavy as though it were light, aiming to sever Ace¡¯s head from his neck and considering it was so sudden, no one believed Ace could even react, let alone dodge, but to Ace, who was used to fighting experts in the ninth rank, it may as well have been in slow motion. Before anyone could even react, Merton¡¯s body was sent hurtling through the air, crashing into the crowd gathering around the ring. ¡°See,¡± Ace sighed helplessly. ¡°This is why I told you to call someone stronger.¡± Book 5: Chapter 28 – Ace Challenges the War God’s Academy The silence caused by Merton¡¯s abrupt loss was deafening. No one foresaw such a result, but Ace¡¯s words managed to bring them back to reality. It was only as they took another look at the youngster on the ring that they began to take his words seriously. After losing to Kalia, Merton was currently ranked fifth in the academy, but the mysterious teen had managed to not only defeat him, he did it with a single move ¨C with no weapon at that! As surprised as the others were, Kalia was by far the most shocked. She had stood closer than anyone, and yet she hadn¡¯t noticed Ace move until it was too late. The moment he moved, she could sense that he, like them was at the peak of the fifth rank, but that made it all the more confusing. The fact that he had reached such a level despite being even younger than her was nothing short of astonishing, but for him to also have the ability to defeat Merton with such ease¡­ It was simply unbelievable! ¡®Only those in the top three stand a chance against him,¡¯ Kalia noted, acknowledging that she really wasn¡¯t his match. ¡°So, who¡¯s gonna get a higher-ranked lizard?¡± Ace asked mockingly. Everyone wanted to skin Ace alive for his insolence, but it was clear that none present was his match, so all they could do was glare at him in silence. ¡°That¡¯s enough of your arrogance,¡± The instructor said as he drew the heavy sword on his back. ¡°Come with me before I make you!¡± Truth be told, at this point, the instructor desperately wanted one of the students to defeat him. Otherwise, it would tarnish the reputation of the academy, but like Kalia, he also understood that outside the top three, there was likely none that could even hope to match him. Still, he couldn¡¯t just allow the boy to remain standing on stage with his head held high. All he could do was forcibly drag him off the stage and imprison him until his superiors devised a plan of how to move forward. ¡°What was it you said to me earlier?¡± Ace asked as he scratched the side of his face, pretending as though he couldn¡¯t remember. ¡°Ahh, right. That was it. You¡¯re unqualified!¡± ¡°Your insolence truly knows no bounds!¡± The instructor yelled as he lunged for Ace, uncaring about the fact that Ace was unarmed as he swung his sword. Unlike Kalia and Merton, the instructor¡¯s comprehension was wholly underwhelming, having only comprehended ¡®one with the sword¡¯, but as he was at the early stages of the seventh rank, the power of his attack was far superior to anything either Merton or even Kalia was capable of. Still, his target remained unimpressed. Ace casually raised his right hand to meet the blade causing all the onlookers to look at him as though he were an idiot. From his earlier performance, they knew he was an elite, but still, attempting to block a sword from a high-ranking warrior with his bare hands was nothing short of suicidal. But they were left speechless when they saw the sword slow enough for Ace¡¯s index finger and thumb to clamp it in place. A few of them even began to wonder if this was all staged. ¡°Why does no one ever listen to me?¡± Ace sighed to himself, ignoring the shock of the audience. ¡°Now¡­ About calling those higher-ranked lizards.¡± The students might not understand what happened, but as it happened to him, how could the crimson-armoured instructor not understand? ¡°Im¡­ Impo¡­ Impose,¡± the man stammered in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯ve comprehended impose?¡± Ace directly ignored the man¡¯s question, too lazy to answer something so obvious, but the other students were shocked speechless by their instructor¡¯s revelation. As students of the continent¡¯s leading warrior school, they were all well aware of the different realms of comprehension for warriors. They knew exactly what it meant to have comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯, but that¡¯s what made it so shocking. ¡°How is that even possible?¡± One of the students asked aloud. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look any older than 15?¡± Another said. ¡°If instructor Cameron is right, wouldn¡¯t that mean he¡¯s equal to Young Master Blumer?¡± ¡°No, even if he has comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯ like Blumer, Blumer¡¯s already become a warrior at the early stages of the seventh rank,¡± another student interjected, reminding everyone not to underestimate their first-ranked young dragon. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Still, Blumer¡¯s almost 19 and only just comprehended it recently,¡± another of the students said, unable to take his eyes off the little monster on stage. ¡°At this rate, it¡¯ll only be a couple of years before he surpasses Blumer.¡± ¡°Maybe, but don¡¯t forget about Wharton. He may not have comprehended Impose, but with the support of his Dragonwarrior transformation, he¡¯s only a little worse than Blumer, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that he¡¯s still younger than Blumer and this Ace kid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, and with the strength shown so far, it might not even take Blumer to defeat him,¡± Another student added. ¡°Wharton might be able to beat him as well. When they heard that, many of the listening students couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief. The thought that a random unknown student from some unheard-of school had surpassed all of their most powerful students was deeply unsettling. ¡°Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself, kid,¡± Cameron shouted as he leapt back, putting some space between him and his young opponent after finally getting over his shock. ¡°Since you insist on resisting, don¡¯t blame me for what happens next.¡± As the instructor said that, an earthy brown aura coated his body and sword, letting everyone know he was going all out from now on. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to be a little more direct with my approach,¡± Ace muttered to himself as he watched Cameron shoot towards him like a cannonball. Cameron had barely covered half the distance when he felt as though all of his internal organs had just exploded. Before he could even figure out what had happened, the senior warrior had already collapsed on both knees, violently struggling to breathe only to cough more and more blood. The last thing he noticed before losing consciousness was the image of Ace¡¯s body fading into the wind as his afterimage disappeared. Ace could no longer be bothered to waste time. As such, he decided to make a show of this instructor. Using his mastery of his [Armament Haki], Ace used [Internal Destruction] to ignore the man¡¯s battle-qi and completely ravage the man¡¯s insides. But that wasn¡¯t all; in that brief exchange, Ace showed that his speed was no less impressive than his comprehension. Although Amira was definitely the fastest among the pavilion disciples, Ace was a close second. Even without using his flames to increase his speed when using [Soru], his mastery of the movement technique more than eclipsed the rest of his classmates. If it wasn¡¯t for Amira¡¯s ability to use multiple wind-based spells to increase her speed, not even she would be able to keep up with Ace. Ace¡¯s jet-black eyes had gone from playful and lazy to cold and indifferent as he scanned the crowd who didn¡¯t dare to make eye contact with him. ¡°I, GOL D. ACE, OF THE YIN-YANG PAVILLION, CHALLENGES ANY MEMBER OF THE WAR GOD¡¯S ACADEMY,¡± Ace bellowed so loud that even those outside the campus could hear. ¡°BE IT STUDENT OR TEACHER!¡± ¡®That ought to do it,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he waited for newcomers to arrive. He didn¡¯t think it¡¯d take long, but even he was surprised when he saw such a large group arrive within seconds of his challenge declaration, but when he saw the familiar face of one of the guards that had been outside earlier with them, he put two and two together. The man in the front, Falner, was the head of the discipline committee and at the late stages of the eighth rank. When he heard that an intruder had so brazenly entered their grounds, he decided to personally head the search party, not caring that they were just a teen; he was determined to make an example of them for the rest of the world to see to prevent anything like this from happening again in the future, but when he heard the teen¡¯s shout just moments ago, he couldn¡¯t help but falter. After the war against the Rohault Empire almost a year ago, the name Gol D. Ace had been all anyone could talk about for the few months that followed. Many believed that the rumours had been greatly embellished by their enemies in the Rohault Empire to make themselves seem more imposing than they actually were. And between the fact that the current emperor had ordered all the soldiers who had made it home from that battle to keep quiet about the events that took place that day so as not to add to the boy¡¯s fame, and that Sabre had also done everything possible to keep a lid on the fact that so many of their bases had been destroyed by two teens, it allowed the name Ace to become a distant memory. But Falner was different. As a warrior at the peak of the eighth rank, he was a member of the Empire¡¯s upper echelon. He knew for a fact that the rumours weren¡¯t exaggerated in the slightest. As his eyes met the deep, abyss-like eyes of the youth in the ring, he couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Still, as a loyal member of the O¡¯Brien Empire, and a devoted member of the War God¡¯s Academy, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to show fear here. ¡°Young man,¡± Falner voiced stoically as he steadily made his way to the ring, with the students around him parting to make way for the fearful head of the discipline committee. ¡°There¡¯s a way to do things; if you wish to make a challenge on behalf of your institution, then you should go through the proper channels.¡± Many were surprised by how Falner was addressing the teen on stage. It had to be understood that as the head of the discipline committee, he was in charge of dealing out punishment for all who broke the academy¡¯s rules. Inside the Academy¡¯s grounds, his words were law! Even though he hadn¡¯t exactly lowered his head and taken a subservient approach, the fact that he was addressing a teen as though they were equals was still enough to shock the other students. Still, there were a few that remembered the myths of ¡°Gol D. Ace¡±. Even though they didn¡¯t believe it, they understood there was no smoke without fire, and just from the talent he had exhibited so far, it was clear that, at the very least, Ace being a prodigy was undeniable. ¡°Are all of you idiots from the O¡¯Brien Empire all bark and no bite?¡± Ace asked lazily. ¡°Let me put it in a way that you can understand, either accept my challenge or scram!¡± Falner had been more than polite with his words; he had expected Ace to take the olive branch laid out for him. Instead, he had been scolded so publicly. He couldn¡¯t remember the last time anyone had ever dared to address him in such a manner. ¡°Since you insist on courting death, allow me to help you,¡± Falner declared as he summoned a seven-foot halberd from his storage ring, coating it and him in a blazing crimson battle-qi. ¡°I have long since wanted to verify the rumours about you for myself!¡± ¡°Sir Falner,¡± A handsome young man dressed in a blue warrior outfit, carrying a long sword on his back, called out. ¡°Allow me to be the one to accept the challenge of the unruly child.¡± Book 5: Chapter 29 – Overwhelming Display Of Power ¡®He must be Blumer,¡¯ Ace thought to himself upon seeing the resemblance between him and Olivier. ¡°Young master Blumer,¡± Falner replied respectfully. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Blumer was the younger brother of the most talented warrior their empire had produced in the last era, and although not quite as talented as his older brother, Blumer would definitely go on to surpass him in the not-so-distant future, and as they were of the same empire, Falner had no qualms about lowering his head. Still, the opponent this time was someone who was suspected of having the power of a ninth-rank expert. If that¡¯s true, then he doubted even he was his match. Falner suddenly found himself between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he didn¡¯t want to offend Blumer by rejecting him in public; plus, he didn¡¯t particularly want to deal with the little devil that is Gol D. Ace. But on the other hand, if he allowed Blumer to go up and anything happened to him, he couldn¡¯t afford to face the retribution of the young man¡¯s older brother. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Blumer calmly replied, able to guess what the man was thinking. ¡°Consider this a farewell gift for the school that played such a major role in making me the man I am today.¡± ¡°You¡¯re applying for early graduation?¡± Falner asked, understanding the hidden meaning behind the young man¡¯s words. ¡°I am,¡± Blumer nodded calmly, his confirmation coming as a shock to all his peers. ¡°I have long since met the requirements to join the War God¡¯s College. I was only waiting previously as I wanted to be as strong as possible before entering, but my older brother told me that I was already strong enough.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Falner nodded. ¡°Lord Olivier¡¯s right; staying here any longer will only delay your progress.¡± Blumer nodded calmly before turning his indifferent gaze to the dark-haired teen on stage. ¡°But before I go, please allow me to do this one final thing on behalf of the Academy.¡± Blumer didn¡¯t even wait for Falner¡¯s response as he gracefully leapt over the crowd, elegantly landing in the ring just ten meters away from his opponent. ¡°Fine,¡± Falner agreed, knowing that Blumer had already made his mind up. ¡°But since this is an official battle between the students of two schools, I will act as the referee.¡± Ace chuckled inwardly when he heard that. There was nothing official about this battle. It was obvious that Falner had no intention of being a referee; he simply wanted to be close enough to act in case something happened to their number one student ¨C not that it mattered. Falner was just about to signal for the fight to begin when an aged but powerful voice rang in the ears of all those present. ¡°Step back, Falner,¡± The voice commanded. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to referee this battle.¡± As if he had teleported, a burly man who appeared to be in his mid-30s appeared on stage. His sudden appearance had shocked everyone but Ace, who had sensed his rapidly approaching presence from a mile away. He was just at the early stages of the ninth rank, but as Ace looked at him, he felt a slight threat. Even before his most recent breakthrough, Ace¡¯s strength had surpassed that level, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel a hint of surprise as he looked at the man, but with Ace¡¯s love for battle, that surprise quickly turned to anticipation. ¡°Not bad,¡± Ace smiled fiendishly. ¡°You should be the one to fight me!¡± ¡°Insolence!¡± Falner barked. ¡°Head Talore isn¡¯t someone the likes of you can challenge!¡± It was impossible not to hear the Discipline Head¡¯s shouts, but Ace seemed to completely disregard the man as he eyed the head of the Academy as though he was a predator who had just found his prey. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Still, the man in question didn¡¯t so much bat an eyelid at Ace¡¯s challenge. Like Falner, he knew full well the rumours of Ace weren¡¯t mere rumours. Not only was he the head of the Academy, but he was also the close and personal friend of Olivier Akerlund. He had heard straight from Olivier¡¯s mouth about Ace¡¯s unbelievable prowess, so he wasn¡¯t surprised about Ace¡¯s lack of interest in the rest of the personnel in the Academy. What he was surprised by was the dangerous aura Ace was giving off. Talore wasn¡¯t your average early ninth-rank warrior; his ability also allowed him to jump ranks to defeat those above him, and yet his senses honed by all his years on the battlefield were screaming at him that the teen in front of him was a threat. Still, not even a ripple could be seen on his indifferent exterior. ¡°If you can defeat Blumer, I will accept your challenge,¡± Talore replied calmly. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± Ace laughed excitedly. Blumer didn¡¯t say a word as he watched Ace all but disregard his presence, but the trembling of his clenched fists explained exactly how he was feeling. He was there when Olivier told Talore about Ace, and truth be told, he hadn¡¯t actually said much on the topic. When asked if the rumours were true, Olivier neither confirmed nor denied them; all he said was that Ace was the most talented child he had ever seen. Talore knew how proud his friend was, and so his admitting that may as well told the Academy head that not only were the rumours true, they likely didn¡¯t do Ace justice. Blumer, on the other hand, put his brother on a pedestal. As far as he was concerned, Olivier was the most talented person their Empire had ever seen. So when he heard Olivier¡¯s words, a burning desire to defeat Ace and quell those rumours once and for all was born. Even if Olivier was right, and Ace was more talented than even his brother, he refused to believe that he could jump ranks to defeat him, someone two ranks above him, a genius also capable of defeating the strong as the weak. Both Ace and Talore noticed Blumer¡¯s change in mood, but neither said anything. Ace couldn¡¯t be bothered to care for the young man¡¯s emotions, and as for Talore, he knew this was something Blumer needed to face on his own. ¡°This is just a friendly battle between the students of two schools,¡± Talore said. ¡°Anyone attempting to use lethal force will be stopped and penalised.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Blumer replied, slowly drawing the longsword on his back. Even though he appeared to be addressing both boys, Ace was clear that it was a subtle warning for him. Still, he nodded casually before lazily waiting for the fight to begin. ¡°Draw your weapon,¡± Blumer called out. ¡°If it was your brother, I might consider it,¡± Ace shook his head. ¡°But for you¡­ There¡¯s no need.¡± Blumer¡¯s brows twitched as the veins on the side of his head pulsed. He was Blumer Akerlund, one of the most talented warriors of his generation, the younger brother of Oliver Akerlund, the prodigy sword saint! He had never been looked at with such blatant disregard, and yet the boy in front of him seemed determined to do exactly that with every chance he got. ¡°Your arrogance truly knows no bounds,¡± Blumer voiced icily as he forcibly reigned in his anger, knowing how important this battle was, not only for his future, but also for his family¡¯s legacy. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t regret your decision.¡± As he said that, a golden battle-qi coated his body, only adding to his regal and commanding aura as he silently waited for the signal for the match to begin. Sensing the rising tension, Talore held back his sigh and nodded. ¡°Begin!¡± Blumer¡¯s body moved like a flash of light appearing directly in front of Ace in the blink of an eye. ¡®So he already mastered the movement technique Olivier created for his Lightshadow Sword Art¡­¡¯ Talore nodded with appreciation when he saw near instantaneously close the gap. ¡®Unfortunately, the gap between them can¡¯t be closed so easily.¡¯ Blumer believed he had caught his opponent off guard as Ace seemed unable to react, but just as his sword arced through the air, he found his consciousness suddenly waning. Blumer went from viciously closing in on his opponent to stumbling past him, desperately fighting to remain awake, but before he could shake off his sudden onset of drowsiness, he felt the side of Ace¡¯s hand chop into the back of his neck. Looking down at the unconscious blonde-haired teen whose neck was firmly in his grasp, Ace had to admit that he was far from a match in terms of speed. Forget him; not even Mira would be able to touch him in a contest of speed. In another situation, Ace would have loved to have been able to push Blumer to his limits so he could gleam as much as he could from such a profound movement technique, but Arianna had already told him that if he wanted to create as much of an impact for the Pavilion as possible, all his fights at the War God¡¯s Academy needed to be won with an overwhelming display of force. For this reason, Ace showed everyone that although important, speed wasn¡¯t the be-all and end-all, especially when the opponent can follow your movement as if you were moving in slow-motion. The moment Blumer neared, he was hit by a wave of Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], allowing him to casually knock him out and grab him by the neck. Still, even though he was slightly impressed by Blumer¡¯s show of overwhelming speed, that was all it was. What he was far more interested in was his next challenge. ¡°Now,¡± Ace said, his enthusiastic voice cutting through the stunned silence of the spectators as he turned his head towards the head of the academy, casually tossing the unconscious teen back into the crowd. ¡°About our fight¡­¡± Book 5: Chapter 30 – Ace Vs. the Head of the War God’s Academy At that moment, whether it was the instructors or the students, there wasn¡¯t a single person who could believe what they had just seen ¨C not even Talore! ¡®That must be the mysterious ability he used to knock out over half our army a year ago,¡¯ Talore thought to himself as his eyes remained firmly trained on Ace, a hint of a frown appearing on his face as he replayed the scene of Blumer almost losing consciousness over and over in his mind. ¡®Was it really not a spiritual attack?¡¯ According to the reports, Ace¡¯s soul had already reached the saint level, which would explain why he, as a warrior of the ninth rank, would fail to feel the spiritual attack of someone at that level, but he also knew that not even Lanke ¨C the saint who went with them at the time ¨C was able to detect the presence of spiritual essence at the time. ¡®Lord Lanke¡¯s a peak saint. The only way he would fail to sense the soul attack of another being is if they were at or nearing the deity realm,¡¯ Talore noted mentally. ¡®And if the soul of this Ace kid had reached such a level, the power of his spells would¡¯ve easily been able to reach the saint level even if he had been at the fourth rank at the time¡­¡¯ The more Talore thought about it, the less it made sense. He had never heard of such a mystical ability! Still, he knew that if not even a saint like Lanke could figure out the truth behind it, then he stood no chance. As such, a calm sigh escaped his mouth as he steadily summoned a large jet-black sabre, the blade of which was almost 6 feet. ¡°Come!¡± The headmaster said, his voice booming like the roars of thunder, despite having spoken so softly. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m gonna have to get a little serious after all,¡± Ace sighed, not seeming to realise the corners of his mouth had arced up in excitement. ¡°His arrogance is infuriating,¡± One of the students growled. ¡°C¡¯mon, headmaster Talore,¡± Another of the students cheered. ¡°Show him the invincible might of our O¡¯Brien Empire!¡± One by one, all the spectators, including some civilians who had snuck in to see what was happening after hearing all the ruckus from outside, began cheering for Talore, wanting him to hurry up and win this fight. What they didn¡¯t realise was that despite their good intentions, it made Talore feel more shame than anything else. He was the headmaster of the most prestigious institution for young warriors, but not one of his students nor his staff could face this young teen. The last time anything like this happened in the empire, it was that mysterious Wukong who challenged and defeated all the students of the War God¡¯s College, himself included, but this was the first time the Academy had suffered such a fate, and it just had to be under his watch. For the reputation of the Academy, for the glory of his Empire, and most importantly, for his own pride, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose this! Talore entered his battle stance, allowing a flickering purple battle-qi to cover his body and weapon, ignoring the fact that Ace still hadn¡¯t taken out his weapon, refusing to let the arrogance of his opponent interfere with his state of mind. The truth was, Ace wasn¡¯t trying to be arrogant. It was just that although he had more or less recovered from his earlier use of [Imposing Devourment], his body still wasn¡¯t quite 100%. So, unless absolutely necessary, he didn¡¯t want to clash directly with such a powerful warrior. Plus, there were still a few things he wanted to try out. ¡°I¡¯m ready whenever y¡­¡± Ace didn¡¯t even get to finish his sentence before Talore shot forth at a speed that made Blumer look like a sloth. The man¡¯s lightning-coated blade appeared before Ace in the blink of an eye, but before he could finish his attack, his eyes widened, and he hurriedly shifted from attack to evasion, jumping back as fast as he could. ¡°[Blazing Ring of Fire]!¡± Ace exclaimed as a crimson ring of highly condensed flames expanded out of him like a ripple of water with him at the epicentre. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Seeing that he was coming to the end of the ring and that his students and subordinates were behind him, Talore forcibly came to a halt and slashed his sabre at the ring of fire, cutting it apart and dispersing it before it could do damage, but before he could relax, he felt another incoming attack, this one significantly more powerful than the last. ¡°[Fire Fist!¡± Ace called out as he thrust his fire-coated fist forward, allowing a large pillar of flames to jet forth, aiming to incinerate everything in its path. ¡°EVERYONE GET BACK!¡± Talore roared as he moved to meet the incoming giant blazing fist fast approaching. ¡°NOW!¡± Talore clicked his teeth in frustration as he was forced to meet another attack head-on that he would¡¯ve preferred to dodge. Still, although these attacks had been powerful, their might was only at the early stages of the ninth rank. Infusing his attacks with [Impose], he was calmly able to cut the fiery pillar in two, giving him a clear path towards his opponent. Ace could clearly see the man¡¯s intentions from the expression on his face. Still, his expression remained light as he flicked his wrist up, simultaneously calling out the name of his next attack. ¡°[Dance of the Fire Serpent!]¡± The headmaster¡¯s eyes turned to pinholes as he watched the flames he thought he had dealt with instantly morph into ten, ten-meter-long, incredibly life-like fiery serpents. ¡°The rumours¡­¡± A member of the audience mumbled in disbelief. ¡°The rumours about ¡®Gol D. Ace¡¯¡­ They¡¯re really true.¡± ¡°How is this possible?¡± Another asked, rubbing his eyes as though he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. ¡°How could a teenager possibly be so strong?¡± Blumer, who was currently being held on the shoulder of the head of the discipline committee, just woke up in time to see his headmaster, a being who was one of the most powerful mortals he had ever met, moving like lightning, barely evading almost a dozen fiery snakes. Looking back at the youth who had handed him his first-ever defeat from someone in their generation, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists and grit his teeth in silent indignation as he felt his world was being turned upside down. As far as he was concerned, his brother wasn¡¯t simply the most talented person of his generation; he was the most talented person the world had ever seen. In his eyes, Olivier would soon break through to the saint realm and then, in time, become their Empire¡¯s second deity and even surpass O¡¯Brien himself, becoming the most powerful man on the continent. The belief he held in his ¡®peerless¡¯ older brother could be imagined, but now¡­ As much as he hated to admit it, he had never met or heard of anyone with such heaven-defying talent. At that moment, there was nothing he wanted more than for Ace to suffer a temporary lapse in concentration for just enough time so that headmaster Talore could defeat and kill Gol D. Ace so that nothing could stand in the way of his brother and family¡¯s future. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed! Ace calmly stood in the middle of the ring, seemingly have not moved a single step since their fight, casually flicking his hands to control the fiery constructs as they encircled his headmaster. Talore couldn¡¯t get anywhere near Ace; he was too focused on avoiding these giant flaming snakes, hoping Ace would run out of mageforce soon. Evading was the only thing he could do; he had already tried to destroy them, but every time he cut one of them in two, they would reform into two perfectly formed fire serpents, just as strong as the others. It was frustrating beyond belief, but there was nothing he could do. Still, although powerful, these flame constructs weren¡¯t particularly fast, and as a warrior of the ninth rank, he could keep this up all day, and as much of a monster as Ace was, he refused to believe that his mageforce was limitless. Talore was right in his assessment of his juvenile opponent. Ace¡¯s one drawback was his realm. Because of his ability, he tended to fight those whose realm far surpassed his, meaning whether it was mageforce, battle-qi, or stamina, Ace couldn¡¯t compare. But after completely comprehending the profound mystery of the essence of fire, his manipulation of fire reached a whole new level allowing him to control more fire using less mageforce. Still, at this rate, Ace would definitely be the one to tire first, but thankfully he had done enough testing to feel satisfied. ¡°Time to finish this,¡± Ace voiced as he controlled the snakes to merge and transform. The moment Talore found his pursuers had stopped chasing him, he made a B-line straight for the teen in control of them. He could feel the former constructs merging into something far bigger and multiple times more powerful above his head, but he knew he didn¡¯t have time to care about that; the only thing on his mind was putting an end to the fight before Ace finished whatever he was preparing. As a lightning-based warrior, his speed, especially when travelling in a straight line, was incredible. Ace watched as the man broke the speed barrier in his attempt to close him down, but he didn¡¯t panic. Though not quite as fast, Ace¡¯s movements were no less explosive as he shot into the sky, leaving a trail of fire in his wake just before Talore¡¯s blade could reach him. Talore¡¯s thigh bulged as he prepared to leap into the sky to chase after him, but as he looked up, he saw a sight he and everyone present and probably all those who lived in the capital, would never forget. Hovering above was a singular giant crimson snake that¡¯s body stretched for over 200 meters, blotting out the skies above the capital and casually standing just in front of it was a dark-haired youth who looked more like a young god of fire. ¡°Shall we continue?¡± Book 5: Chapter 31 – 28th Disciple In a secluded and peaceful corner of the O¡¯Brien capital sat a large and beautiful estate. That estate was the Akerlund Estate. Once upon a time, the Akerlund clan was one of the most prosperous and prominent clans of the O¡¯Brien Empire, but one day over a decade ago, on the way back from an event in a neighbouring territory, the Akerlunds were hit by a sudden ambush by one of their enemies. That ambush wiped out every single member of the Akerlund clan: everyone but Olivier and Blumer. At the time, Olivier had been no older than Blumer was now, and Blumer was a mere toddler. With the senior members of their family no longer around, everyone had expected the Akerlunds to fall, and for a while, that was what happened, but that day sparked the meteoric rise of Olivier ¨C The Prodigy Sword Saint. Olivier had always been a top-tier talent, even among the elites, but the death of his family and his burning desire for revenge transformed him from your average genius to a talent seen only once every thousand years. It had been 16 years since then, and not only had Olivier avenged the deaths of his family, he had also forced all the vultures who tried to take advantage of the diminishing might of the Akerlunds to bow down. That fateful day forced him to turn from a warm and cheerful teen to a cold and stoic man overnight. Olivier¡¯s cold and indifferent exterior made almost everyone around him uncomfortable. There were only two people Olivier allowed to see his warmer and more gentle side. The first was his best friend, Talore. The two of them had been best friends since they were toddlers. Although strangely enough, prior to the Akerlund massacre, Talore had been the more talented of the two. The second was his baby brother, Blumer. Olivier had always loved and doted on his little brother, but after their family¡¯s death, his protective nature magnified. He would die before he allowed any harm to come to his one remaining family member, so one could imagine how he felt upon seeing his baby brother¡¯s slightly dishevelled appearance and distraught expression as he and Talore entered the fields at the back of the Akerlund estate where he was training. ¡°Blumer?¡± Olivier asked as he re-sheathed his sword. ¡°What happened?¡± Blumer looked at his older brother, unable to find the words to reply immediately. ¡°We met that kid ¨C Gol D. Ace,¡± Talore explained, seeing the hesitation on Blumer. ¡°Today?¡± Olivier asked in surprise before his aura became especially cold. ¡°Did he hurt you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that,¡± Talore sighed when he saw his best friend¡¯s overprotective side threatening to rear its head. This wouldn¡¯t be the first time that Olivier¡¯s protective nature caused him to act out on impulse. Back when Blumer first joined the Academy, before he could grow into a powerful warrior who could handle himself, some of the older students whose families had grudges with the Akerlund clan took it upon themselves to try and bully him. Upon learning about what was happening to his baby brother, Olivier decided to make a point that no family of the Empire would dare forget. He singlehandedly forced his way into the estates of each of the daring families and beat each of their experts to within an inch of their lives. That was the day that each of the patriarchs of all families in their Empire passed down a message to each of their family members that Blumer was strictly off-limits. ¡°He came on behalf of his school to challenge the Academy,¡± Talore explained slowly. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I see,¡± Olivier nodded, able to guess the results of the challenge. Even though he would never let his brother be bullied, he also held the valiant pride of a true warrior. If it were a fair fight between Blumer and someone else of his generation, he wouldn¡¯t go searching to avenge his brother¡¯s loss. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding about his talent,¡± Talore sighed. ¡°In the end, even I was forced to admit defeat.¡± ¡°You were?!¡± Olivier¡¯s eyes widened. It had to be remembered that the last time he had seen that little monster, Ace had only been as strong as a warrior at the early stages of the ninth rank, and even that had been a bitter battle. He thought he was already being lenient with his estimations when he guessed Ace¡¯s strength had gone up by one sub-rank. After all, the gap between sub-ranks at the ninth rank was no joke, but this¡­ He knew full well just how strong his friend was; even though he was only at the early stages of the ninth rank, he was easily as strong as a peak ninth-rank warrior. The only mortals who could defeat Talore were those who held the power of a general. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even get close enough to land a single hit,¡± Talore sighed with a wry smile. ¡°And if what you said about him being a better warrior than mage is true, considering he didn¡¯t pick up his weapon even once, he was still holding back quite a bit.¡± It took Olivier several seconds before his thoughts finally calmed enough to speak. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Talore shrugged. ¡°After he dispersed that final spell, he disappeared into the skies.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Olivier said with a hint of disappointment. If Talore¡¯s words were true, Olivier guessed that Ace¡¯s strength must¡¯ve reached the power of a general, and by the sounds of it, he would be pretty strong even among the generals. His battle intent couldn¡¯t help but surge. During the war with the Rohault Empire, he had lost in his battle against General Kaymin, and with him now being a saint, he was even less of a match. Still, in the last year, stimulated by his loss, Olivier¡¯s strength had seen quite an improvement. He understood how strong General Kaymin had been at the time; still, if he got the opportunity to face him as he was back then, he was confident in his chances. ¡°Don¡¯t look so disappointed,¡± Talore smiled, knowing what this battle-hungry friend was thinking. ¡°Before he left, he said he¡¯d be going to challenge the students of the War God¡¯s College in two days.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Olivier replied, feelings of anticipation raising the corners of his lips. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I stepped out of the estate.¡± Rumours of Ace¡¯s arrival were spreading throughout the empire. Everyone was shocked to hear that the tales of the teen¡¯s power didn¡¯t appear to be exaggerated in the slightest, but more than that, they were ashamed that their world-renowned academy was unable to find anyone to be his match, even amongst the staff. Many were gearing up to head up War God¡¯s mountain to watch the outcome of the upcoming battle, praying that one of the geniuses there would be up to the task. Otherwise, it would be too humiliating. At the same time, a little outside the capital stood two enormous mountains, the peak of the taller piercing straight through the clouds. The shorter was War God Mountain, the home of the War God¡¯s College; the taller was Bluethunder Peak, the home of the War God¡¯s disciples. If one were to enter the secret tunnels embedded into Bluethunder Peak and follow them several kilometres, one would find yourself several hundred meters beneath ground level; the deeper one went, the hotter the temperature would become. At the end of those tunnels was a small man-made cave, and the temperature within was so hot that one would need the strength of a saint to barely resist. Currently inside were two men, the man closest to the jet-black marble doors was a tall and thin man with bright blue hair. That man was the War God¡¯s eldest disciple and one of the continent¡¯s few prime saints ¨C Fain. Opposite him was a man who stood at around five foot nine, with thick eyebrows and long scarlet hair that reached down to his waist, dressed in crimson robes that mysteriously seemed to be made of fire. He was the Empire¡¯s patron saint and Ace¡¯s biological father ¨C The War God O¡¯Brien! ¡°Ooh, so such a talented youth appeared?¡± O¡¯Brien asked with a hint of intrigue. ¡°According to the rumours, he¡¯ll be making his way to the college in two days to challenge the students,¡± Fain explained, having heard the rumours from an emissary of the royal family. ¡°Interesting,¡± O¡¯Brien replied, his usually stone-faced expression cracking to show a hint of amusement. ¡°I want you to watch the little competition personally. If he really is as talented as the rumours say, he can become my 28th disciple.¡± ¡°That might be a little difficult,¡± Fain replied with an amused smile. ¡°According to rumours, he was on the side of the Rohault Empire. It appears he has already sided against us.¡± ¡°Hmph! The Rohault Empire is only standing today because I allow them to be the tool that sharpens the soldiers of my Empire.¡± O¡¯Brien snorted disdainfully. ¡°I wonder if he¡¯d dare to reject the temptation to become the disciple of a deity because of some foolish sense of loyalty to a second-rate power.¡± Book 5: Chapter 32 – The Pavilion Announces Its Presence To The World Whilst Ace was causing quite the stir in the O¡¯Brien Empire, his classmates were doing the same thing in each of their chosen schools. Without fail, each of the ten students was able to defeat their targets in a domineering fashion. It was a day that everyone in the Yulan Continent would never forget ¨C especially those from the Dark Alliance. Osiris¡¯ task had been to challenge those of the Knights of the Night from the Dark Alliance, but unlike most other schools, this was a school owned and managed directly by the Cult of Shadows, allowing the cult to cherry-pick the very best young talents and groom them into devout cultists. Had this been an ordinairy institution for young warriors that just happened to be in the Cult of Shadow¡¯s territory, things likely would¡¯ve ended differently, but unfortunately, the Cult had already unknowingly provoked the Yin-Yang Pavilion the moment they attempted to capture Ace and control his mind. Even though Ace had said he would deal with them in the future, Mathias had already decided to make them suffer a bit in advance. It was part of the reason he chose Osiris for this mission. As the head of the Pavilion, he knew the history of each of his students. As such, he was well aware that Osiris had grown up in the dark alliance before being forced to run away from his home as a result of the Cult¡¯s actions. Before the fateful incident, Osiris had grown up in a stable and happy household, having a loving mother, father, and older sister. At the time, Osiris¡¯ father, Veraldo Leyran, had been the mayor of one of the weaker and more secluded towns in the Dark Alliance. Although he was relatively unknown throughout the alliance, he was loved and adored by his citizens because of his good nature and warm spirit. Unfortunately, it was that good nature that would go on to be his undoing. Whilst out with his two children, Veraldo stumbled upon a wounded man and decided to do the decent thing and take him back with them to nurse him back to life. Upon recovering, the man gratefully took his leave, but what none of them knew was that the man they had nursed back to full health had been an enemy of the Cult. It wasn¡¯t until a bishop of the Cult and a few of his subordinates arrived a few days later looking for the injured man that they understood how precarious of a position they were now in. Still, even though he was a Bishop, he wasn¡¯t omniscient. Knowing he had effectively committed a capital offence by unknowingly helping an enemy of his parent force, he did what anyone in his position would do and lied. Not knowing any better, the Bishop had believed Veraldo¡¯s lies, and that would¡¯ve been that had it not been for Osiris¡¯ scheming and ambitious older sister, Karmen Leyran, who wanted more from her life than to be the next mayor of a backwater town no one outside of it had even heard of. Seeing an opportunity for a brighter future, Karmen unhesitantly revealed to the Bishop that her father was lying and that the man had left a few days ago. Knowing he had been lied to, the Bishop captured the rest of the family and made them watch as he had his men massacre all of their town¡¯s residents. If that wasn¡¯t sadistic enough, the Bishop then had Karmen prove her loyalty by being the one to drive a sword through the hearts of both of her parents. Osiris¡¯ state of mind could be imagined. Seeing everyone he ever loved murdered right in front of him ¨C by his beloved older sister, no less ¨C caused him to swear he would kill them in the future. When he heard that, the sadistic Bishop decided to stop Karmen from killing her brother, believing it would be more fun for him to struggle through life wishing to get his revenge, only to die with a belly full of regret. With all that being said, one could imagine what would happen when Osiris was put in front of the young elites of the Cult of Shadows. When they arrived, Mathias had already told him he didn¡¯t need to hold back. Whatever happened, he would be there to support him. Understanding the hidden implications of Mathias¡¯ words, Osiris¡¯ challenge became a slaughter. Every young elite that dared to step on the ring, man or woman, found themself with an arrow between their brows. This had long since gone passed a simple battle between schools; this may as well be a declaration of war. Osiris had already fought and killed over ten opponents. The youth on stage was Idrim, the school¡¯s top student, a warrior at the peak of the sixth rank, but by the looks of it, not even he was a match for the silent archer. Despite an age difference of almost five years and a rank and a half difference in realm, Idrim found himself wholly outclassed. He had been so proud of himself, having comprehended both states of wielding, only to find out that not only had his opponent accomplished just as much, he appeared to be far more adept at using them. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. It took all his ability to barely dodge and block each of Osiris¡¯ arrows. As much as it pained him to admit it, he wasn¡¯t a match for his younger opponent. He was just about to open his mouth to admit defeat so as not to end up like those before him when he found his leg wrapped in shadows. ¡°[Dark Tendrils]!¡± Osiris coldly called out as he controlled a shadowy stem to drag Idrim into the air as an arrow whizzed through the air aiming straight for his neck. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Surlan, the headmaster of the Knights of the Night, roared in fury as he shot from his position to save his most promising student from certain death. As a warrior at the early stages of the ninth rank, Surlan was easily fast enough to save his student; unfortunately, what he hadn¡¯t realised was that the self-proclaimed headmaster of the mysterious Yin-Yang Pavilion was actually a saint. He had barely moved a meter when he found Mathias suddenly appearing in front of him, his palm casually thrust towards his face. Mathias¡¯ palm thrust was so casual it may as well have been in slow motion, but his eyes shrunk to pinholes as he felt the space around him constrict, preventing him from moving a muscle. The students and faculty watched in horror as both their headmaster and top student were killed right in front of them. An arrow pierced through the neck of Idrim whilst Surlan¡¯s head was turned directly into meat paste. ¡°Is that any way for a guest to behave in the territory of another?¡± Asked a seemingly indifferent voice from above. ¡°It was his fault for trying to attack the student of my Yin-Yang Pavilion,¡± Mathias said casually as he turned to face the man in the sky. ¡°Gediah, that¡¯s the second time someone senior from your Dark Alliance has tried to bully a student from my Pavilion¡­¡± Gediah, the head of the Dark Alliance¡¯s Demoniacs and the husband of the Dark Empress looked down at the headmaster, his gaze frosty, but he didn¡¯t rush to take action. It wasn¡¯t that Mathias scared him; after all, he could sense the man was merely at the middle stages of the saint realm. The thing keeping him from making a move was the veil of mystery that hung over the Yin-Yang Pavilion. There was simply too little information, but what they did know was that Ace, a peerless genius from the current generation, Wukong, a peerless genius from the previous generation, and Aiden, the strongest mortal of all time, a mortal who, if the reports were accurate, was even stronger than he, were all affiliated to this mysterious force, and now there was another saint level expert among their ranks. Until he knew more, he understood he could afford to be rash. Still, as hesitant as he was about taking a hard stance, it appeared they had come for blood this time. ¡°There won¡¯t be a third!¡± Mathias continued, a dense killing intent drifting out of his body. ¡°If the seniors from your little Dark Alliance attempt to bully any of our students in the future, I will personally slaughter my way into your headquarters and ask for compensation.¡± ¡°It appears my Dark Alliance has been too quiet of late,¡± Gediah sighed as his long sword appeared in his hand, a cold and fearful killing intent, no less potent than Mathias¡¯, erupting out of him. ¡°Even a mere mid-staged sai¡­ Ugh!¡± Before he could finish his sentence, feelings of fear and shock threatened to overwhelm him as a deep grey crescent-shaped axe beam radiating pure destruction tore through the air aiming to destroy him. ¡°Consider that your final warning,¡± Mathias said indifferently as he put his giant war cleaver away, not paying any further attention to the head of the Demoniacs, as he turned to address the shocked crowd gathered around the school¡¯s arena. ¡°My name is Mathias Bowyer, head of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, and this child who managed to defeat all of the top students of your Knights of the Night Institute is Osiris Leyran, the seventh-ranked core disciple of the Pavilion.¡± Those watching looked up at Mathias in terror and disbelief. They were all well aware of who Gediah was and how he was the second-strongest expert in their empire, yet he had been defeated in one move. Still, they quickly got over their initial shock when they heard Mathias begin to speak, especially as the Pavilion¡¯s headmaster skillfully used his battle-qi so that his voice could be heard in just about every corner of the Dark Alliance. ¡°We came here today to show off the prowess of the students of the Pavilion and also to inform the world that in two months, we at the Yin-Yang Pavilion will be opening our gates to the public to recruit new students for only the second time in its history,¡± Mathias continued, paying no attention to the various perceptions of saints scanning him. ¡°Although anyone at the age of ten and under is welcome to apply, we have incredibly high standards, with the most important one being that each of our students must excel as both warriors and mages. If you want to know more, feel free to come to our recruitment day in two months!¡± As he finished, Mathias took Osiris without bothering to answer any questions anyone may have. At the same time, hovering just above the palace, staring intensely in the direction Mathias just flew off, was a dark-haired, enchantingly beautiful woman that Ace would never forget. Shelia, the Dark Empress stared off into space; what was going through her mind, only she knew. It was only when her dishevelled husband appeared by her side that she seemed to come to her senses. ¡°Leyran?¡± She asked as a curious light flickered in her dark-coloured eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the family name of your disciple?¡± ¡°Karmen said she had an estranged younger brother,¡± Gediah nodded solemnly. ¡°But I never would have imagined he would have grown into such a young expert.¡± ¡°What should we do about this Yin-Yang Pavilion?¡± Another of the Cult¡¯s peak saint-level experts asked as he appeared behind the royal couple. ¡°They¡¯re proving to be more of a threat than any of us could have previously imagined.¡± All of the Cult¡¯s saint-level experts had witnessed Mathias¡¯ last strike, and as immortals, they could all sense the profundity of that attack. As such, they knew that purely in terms of comprehension, no one, not even Shelia, their empress was his match. Still, that wasn¡¯t what kept them from taking action. Had Shelia made a move, they all would have followed her, but seeing as she had no intention of taking action, they stopped themselves. After all, Mathias had already proved that other than Shelia herself, no one else was a match for him. ¡°For now, we do nothing,¡± Shelia commanded. ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see how the other forces react before we decide on our next move.¡± As she flew back to her castle, she subconsciously rubbed her cheek as the image of a certain fire-wielding dark-haired teen popped into her head, a cold glint flashing across her eyes. Book 5: Chapter 33 – Ace Arrives It had been 48 hours since Ace¡¯s last appearance at the War God¡¯s Academy, and right now, the War God Mountain may well be the busiest area in the whole of the O¡¯Brien Empire. What seemed like tens of thousands of people were gathered at the base of the mountain. They knew they weren¡¯t able to get seats to watch such an event. Still, they hoped that they might be able to see some of the excitement from down there. That was just the ordinairy civilians of the Empire; all the VIPs had long since taken their seats surrounding the ring. Calling them VIPs didn¡¯t do it justice. The audience was filled with many of the continent¡¯s true movers and shakers. Whether it was representatives of the Dawson Conglomerate, the delegates of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness, or even the Imperial family of the O¡¯Brien Empire, their seats were extraordinarily ordinary. All the best seats were taken by the various saints who resided in the Empire, including all 20-plus saint-level disciples of the War God himself. It was quite the show of force O¡¯Brien had laid out for Ace today. For many, it would seem a little extreme, but when remembering Ace¡¯s fame, heaven-defying talent, and the momentum he had gained over his feats thus far, them going so far seemed only right. After all, they couldn¡¯t afford to show any weakness at this point. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Fain,¡± an elegant middle-aged man with long black hair wearing a moon-white long robe said amiably as he led a beautiful woman with long jade hair to a pair of seats beside the War God¡¯s disciples. ¡°Desri,¡± Fain exclaimed warmly. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here today!¡± ¡°My wife and I were merely passing by when we heard of the challenge of this Ace boy,¡± Desri explained casually. ¡°Are the rumours of his strength true? Has he really comprehended a portion of the profound laws at such a young age?¡± ¡°Apparently so,¡± Fain sighed. ¡°Master asked me to see for myself to decide if he¡¯s worthy of becoming the newest addition of us direct disciples.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Desri calmly nodded. ¡°Well, allow me to congratulate you in advance. It appears that very soon, your Empire will give birth to another expert on our level or maybe even superior.¡± When he said that, all the other saints sat near enough to overhear their conversation couldn¡¯t help but look over in shock. It had to be understood that, like Cesar, Desri and Fain were both prime saints, merely one step away from becoming deities on the level of O¡¯Brien himself. Unfortunately, that final step was one that stopped even the most peerless of geniuses from ascending. Still, when they remembered the rumours of Ace¡¯s age and current level of comprehension and strength, they had to admit that Desri¡¯s words were more than reasonable. ¡°That may not be the case,¡± a crimson-haired middle-aged man with pale skin sat directly beside Fain snorted dismissively. ¡°Forget becoming a deity; just going from a peak to a prime saint is a watershed that halts the steps of some of the most talented experts. This child may be the most talented person our Yulan Continent has ever produced, but on the path to the peak, sometimes talent alone isn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Desri nodded, not seeming to mind the interjection. ¡°Still, the talent required for the comprehension of a youth so young to reach such a level isn¡¯t something the likes you or even I is truly qualified to speculate on.¡± The man who disagreed with Desri¡¯s words was Aiden¡¯s long-time rival and direct descendant of the War God ¨C Byrius O¡¯Brien. Even though a conversation between prime saints wasn¡¯t one that most saints would dare get involved in, Byrius wasn¡¯t ¡®most saints¡¯. Not only was he a valued direct descendent of O¡¯Brien, but he was also the most talented of the War God¡¯s disciples, even more so than Fain. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Despite being a fraction of their age, he was only one step away from reaching the level of Fain and Desri. Still, although talent was important, it paled in comparison to your strength, and the difference between a peak and prime saint wasn¡¯t small. Despite his standing among the War God¡¯s disciples, Desri felt no way about putting the obviously petty and jealous peak saint back in his place. Byrius wanted to respond, but there was nothing he could say ¨C he knew Desri was right! The talent Ace had displayed thus far went beyond the realms of logic. It was at a level he didn¡¯t believe was even possible. Even though the rumours had been confirmed by multiple reliable people ¨C one of whom was a junior brother of his ¨C he still refused to believe them until he saw it for himself. He didn¡¯t show it, but Fain couldn¡¯t help but be inwardly disappointed by Byrius¡¯ blatant and public display of envy. It wasn¡¯t just him; it painted each of their fellow martial brothers, and even their master, in a bad light. Still, knowing he couldn¡¯t admonish his seventh brother in a public setting, he opened his mouth to try and get rid of the growing tension, but before he could get a word out, both his and Desri¡¯s head snapped over their shoulders as they seemed to sense something that caught them both off guard. Although the two prime saints were the first to sense something off, the other saints began to sense the same thing within a few seconds. ¡°It seems recruiting the child may prove more difficult than you had originally believed,¡± Desri voiced with an amused smile when he sensed the group flying towards them. Coming from the distance, Ace, Leonel, Milianna, Lance, Arianna, and Cirulus were all sitting on the back of Leo¡¯s father, Carter, the Bloody Eyed Mane Lion, who, with the help of the resources of the Pavilion, had recently broken through to the peak of the saint rank. Ace, who had been sat with his legs crossed whilst travelling towards them, peacefully meditating beside his mother, slowly opened his eyes to calmly scan the group of experts that were awaiting his arrival on top of the War God¡¯s Mountain before turning to Milianna who was sat wearing the shadow robes he had gotten as a gift during his time at the Rohault Empire. With the shadow robe covering her body, it prevented the perception of all those beneath the deity realm from scanning her with their spiritual essence. Still, Ace could feel her body tense beside him the closer they got. Ace didn¡¯t say a word; he simply grabbed her hand and flashed her a calm and confident smile as Carter came to a stop just above the mountain peak. With so many saint-level experts present, hardly any mortals were present at the mountain''s peak. Aside from the young experts of the War-God¡¯s College, the members of the royal family, and the officials of the continent¡¯s other major forces, the only mortals allowed at the peak of the mountain peak were Olivier, Blumer, and Talore. The moment Blumer¡¯s eyes landed on Ace, a myriad of emotions flashed across his eyes. Although he couldn¡¯t tell exactly how strong they were, he could sense that Ace had at least two saint-level experts standing behind him. Right then, the last trace of hope he had for himself and his brother to catch up to him was snuffed out. For his mysterious faction to be able to send out two saints as his backing meant that whomever this Yin-Yang Pavilion was, they were willing to spare no expense in training him. Now, he could only hope that Ace would die here today instead of being allowed to mature. On the other hand, Olivier¡¯s battle intent began to rise. He was far more interested in seeing exactly how strong Ace had become since he last saw him. It wasn¡¯t just them. Both Wharton, who had been retreating under his master¡¯s guidance at the time of Ace¡¯s last challenge, as well as his master, Haydson, were both in attendance. For many reasons, both Haydson and Wharton felt like they couldn¡¯t afford to miss today¡¯s festivities. Still, the moment they saw Ace and his group, Haydson couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Out of everyone present, he was the one who best understood the true strength of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, having clashed against them the last time he saw them, and still, not even he recognised either of the two saints that had come with this time. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder exactly how strong the Pavilion really was. Wharton though, could only look up in dejection when he felt Ace¡¯s presence. As Ace hadn¡¯t bothered to hide it, everyone could clearly sense that Ace was at the peak of the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage. Although he hadn¡¯t been able to completely get over his loss to Killian, with his master¡¯s help, he had been able to turn that humiliation into motivation. Still, as much as he knew his master was right, that comparing himself to someone like Ace was a recipe for disaster, a small part of him still aimed to surpass him one day. Because of that, he had become even more diligent in his training. He was only 13 now, but he had already comprehended both states of wielding and broken through to the late stages of the fifth rank. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Blumer¡¯s comprehension had eclipsed his, having comprehended impose, he would¡¯ve been the top-ranking student of the academy. Still, with the age difference between the two, it was clear to everyone that it was only a matter of time before the young Dragonblood warrior surpassed Blumer. Unfortunately, despite all of his hard work, the gap between him and Ace only seemed to be widening. He didn¡¯t know how much Ace¡¯s comprehension had improved since he last saw them, but the simple fact that Ace had already reached the fifth rank as both a mage and a warrior told him all he needed to know about the difference between them in strength. Book 5: Chapter 34: Ace & Leo Vs. The War God’s College (1) – Leo’s Invincible Might Ace had long since noticed all of the familiar presences in the audience; still, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with any of them. His sole focus was on doing whatever was necessary to help his mother with her tainted soul. After doing what he could to pacify his mother¡¯s anxiety, he calmly nodded at Leo before calmly stepping off Carter¡¯s back with his Divine Beast right beside him. The moment Ace¡¯s group appeared, everyone¡¯s attention had been focused primarily on Carter, Arianna, and Ace, but the moment Ace and Leo stepped towards them, one by one, the various experts began to look at Leo with shock that quickly turned into greed. They were all knowledgeable experts. As such, it didn¡¯t take long to figure out that the only way a beast at the sixth rank could emit such a terrifying aura was if it were a Divine Beast. Fain was no exception. The moment he understood the truth about Ace¡¯s familiar, he became all the more determined to recruit Ace to their side. ¡°Ace, was it?¡± Fain smiled amiably as he slowly floated towards the young genius. ¡°On behalf of my master, welcome to¡­¡± The warm smile on Fain¡¯s face quickly turned to a frown as he watched Ace pass him by without so much as a glance in his direction as if he was nothing but air. He was one of the very few experts who could claim to stand near the peak of their continent. There were very few who were qualified to treat him with such disregard, and as far he was concerned, Ace wasn¡¯t one of them. Still, he knew that virtually all young geniuses tended to be arrogant, much less a talent on the level of Ace, and because of how important it was to bring Ace onto their side, he quickly suppressed his displeasure, but by then, Ace and Leo had already landed in the centre of the ring. ¡°My name is Gol D. Ace, the top-ranked core disciple of the Yin-Yang Pavilion,¡± Ace said calmly, skilfully using his haki to replace battle-qi, allowing his voice to be heard even by those at the base of the War-God¡¯s Mountain. ¡°I originally came here to challenge those of the War God¡¯s College, but after my visit to your War God¡¯s Academy, it became painfully obvious that the standard of warriors produced by your O¡¯Brien Empire is shockingly low.¡± As he said that, Ace could feel the rising anger of the residents of the Empire. Many wanted to attack him there and then, but before they could make a move, Ace continued. ¡°Today, unless one of the so-called elites of your War God¡¯s College can defeat my beast partner, Leo, I won¡¯t bother to even step in the ring,¡± Ace declared before calmly stepping off the ring, leaving an overgrown, obsidian lion with a red hue coating the tip of its fur at the sixth-rank in the arena growling threateningly as he waited for his first opponent. Even though his face was the picture of indifference, on the inside, Ace was chuckling to himself. This was the first time he had Ace had ever acted with such arrogance in such a public setting, and he had to admit, it was pretty fun ¨C mainly because it allowed him to vent at least a portion of the anger he felt towards the Empire whilst going a long way to establish the dominance of the Yin-Yang Pavilion. He didn¡¯t seem to mind that some of the most influential beings on the continent were glaring daggers at him right now, including the officials from other forces; he remained indifferent. ¡°What do you intend to do now?¡± Desri asked curiously as Fain landed back on the ground beside them. ¡°Give him exactly what he wants,¡± Fain cooly replied; a bolt of lightning flickered his eyes as he looked at the dark-haired teen standing just beside the ring. ¡°Even if it is a Divine Beast, I refuse to believe that it¡¯s as heaven-defying as its partner.¡± As he said that, he gave a nod to Castro, one of his junior brothers who was in charge of training the elites of the college. ¡°Kanrem, go up,¡± Castro said coldly as an evil glint flashed across his eyes. ¡°When you¡¯re finished, I don¡¯t want that lion to be able to leave the ring on its own. Do you understand?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I understand,¡± Kanrem replied before moving like a flash to appear on stage. Ace couldn¡¯t help but raise a brow, seeing who was sent up first. Of the students present, there were over a dozen in the ninth rank, yet the student they sent up first was at the peak of the eighth rank. The last time Leo had really let loose was against Alissa¡¯s former master, a warrior at the mid-stages of the ninth rank, but as he knew Saber had suppressed the details of what happened that day, he doubted anyone outside of those present that day knew of this. Still, they would definitely know from the battle against the Rohault Empire that Leo at least had the strength to defeat peak eighth-rank warriors. Add that to the fact that Leo was a Divine Beast, that it had been over a year since then, and that they couldn¡¯t afford to lose; it didn¡¯t make sense not to send one of the ranks nine warriors, but the fact that they hadn¡¯t spoke volumes about the trust they had in the young man on stage. It was only when Ace saw the man summon a pair of navy-coloured twin cudgels that realisation dawned on him. ¡°Kanrem Chanrim, fifth-ranked student of the War God¡¯s College,¡± Kanrem announced icily as a dense killing intent erupted from him as his eyes fell on Ace. ¡°The one who will make your beast partner suffer for your arrogance.¡± It was only when Kanrem¡¯s voice entered his ears that Ace looked up from the man¡¯s ring, a sincere look of pity appearing on his face as he replied. ¡°Good luck.¡± Seeing the way Ace had looked at his ring, a bad feeling began to creep inside of Kanrem, but there was no stepping back now. It was then that the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge as he felt the surrounding temperature skyrocket. Feeling as though he had somehow lost the initiative, Kanrem tried to regain his dominance by being the first to attack. He launched himself towards the lion, swinging both cudgels at its head with all his might, hoping to crush him in one go, but that was just the beginning. It was then that he did something that caught many of the viewers by surprise. ¡°Supergravity Field!¡± Kanrem shouted, directly tripling the gravity and pressing down on Leo, hoping to keep the divine beast from moving. The reason for everyone¡¯s surprise was partly because it was rare for a warrior of the O¡¯Brien to spend any time cultivating as a mage, even if they had the talent for it. Take Olivier Akerlund, for example. Despite being so incredibly gifted as a warrior, his talent as a mage was not one whit inferior. Still, even after becoming a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank and knowing that the easiest and most time-efficient way to improve his strength was to cultivate his mageforce, the thought never crossed his mind ¨C that was just part of the culture of the O¡¯Brien Empire; mages were wholly inferior to warriors. Still, there were quite a few who chose to become mages instead of warriors, and although much rarer, there were some who, like the students of the pavilion, focused on both paths using one to compliment the other. So although slightly surprising, it wasn¡¯t enough for so many to have so visibly shown their reaction. No, the main reason for their shock was because despite there being so many saints present, not one ¨C including Desri ¨C was able to sense the young man¡¯s mage force, despite him apparently having reached the sixth rank. And the fact that he could insta-cast a spell of the fifth rank with the power of a sixth rank only added to their surprise. Still, Desri and a few of the other more powerful Saints had quickly understood the truth of the matter. ¡°Umbra Force Ring,¡± Desri muttered as he focused on the ring worn on the Kanrem¡¯s right index finger. The Umbra Force Ring was a very rare and expensive artefact with three incredible abilities. First, it acted as a storage ring. Second, it hid the mage force of the user. And last but not least, it increased the spiritual essence of the wearer by one rank, provided they were under the seventh rank. Meaning that, in reality, Kanrem was only at the fifth rank. Still, whilst everyone else was getting over the shock of Kanrem¡¯s abilities as a mage, a helpless sigh escaped Ace¡¯s lips. A few months ago, back when the ¡°Demonic Trio¡± were going around destroying Saber¡¯s branches one after the other, one of the branch vice-managers, a man in the mid-stages of the eighth rank, also had an Umbra Force Ring. At the time, Killian could only fight one eighth-stage expert at a time, so Leo had to get involved and take on the other. Leo already had the power to rival an expert at the ninth rank, so he didn¡¯t think much of the man. But it was because of that negligence that a warrior that Leo didn¡¯t put in his eyes was able to get the drop on him and injure him. Although the injury was far from fatal, it still served as a wake-up call for him. That in and of itself was all well and good, but Leo happened to be a petty Divine Beast. The moment he saw the ring, he understood what his sly opponent was planning. Before the crowd could get over their initial shock, they were hit by another wave of surprise, this one far exceeding the shock caused by Kanrem. Before Kanrem¡¯s strike could land, a blazing aura made of pure beast force coated Leo¡¯s body, all but incinerating most of both of Kanrem¡¯s cudgels, but the most shocking thing was the aura emanating from Leo¡¯s flames. ¡°Profound¡­¡± Desri muttered as he clearly sensed the infusion of the laws of fire. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Kanrem wailed, his pain-filled cries snapping everyone out of their shock. ¡°MY ARM!¡± Kanrem, who had leapt back to preserve his life, was now holding his seared stump of an arm. Leo didn¡¯t seem to hear the man¡¯s cry as he disdainfully snorted before stepping on the severed hand on the floor before him, burning and crushing both the hand and ring. Book 5: Chapter 35: Ace & Leo Vs. The War God’s College (2) – Second Win The sound of Leo¡¯s ear-shattering roar echoed right throughout War God¡¯s mountain, shaking the audience out of their daze. As they looked at Leo standing proud in the ring, they realised they had underestimated him. From the looks of it, he was just as much of a monster as his partner. Many of the officials from the other superpowers, especially the saints, felt extremely tempted to snatch Ace and Leo now. After all, the talent that they exhibited was simply out of this world. Once they had finished maturing, whether it was Ace or Leo, they would undoubtedly stand at the peak of this world. Still, those greed fuelled thoughts disappeared just as quickly as they came. The majority of the saints present that were here on behalf of another nation or organisation were at the early or middle stages. Forget the fact that one of the strongest beings on the continent was only a few miles away; Fain¡¯s presence alone was enough to deter them from doing anything stupid. Plus, although they didn¡¯t appear to be as strong as Fain, there were two saints here guarding Ace and Leo, one of which was a magical beast at the peak of the saint rank. The only person who stood even the smallest of chances at accomplishing such a feat was Desri. Fortunately, Desri, who had once been a high-ranking member of the Radiant Church, had long since left and was no longer affiliated with any power, so he had no interest in even attempting anything like that. Carter, who was still hovering above the mountain peak, could see the looks of awe and amazement from the various saints as they witnessed his son¡¯s prowess and was filled with pride. When he first saw exactly how much Leo had improved after returning from his trip with Ace and Killian to the Rohault Empire, his expression wasn¡¯t much different to theirs. Even if he were a Divine Beast, his current achievement shouldn¡¯t be possible. All he could do was count his lucky stars that things had happened the way they had. Leo¡¯s running into Ace had been the best thing that could¡¯ve happened, not only for Leo but for him as well. Joining the side of the pavilion had originally been a bitter pill to swallow ¨C growing up as a magical beast meant that humans had been his enemy for as long as he could remember, but even he had to admit that the benefits became apparent almost immediately. Since affiliating himself to the pavilion, he had been allowed to utilise its library for saints, and since then, his comprehension had come a long way. Even though he had only recently broken through to the peak of the saint realm, in terms of comprehension, he wasn¡¯t much inferior to Haydson. Still, he was under no delusions; the reason for the achievements of both he and his son came from the dark-haired youth standing calmly beside the ring. Ace had no idea what Carter was thinking; the moment he heard Leo¡¯s roar, the corners of his lips crept up, forming a smirk as he looked towards the students of the College. ¡°Leo wants to know who¡¯s up next.¡± It took a lot of willpower from each of the students not to rush up and wipe that annoying smirk off Ace¡¯s face, but before any of them could say or do anything foolish, Castro, whose expression got decidedly colder, spoke. ¡°Vena, you go next!¡± A cold and indifferent woman slowly walked forward, gracefully unsheathing her sword from her hip as her body was covered by a cyan aura. Vena was an incredibly beautiful Amazonian-like woman standing at a height of six foot, with long dark hair tied in a ponytail. She was also ranked second among the students of the College, being at the late stages of the ninth rank, so when she was called forward, those who knew understood that Castro meant business. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Vena was one of only two remaining in the college from Olivier¡¯s generation. With most having already graduated, she remained, hoping that she would one day be accepted as a direct disciple of the War God. When she arrived on the ring, she didn¡¯t say a word; she simply waited for the fight to begin. Seeing that, Ace couldn¡¯t help but nod his head in approval of her calm and unwavering temperament. Leo and Vena calmly eyed each other, neither making so much as a noise, the tension seeming to grow with each second. As soon as the rising tension reached its peak, both fighters moved at once. Leo¡¯s speed was far superior to anything a rank six beast or human should be capable of as he skilfully utilised Ace¡¯s improvised Soru. Whilst Leo¡¯s movement was explosive, Vena¡¯s was the picture of grace as she elegantly glided along the floor as though it were an ice rink with speed that didn¡¯t lose out to her four-legged opponent in the slightest. For most, the movement of the two would be nothing but flashing blue and red lights, but almost everyone watching was an expert, so they were able to clearly see the intricacies of the battle, but that was what left them even more shocked than they were at the end of the previous fight. ¡°Is that lion using ¡®Impose¡¯?¡± Desri asked as though he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. It wasn¡¯t just him; aside from Ace and his group, everyone else was wondering the same thing. It was common knowledge that the only cultivation path that required the comprehension of ¡®Impose¡¯ to become a saint was that of a warrior, and due to the effort it took to comprehend, unless they reached a bottleneck and decided to focus on cultivating as warriors, most mages didn¡¯t bother with Impose. Still, as they were humans, they knew it was possible, but because of the innate differences between them, everyone automatically dismissed the thought of a beast even being able to comprehend it, but now, Leo showed them just how wrong they were. Still, even though his being a Divine Beast gave him many innate advantages, his soul wasn¡¯t one of them. Due to the mutation that occurred when his and Ace¡¯s connection evolved, his soul was now stronger than it should be; still, it was only equal to a rank seven magical beast - significantly weaker than his opponents, but because his comprehension of the laws was well into the saint realms, the power of his Impose was around the same as Vena¡¯s. Add that to his innate physical superiority as a Divine Beast and his ¡®battle-qi¡¯ ¨C the power Leo showed was barely inferior to Vena¡¯s, but what was even more surprising was his battle IQ. Having gone from growing up on his own in the mountain range of magical beasts where he had to fend for himself to survive to being able to train with Ace, whose own battle IQ was nothing short of enchanting, and constantly test himself against stronger opponents, it was no surprise that Leo¡¯s fighting style was so impressive. Still, most people had no idea about all of that; all they saw was the results. Many were even beginning to wonder who was actually the stronger of the two, Ace or Leonel. Seeing Leo¡¯s prowess made many believe that Ace had Leonel take his place in battle so that he could pretend to be this invincible youth. It was something that Ace knew would happen; it was just that he didn¡¯t care to explain himself. The longer the fight went on, the more obvious the gap became. If this was a few months ago, before the demonic trio returned to the pavilion, Vena would¡¯ve been able to calmly suppress Leo. But like Ace and the other students, Leo had also focused on his training. And although he hadn¡¯t made any distinctive breakthroughs, whether it was his comprehension of the profound mysteries of fire, his control of ¡®Impose¡¯, or his fighting style, each had made significant improvements allowing him to slowly gain the upper hand against a truly impressive opponent. Vena tried her hardest to find her way out of her declining situation, but no matter what she did, Leo was always two steps ahead. As the wounds started to pile up, Vena herself began to slow, allowing Leo to put an end to the fight once and for all, but unlike his last opponent, other than a few cuts and burns, Vena had no lasting injuries. ¡°I¡¯m convinced of my loss,¡± Vena stated directly as she re-sheathed her sword, paying no attention to the mixed reactions of the crowd. ¡°Leo told me to tell you that it was a good fight,¡± Ace smiled as Vena passed him. ¡°Even if you are from the O¡¯Brien Empire.¡± Vena stopped to give Ace a serious look. Like the others, after her fight, she too believed that Leo was the stronger of the two and he was just using him to make himself seem more impressive than he really was, but the more she looked at him, the less sure she was. All she could see was an unwavering confidence. Still, even if he was really stronger than his beast companion, she didn¡¯t understand where his confidence came from. He had to know that no matter what happened, he would never be allowed to leave so easily. But that was none of her concern. ¡°I¡¯m from the Great Plains of the far east,¡± Vena replied, correcting Ace¡¯s assumption. ¡°Ooh,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°That makes a lot more sense.¡± Book 5: Chapter 36: Ace & Leo Vs. The War God’s College – Ace Inherits Aiden’s Rivalry Ace¡¯s words once again provoked a wave of anger and resentment from the residents of the O¡¯Brien Empire, not that Ace seemed to care one bit. He was just about to continue speaking when a cold and disdainful voice entered his ears. ¡°You certainly speak a good game,¡± Turning his attention to the direction of the voice, Ace saw a handsome young man with tanned olive skin, jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes looking at him with clear disdain. He was sat right in the centre of the students of the college as though he was their leader, or at least second only to Castro. ¡°The way you speak,¡± the young man continued. ¡°It¡¯s as though you genuinely believe that you¡¯re superior to us of the O¡¯Brien Empire, but we all know the truth. The real reason you sent your beast companion to fight today instead of fighting yourself is because he¡¯s the stronger of you two, and you have no confidence in your own ability. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± After his initial look, Ace¡¯s attention never returned to the young man clamouring for his attention. Instead, his attention returned to Castro, the saint in charge of the War God¡¯s College. ¡°Is there anyone else, or is that all your little College has to offer?¡± Ace asked, paying absolutely no attention to the young man. His arrogance was simply inconceivable. The young man he was holding in such blatant disregard was Zaron Feltin ¨C the current number one student of the War God¡¯s College. Although that was only with Olivier already having graduated, his strength was undeniable. Not only that, but his father, Izran Feltin, a middle-aged man with a striking resemblance to Zaron, was a mid-staged saint and one of the many saints in attendance today. Whether it was his own personal ability or his background, it was top-notch, and yet Ace saw it fit to play him off like he was air. Still, Zaron didn¡¯t get angry as one may expect; he simply laughed. ¡°My master was right; anyone related to that Aiden Rohault is a liar and a rat.¡± As soon as the words left Zaron¡¯s mouth, a fearful killing intent erupted out of Ace; a killing intent so potent the temperature in the surrounding area seemed to plummet. ¡°Your master?¡± Ace asked frostily. As soon as Ace¡¯s killing intent was exposed, everyone present stared at Ace in shock. This was the first time they had seen Ace wear anything aside from that infuriatingly arrogant smirk, but what really caught them off guard was the killing intent he was exhibiting. Forget the mortals in attendance, the killing intent of many of the saints present wouldn¡¯t have reached such a level, and yet here it was coming from a mere teenager. Even though he too was surprised by Ace¡¯s killing intent, it was nowhere near the point of being paralysed by fear. If anything, it was more of a fleeting surprise before he erupted in laughter. ¡°I see that got your attention,¡± Zaron snorted disdainfully. ¡°As for who my master is, something tells me you¡¯ve already guessed, but just in case you¡¯re too slow to put two and two together, I am Zaron Feltin, the disciple of Byrius O¡¯Brien.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Ace said as he slowly began to walk towards the stage, a malevolent grin suffusing his lips as he stared directly into Zaron¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Zaron asked, feigning curiosity. ¡°Because this way, I get to kill that trash¡¯s disciple and prove to the world that whether it¡¯s master or disciple, my lineage will always be superior to yours!¡± Ace said as he made it to the centre of the ring, summoning his glaive from his storage ring. Hearing that, Zaron didn¡¯t rush to make a move. Instead, he turned his head to where the rest of O¡¯Brien¡¯s Disciples were sitting. More specifically, the crimson-haired man sat beside Fain. ¡°Go,¡± Byrius nodded indifferently. ¡°Ooh and Zaron.¡± ¡°Yes, master?¡± Zaron asked as he suppressed his excitement. ¡°Bring me his head,¡± Byrius replied. ¡°I want to give it to his master as a gift.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Zaron smirked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem as though you¡¯ll be able to recruit that Ace boy after all,¡± Desri mused as he continued to watch things play out. ¡°How troublesome,¡± Fain sighed. Although his master had told him to recruit Ace by any means necessary, forgetting the grudge Ace seemed to have against their empire because of Aiden¡¯s problems with Byrius, he knew Byrius would never be okay with Ace joining them. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. And although, overall, O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t care much for his descendants, Byrius was the one true exception. Because of the incredible talent and dedication Byrius had displayed since a young age, as well as the fact that he was related to him by blood, despite being separated by several generations, O¡¯Brien saw him as his grandson and doted on him as such. Fain knew that if it were a choice between Ace and Byrius, even if Ace was the more talented of the two and even had a Divine Beast as a beast companion, O¡¯Brien would always choose Byrius. ¡°For such a talent to have to die here today,¡± Desri sighed as he watched the two youngsters face off. ¡°How unfortunate.¡± Desri didn¡¯t know whether or not Ace was strong enough to defeat Zaron, but what he did know was that even if Ace was somehow able to win this next fight, there was no way Fain and the others would allow a talent like Ace to leave with his life, and if his party attempted to intervene, they too would forfeit their lives as well. Like everyone else, Olivier was also watching with rapt attention. Like Vena before, Zaron was also a member of his generation and, once upon a time, a former rival of his. As such, he was very clear on precisely how strong Byrius¡¯ disciple was. Even among the various veteran generals of the O¡¯Brien Empire ¨C each of whom had decades, if not centuries of experience ¨C Zaron ranked near the top. If it was the Ace of last year, Olivier knew Ace would essentially be committing suicide by stepping into the ring against him today, but between what he had been told by Blumer and Talore, and the unwavering air of confidence coming from Ace, Olivier wasn¡¯t too sure. Still, one way or another, this match would tell him everything he needed to know about Ace¡¯s current strength. Luckily, he wouldn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. The moment both fighters locked eyes, they both erupted with their strongest strength ¨C Zaron with his crimson battle-qi and Ace with his pseudo-battle-qi made from his mageforce. Olivier was still a mortal with a relatively limited understanding of the infinite mysteries of the profound laws; as such, he couldn¡¯t understand the limits of Ace¡¯s strength, but with his sharp eyesight, he could still sense that Ace¡¯s improvements weren¡¯t small. The same was true for all the mortals watching, but the saints were a different matter altogether. The moment they sensed Ace¡¯s fiery aura, they couldn¡¯t help but look at Ace as though he was a monster, the likes of which they couldn¡¯t even imagine if they weren¡¯t seeing it. ¡°Im¡­ That¡¯s Impossible!¡± Byrius spat out in horror, unable to believe what he was seeing. ¡°His insights,¡± Fain murmured, his shock no less than his junior brothers. ¡°Have they¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯ve reached the level of us prime saints,¡± Desri confirmed. When he first heard the rumours of Gol D. Ace, a teenager whose comprehension of the laws of fire had reached the Profound realm despite only being in the fifth rank, he thought they had to be exaggerated. But he guessed that the rumours were true when he went on to lay eyes on him and his exquisite use of ¡®Impose¡¯, allowing him to walk on air. Still, at best, his insights only matched that of an early staged saint. Then he saw Leonel¡¯s comprehension of the laws of fire, which appeared to be fast approaching that of a mid-staged saint, and unlike many of the others here who believed Ace to be the weaker of the two, he knew how prideful Divine Beasts were. There was no way one would submit to a human weaker than them, not even if they were a genius themself. Even still, he doubted Ace¡¯s insights were at the level of a peak saint, and on the off chance they were, it was only just, but it was only now that he understood just how wrong he was. But that was just the start of their shock. Zaron wasn¡¯t a saint, nor was he as gifted as Olivier, so whilst he could sense flames at the saint level, he had no idea how powerful they were, and he already knew about Ace¡¯s monstrous comprehension, so although slightly envious, it wasn¡¯t enough to make him falter. As such, the moment he summoned his battle-qi, both he and Ace stepped off at the same time. What was shocking, though, was that Ace¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t the slightest bit inferior to his as a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank. Even though he didn¡¯t specialise in speed, he still had a good quality movement technique that made him superior to most at his level, yet Ace¡¯s movement was just as fast. Still, that wasn¡¯t enough to make him hesitate. Since he couldn¡¯t overwhelm him with speed, he¡¯d do it with raw power ¨C the attribute he was best at! The blade of his sword arced through the air, his fiery battle-qi causing the air to sizzle from the heat it radiated as he aimed to cleave Ace¡¯s head off in one go. Ace could sense that, at least in terms of raw power, Zaron was the strongest opponent he had ever faced, but unless you were a saint, a contest of strength was the thing he feared the least. He thrust his haki-infused polearm forth with unparalleled ferocity as the butt of his glaive erupted in flames, only adding to his momentum. Zaron wanted to laugh in delight when he saw Ace¡¯s actions. If Ace tried to keep him at distance, then it¡¯d make this fight a little more complicated, but Ace was just playing into his hands ¨C or so he thought¡­ The moment their weapons made contact, everyone expected Ace to be sent flying, but instead, they watched Zaron¡¯s eyes threaten to bulge from his eye sockets as he was the one sent stumbling back with the sounds of bones breaking ringing in the ears of the audience. He had no idea what just happened; he went from preparing to chase down his opponent, whom he was sure would be the one flying back, to feeling as though a shockwave of some sort had travelled up his arm, violently shattering the bone. Before he could figure out what happened, he sensed the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge. He wanted to leap back to evade the blade of Ace¡¯s glaive beautifully arcing through the air when a mysterious energy suddenly assaulted his consciousness. Byrius furiously jumped to his feet as he prepared to make a move to save his disciple. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DA¡­¡± Ace sensed Byrius move, but he didn¡¯t care in the slightest. He was determined to kill his disciple! Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] was strong, but it didn¡¯t affect warriors at the ninth rank much. Still, that fraction of a fraction of a second was all Ace needed to prevent Zaron from being able to dodge. By the time, Zaron shook off Ace¡¯s haki, the flame-coated obsidian blade of his opponent¡¯s glaive had already made contact with his neck. It was then that he understood how wrong he had been; Ace hadn¡¯t shied away from fighting today out of fear. He genuinely just hadn¡¯t seen them as his match. He wished he could go back and refrain from provoking this little monster. Unfortunately, hindsight was a bitch! Book 5: Chapter 37 – Pathetic The crowd was once again left in a state of complete and utter disbelief as they watched Zaron¡¯s body burn to a crisp, leaving nothing but his petrified face on the floor of the arena. Whilst most were shocked by the results of the fight, Byrius, Fain, and Desri were shocked by something else entirely. ¡°You¡­¡± Fain asked as he looked up at the fairy-like woman who indifferently sat on the back of the peak-staged saint-level lion. ¡°Who are you?¡± The moment Byrius stood up to save his disciple, he was attacked by an overwhelming spiritual attack that threatened to crush his soul. If it wasn¡¯t because the attacker pulled back at the last moment, Byrius was under no delusions; he would¡¯ve undoubtedly lost his life there and then. The soul attack was so fast that most of those present hadn¡¯t sensed anything amiss; it was only the two prime saints that managed to lock on to the attacker. For the first time since they arrived, Arianna opened her calm yet enchanting eyes as she scanned the various saint-level experts in attendance. ¡°No saints are to intervene today!¡± Her voice was just as beautiful as her appearance, but whether it was Fain, Desri, or Byrius, they all looked at her with dignified expressions. Though it was brief, they still sensed the power of Arianna¡¯s soul. They didn¡¯t know how it was possible, but they knew that despite only being a mid-staged saint, the power of her soul was at least twice as strong as Desri¡¯s ¨C a prime-saint-level mage. No one else understood exactly what happened, but many were able to guess a few things. After all, they had all heard Byrius¡¯ shout and saw him stand up as if to make a move. They also knew that Byrius was an extremely powerful saint. Despite being so far away, there¡¯s no way he would¡¯ve failed to stop Ace from killing his disciple¡­ Not unless he was stopped by someone else. Still, as everyone¡¯s thoughts were spinning, Ace¡¯s cold voice brought them back to reality. ¡°Here,¡± Ace said as he kicked Zaron¡¯s bodiless head to the confused and fearful Byrius. ¡°A gift on behalf of my master ¨C Adrien Rohault!¡± ¡°MY SON!¡± Izran roared, his eyes red with rage and unwillingness as he glared at Ace. ¡°YOU LITTLE BAS¡­¡± Izran had only managed half a step when a blinding beam of light pierced through his head like a hot knife through butter. ¡°You were warned,¡± Arianna said softly as she gracefully retracted her outstretched index finger before closing her eyes as if she was too lazy to say any more. ¡°Since when was having the comprehension of a prime saint so easy?¡± Desri mumbled as he looked up at the enchanting woman in the skies above, ignoring the crumpling body of Zaron¡¯s father, Izran. Fain¡¯s brows furrowed as he looked pensively at Arianna. First, she revealed her overwhelmingly powerful soul, and now her comprehension of the laws matched that of his own. Even though he still felt confident in his ability to deal with her, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to treat her lightly. As for Byrius, his eyes fell on the petrified decapitated head of his only disciple and his whole body tensed in rage. Before today, there had only been one person who had caused him a setback, and that was Aiden Rohault. Still, as Aiden was a member of his generation, it wasn¡¯t the end of the world, but this¡­ His inviolable dignity was being publicly provoked in a way he had never experienced before, and it was by a child, no less. And if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, there didn¡¯t appear to be anything he could do about it. Just on account of the power of her soul, Byrius understood he was far from a match for the woman in the sky, but from the looks of it, even if he managed to get himself a soul-protecting artefact, the fact that her comprehension appeared to be equal to a prime saint meant that he would at best be equal to her¡­ Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Unless his fellow martial brothers took action to keep her and the peak saint-level lion at bay, it appeared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take revenge today. Things had taken a very awkward turn, and sensing the growing tension between the War God¡¯s Disciples and the group from the mysterious Yin-Yang Pavilion; there weren¡¯t many who dared to breathe too loud. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve gone too far with your actions here today?¡± Fain asked indifferently as he looked up at the mystery woman. ¡°You¡¯re here as a guest in my O¡¯Brien Empire, and yet you people have murdered two of my Empire¡¯s powerhouses.¡± After killing Izran, Arianna proceeded to close her eyes once again. Even as she was addressed by Fain, she didn¡¯t seem to even hear him; she simply continued to sit peacefully in meditation. As a saint-level expert, everyone was clear that there was no way she wouldn¡¯t have heard Fain¡¯s words, meaning she was purposely ignoring him. It appeared that each member of the Yin-Yang Pavilion was far more arrogant than the last. Flashes of lightning flickered across Fain¡¯s eyes as he forcibly suppressed his rage. Like Byrius, he couldn¡¯t remember the last time he had been held in such blatant disregard. He was, after all, the number two expert in one of the continent¡¯s strongest forces. Before Fain could say or do anything further, the sound of Ace¡¯s voice caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Pathetic!¡± Ace snorted. ¡°What did you say, boy?¡± Fain growled coldly, his temper growing more and more unstable by the second. ¡°I said you¡¯re pathetic,¡± Ace repeated, showing absolutely no fear in front of an expert who could take his life before he could even blink. ¡°I had already made it clear I had no interest in fighting against the students of your little college, but because he couldn¡¯t control his ego, that idiot Zaron decided to provoke me into fighting, thinking he was stronger than me because he was almost three times my age. So I kill him and return his head to his pathetic excuse for a master, doing to them what they had intended to do to me and my master. And instead of attempting to stop that idiot from foolishly challenging me, both his master and father decided to try and intervene and or kill me after they found he wasn¡¯t my match in a fair battle. If it wasn¡¯t for my senior taking action to protect me, I might have been the one to lose my life today ¨C I wonder if you would¡¯ve spoken up on my behalf had that been the case¡­¡± As Ace said that, the members of the O¡¯Brien Empire couldn¡¯t help but feel feelings of shame well up inside them as they knew Ace was absolutely right with his words. Still, it was common knowledge that history was written by the winners, and the winner would always be the one with the biggest fist, and it was rare for anyone to have a bigger fist than those of the O¡¯Brien Empire. As such, they weren¡¯t used to having to worry about the perception of others when they acted. Fain didn¡¯t know what to say in response. Even though, as far as he was concerned, he would be able to capture Ace and kill the rest of his party, by doing so, it would paint his Empire, and more specifically, his master, in a bad light. To keep it a secret, he and his junior brothers would have to kill all the non-natives of his empire ¨C a feat that would¡¯ve been possible¡­ had Desri not been there. Whilst Fain was contemplating his next move, Ace turned his attention away from the blue-haired saint to his beast companion. ¡°Come on, Leo; there¡¯s nothing more for us here ¨C let¡¯s go!¡± Seeing that, Fain racked his brain for a reason to force Ace to stay without making themselves look any worse, but nothing seemed to come to mind. Fortunately, luck seemed to be on his side. ¡°Wait!¡± A cool and calm voice said from the middle of the audience. Halting his return to his group to turn around, Ace saw Olivier Akerlund, the prodigy sword saint, step out from his position in the crowd. ¡°I know you only came here to challenge those from the College,¡± Olivier said as his battle intent began to surge. ¡°But I can¡¯t let you leave so easily after humiliating my homeland like this. On behalf of my O¡¯Brien Empire, I, Olivier, the head of the Akerlund Clan of the O¡¯Brien Empire, challenge you, Gol D. Ace of the Yin-Yang Pavilion¡­ Unless you¡¯re too scared to open up the challenge to the rest of the mortals of my Empire.¡± Hearing that, Fain¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but brighten. Although there was nothing he could do personally, but this worked too! ¡°You don¡¯t need to try and provoke me,¡± Ace sneered as the boredom he had previously felt disappeared from his eyes, only to be replaced by a rising anticipation that seemed to match Olivier¡¯s own. ¡°If there is a mortal from your empire who¡¯s still able to entertain me, only you would fit the description.¡± ¡°Brother¡­¡± Blumer called out, a hint of worry seeping into his voice. Although he still felt that his brother was invincible among mortals, after seeing Ace not only defeat but also kill a warrior like Zaron, in only two moves, no less, he would be lying if he said he didn¡¯t feel any doubts at all. ¡°Blumer,¡± Olivier replied, cutting his little brother off mid-sentence. ¡°No matter what happens next, you are not to treat Ace or his academy as an enemy in the future.¡± Blumer watched in shock as Olivier calmly made his way through the separating crowd to the ring. As the person who knew him best, how could Blumer not understand the implications of his brother¡¯s words? Though he didn¡¯t come right out and say it, Olivier was essentially saying he wasn¡¯t 100% sure of his ability to survive this one. Book 5: Chapter 38 – Ace Vs. Olivier (1) As Olivier stepped onto the ring, the whole of War God¡¯s mountain was deathly silent as they anxiously waited for what would inevitably be the final fight of today¡¯s challenge ¨C at least between the mortals anyway. At the start of the day, everyone would¡¯ve unhesitantly put all their money on Olivier, but now¡­ ¡°Who do you think will win this?¡± A middle-aged man dressed in lavish garms and an extravagant crown sat upon his head asked as he tilted his head slightly towards a familiar-looking general who stood like a loyal guard to his right. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure, your majesty,¡± General Fuscor replied. ¡°The strength that boy Ace displayed before¡­ Zaron wasn¡¯t much weaker than me, but he had been able to kill him in only two moves. I¡¯ve sparred with Olivier a few times, and even though the difference between us is substantial, Olivier would never be able to defeat me in less than at least five, probably even ten moves.¡± ¡°So you think Olivier doesn¡¯t stand a chance?¡± Johann O¡¯Brien, the reigning Emperor of the O¡¯Brien Empire, asked with an undisguised frown as he thought about the implications of such a loss ¨C not for Olivier and the devastation it would have on his little brother, but the negative connotations it would have on the O¡¯Brien Empire as a whole. It was bad enough for the strongest warrior of their strongest school for warriors losing to the teen, but if Olivier did too, it meant that Gol D. Ace, a young teen, was stronger than every single warrior in their empire ¨C an empire which prided themselves on having the strongest warriors on the continent. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that, your majesty,¡± General Fuscor shook his head as he looked at Olivier¡¯s back. ¡°I admit that in terms of talent and potential, Ace is without peer, but Olivier is still a genius, the likes of which is only normally seen once every thousand years. Ace¡¯s strength has definitely skyrocketed since the war against the Rohault Empire a year ago, but I very much doubt Olivier¡¯s just sat back and did nothing. Even though I haven¡¯t seen him in action since we returned in defeat, I can see from his eyes that Olivier¡¯s not the same warrior he was back then. As for if he can win this, it all depends on exactly how much he managed to improve!¡± As he said that, bursts of gasps could be heard from the audience as they looked at Olivier¡¯s body. Everyone was well aware by now that Olivier had managed to cultivate battle-qi of both light and darkness, but what he was doing now was a first. With deft control, Olivier had somehow managed to layer his darkness battle-qi on top of his light one. Although they hadn¡¯t fused, they had truly stacked together to give him more power. ¡°The day this sword was handed to me, and I found out about my family¡¯s demise, I promised myself I wouldn¡¯t use it until I was worthy,¡± Olivier said as he summoned an enchanting pale blue long sword that looked like it was forged of pure ice. ¡°And today I intend to prove my worth to the world whilst I wield my family''s heirloom ¨C Icedream,¡± Hearing that, Ace resummoned his own weapon before gently running his fingers up its shaft. He had never thought to introduce his weapon in the past, but today, he would make an exception. ¡°This glaive was forged for me by the greatest forger on the continent, Lauriella Hyde, using materials gathered by the number one genius of your generation and my senior, Wukong,¡± Ace explained slowly, paying no attention to the slight flicker of emotion on Olivier¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s named after the man who inspired me to choose the glaive ¨C Newgate!¡± As he said that, Ace willed his crimson mageforce to coat his whole body and weapon as he focused his haki on his weapon and arms ¨C as he was still only in the fifth rank, he remained unable to coat his entire body with it, but for now, it would have to do. Then, without another word, both warriors moved in unison as they shot towards each other at breakneck speeds. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Smiles of relief appeared on the faces of those on the side of the O¡¯Brien Empire ¨C who were able to keep up ¨C as they noticed the difference in speed. Olivier¡¯s movement technique was one that Ace had already seen once before. At that time, it was utilised by Blumer, and although impressive, it was nothing in comparison to Olivier¡¯s usage. It had little to do with the fact that Olivier was over two full ranks superior to his little brother and everything to do with the fact that, as the creator, his skill with it was leagues above. Ace, as fast as he was, had only moved a tenth of the distance before Olivier was already on top of him, his blade gracefully arcing through the air, leaving a trail of black and gold in its wake as it slashed towards Ace¡¯s neck. ¡®I really hate the speedy ones,¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he knew they were the types of opponents who gave him the most trouble. Still, with the use of [Foresight], Ace had long since seen through his opponent¡¯s intention. Like before, the butt of his glaive jetted out flames that dramatically increased the speed and power of his [Thrust]. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough. Whilst Olivier was forced to stop in his tracks, Ace was forced over a dozen heavy steps back before he could finally stabilize himself. A wave of cheers erupted from the side of the O¡¯Brien Empire, with the loudest of them being from Blumer, as he watched Ace suffer his first setback ¨C albeit only a minor one. Still, the O¡¯Brien Empire needed this. Over the last two days, they had suffered loss after loss, each more humiliating than the last. Without even realising it, they had begun to see Ace as their greatest nemesis. Even Fain and Byrius smiled subtly as they saw the results of the opening clash. ¡°Looks like your little trick won¡¯t work on me,¡± Olivier said indifferently as his eyes remained trained on his young opponent. Others may not have understood what Olivier meant, but Ace sure did. The moment they clashed, Ace had attempted to use [Internal Destruction] to try and ignore Olivier¡¯s defence of layered battle-qi and ravage the man¡¯s arm from the inside. Unfortunately, the moment he expertly controlled his haki to try and phase through his opponent¡¯s defence, Olivier¡¯s shadowy aura seemed to swallow the vast majority of Ace¡¯s haki, and what was left was barely more than enough to be noticed. ¡°It looks like I¡¯m gonna have to go all out after all,¡± Ace said softly with a hint of admiration as he studied the stacking method used by the older of the Akerlund brothers whilst shaking off the numbness of his arm. His words sounded arrogant, and many there refused to believe that Ace had still been holding back, but when the saints saw the slight but definitive change to Ace¡¯s mageforce, there wasn¡¯t a single one of them who could remain seated. ¡°IMPOSSIBLE!¡± Byrius exclaimed, unable to believe what he was witnessing. ¡°How¡¯s that even possible?!¡± Fain asked, his shock no less than his junior brothers. ¡°His comprehension¡­¡± Desri muttered. ¡°It¡¯s actually reached that of a deity!¡± Desri may have whispered it, but the weakest warrior in the audience was Wharton, a warrior of the fifth rank. As such, they had all heard his words clear as day. Although most of the mortals didn¡¯t understand the true intricacies of such a thing, they were all able to put understand the meaning behind it. It meant that purely in terms of comprehension, Ace had reached the same level as their very own spiritual pillar ¨C The War God, O¡¯Brien! When Ace was forced to retreat, no one, not even his mother, batted an eyelid. They already knew that Ace was still holding back. If it was put as a percentage, a prime saint had at most comprehended 99% of a profound mystery, whilst deities had comprehended 100%. Although the difference was a single percent, the actual difference in output was unimaginable. As such, Ace¡¯s party weren¡¯t worried about Ace in the slightest. ¡°Now,¡± Ace said with an excited grin. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again, shall we?¡± This time, as Ace moved, although he still wasn¡¯t as fast as his opponent, the gap was nowhere near as exaggerated, but even though he was very fast, speed was never the attribute Ace prided himself on ¨C that was his power. As their weapons approached, Ace swiftly and expertly controlled his blazing mageforce turning it into a cone shape that began rotating at speed. This was one of the new techniques that Ace had come up with ¨C ¡°[Blazing Drill]!¡± Ace¡¯s spinning lance-shaped fiery mageforce tore through the outer layer of Olivier¡¯s darkness battle-qi, but before he could capitalise on it, Olivier showed off the wonder of his self-created [Lightshadow Sword Art]. Blinding speed was only one aspect of this particular sword art; the other was its ability to evade detection ¨C something that, if not for Ace¡¯s [Observation], would¡¯ve made this fight even more difficult. The two exchanged hundreds of moves per second, leaving nothing but flashing lights and fireworks as they moved. For a while, those watching forgot that the pride of their empire hinged on the outcome of this battle. All they could think about was how incredible both warriors were. ¡°Both of them have surpassed the strength of General Kaymin,¡± the burly general Fuscor sighed from beside Emperor Johann. ¡°Before he broke through to the saint realm anyway.¡± ¡°This is the true peak of mortal prowess,¡± One of the other Generals stood behind Johann added. ¡°Maybe if you don¡¯t include that freak, Aiden Rohault,¡± Fuscor replied as he remembered the air of invincibility the dark-skinned glaive-wielding warrior emitted as he defeated Lanke ¨C the War God¡¯s 22nd disciple ¨C and singlehandedly ended the war. ¡°But it¡¯s true that if either Ace or Olivier¡¯s strength were to take so much as half a step forward, they too would be able to display the power of a saint.¡± Book 5: Chapter 39 – Ace Vs. Olivier (2) ¡°Milli,¡± Lance whispered gently from Carter¡¯s back. ¡°How¡¯re you holding up?¡± Hearing that, Milianna took a deep breath to calm her nerves ¨C albeit only slightly ¨C as she continued to watch her son¡¯s fight. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Milianna replied gently. ¡°As long as Ace is fine, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Arianna had been by their side this whole time, so she was fully aware that her disciple had been extremely tense ever since the moment they arrived. Still, she didn¡¯t say anything; she knew this was needed for Milianna¡¯s future. Even though she appeared to be in a state of peaceful meditation, the truth was that she was the one most on edge. Not because of the Fain and the other saints ¨C they were nothing more than a bunch of cronies in her eyes. The reason behind her extreme state of focus was O¡¯Brien. As the shadow robe didn¡¯t work on those above the saint realm, all it would take was one sweep of his divine sense to see it was Milianna under the robe. And although her soul was more potent than the likes of Desri and Fain, it had still yet to near that of a genuine deity; as such, she wouldn¡¯t be able to sense his divine sense. Arianna was confident in her ability to defeat a deity like O¡¯Brien, but the fact that she wouldn¡¯t be able to sense his divine sense spreading over her meant that she wouldn¡¯t be able to react until after he made his presence known, and if she allowed herself to get distracted for even a fraction of a second, an expert of O¡¯Brien¡¯s level would be able to easily capitalise on that. Still, that was only if she allowed herself to get distracted. With how close she was to her disciple, there was no way O¡¯Brien would be able to get close to Milianna without her noticing. Back in the arena, the fight was really starting to heat up. Whether it was Olivier or Ace, they both began accumulating small wounds. Still, that only seemed to spur the two warriors on. An excited grin played on both their faces, including that of the iceberg that was Olivier Akerlund. It was rare for one to face such a worthy opponent, and they both knew it. But as satisfied as they were with their opponent, they were both determined to be the final victor. It was then that Olivier did something that shocked the crowd. Olivier¡¯s body split into two, and then those two split into four, then into eight, only stopping when there were 16 seemingly perfect copies of Olivier surrounding Ace. ¡°After losing so convincingly to Kaymin last year, I went straight into seclusion to perfect my Lightshadow Sword Art¡¯s movement technique,¡± Olivier¡¯s voice echoed between all 16 copies of him. ¡°With Kaymin having broken through to the saint realm, I had initially planned to reveal this move when challenging Wukong¡­¡± As he said that, a sigh full of emotion escaped Olivier¡¯s lips as he looked at his dignified opponent with resolve and a hint of admiration. ¡°I never expected that the first person to force me to use it would be you,¡± Olivier continued. ¡°Still, if this is the full extent of your strength, I suggest you give up now. You are by far the most talented person I¡¯ve ever seen, maybe even the most talented person our Yulan Continent has ever produced ¨C it would be a shame for you to lose your life here.¡± Hearing his words, all those present from the O¡¯Brien Empire were filled with pride as Olivier showed his overwhelming strength, but there was none more proud than Blumer. Olivier was once again proving to the world that he was number one. Ace¡¯s dignified expression gradually settled, and a sigh escaped his lips as he scanned his opponents. ¡®I really hate the speedy ones.¡¯ The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The truth was, the moment Ace saw Olivier multiply, he believed he had gained insight into the laws of Light and/or Darkness. After all, both laws had profound mysteries of doppelgangers, but after no longer than a second, he dismissed that thought. If Olivier really had gained insight into either profound mystery, as a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, he would¡¯ve automatically broken through to the saint realm, but more importantly, Ace couldn¡¯t sense the infusion of the natural laws coming from his opponent, but that only made it all the more impressive, as Olivier was accomplishing this feat with nothing but raw speed. Olivier¡¯s raw power may not mean much to a saint, but purely in terms of speed, Ace believed Olivier was superior to some of the slower saints at the early stages. Unfortunately, as Ace couldn¡¯t compare to even the weakest of saints when it came to strength, defence or speed, it made his chances of winning seemingly impossible. Still, the fight in Ace¡¯s eyes hadn¡¯t even begun to wane. ¡°It¡¯s probably for the best you didn¡¯t get to challenge big bro Kong,¡± Ace smiled teasingly, causing Olivier¡¯s brows to furrow slightly. ¡°Even with this technique, you¡¯d still only be asking to be abused.¡± Many believed that Ace was just bragging, but Olivier could tell that whilst it was true that the dark-haired teen was trying to get a rise out of him, he didn¡¯t appear to be lying. Still, he didn¡¯t seem that surprised either. It had to be remembered that when Wukong and Olivier fought all those years ago, Olivier had just broken through to the eighth rank and was regarded as the number one genius of the War God¡¯s College as he was capable of jumping ranks to fight those in the ninth. Wukong, on the other hand, was only at the peak of the sixth rank at the time and a few years younger, and yet, despite being almost two ranks above, he could only fight the ape-like young man to a standstill. As much as he hated to admit it, Wukong was definitely more talented than he was. After that, he trained his body to his limits on a near-daily basis, all with the hopes of defeating Wukong the next time they met, but deep inside, he knew that there was a chance that Wukong would continue to improve at a speed faster than he could keep up with. Still, as talented as Olivier was, what made him so impressive wasn¡¯t his talent but his unyielding state of mind. Even now, after finding out that Wukong was still stronger than him ¨C albeit from a potentially biased source ¨C, he didn¡¯t despair; in fact, he found that his drive to get stronger had only increased. That was probably the biggest difference between Olivier and Blumer. ¡°Is that right?¡± Olivier asked calmly. ¡°Well, I guess it really is a good thing that I¡¯m facing you and not him.¡± As he said that, Ace¡¯s iris¡¯ shrunk as he instinctively pierced his glaive to his right. Despite having foresight on where Olivier was going to attack, he still came out on the losing side of that exchange, with a large slash on his left shoulder. He took that moment to jump back and escape his opponent¡¯s encirclement, but before he could, a flash of light appeared in Ace¡¯s line of sight, then, at a speed he could barely react to, Olivier¡¯s sword snaked through the air towards Ace¡¯s neck. ¡°[Blazefield]!¡± Ace roared, willing his pseudo-battle-qi to transform into a forcefield that protected his whole body. Although Olivier was able to cut through the fiery forcefield, it had still managed to slow the attack just enough for Ace to dodge. Ace didn¡¯t even take a second to try and recompose himself. The second he was out of danger, he thrust his glaive forth, hoping to pierce Olivier¡¯s skull, but as it moved, the glaive seemed to multiply, turning into 16 fiery glaives at once, each one aiming to pierce the skull of his opponent(s). Unfortunately, Ace had just begun to attack by the time Olivier had already appeared behind him once again, forcing Ace to escape into the air this time. ¡°How¡¯s Ace doing?¡± Milianna asked, turning to her master as she couldn¡¯t follow a fight at this level with her sight. ¡°He¡¯s holding on for now,¡± Arianna replied. ¡°But his opponent¡¯s movement technique has put him firmly on the back foot. Although he hasn¡¯t actually comprehended any of the profound mysteries, this Olivier child¡¯s movement technique is able to distort light around him to create an illusionary effect; then, without his opponent noticing, he¡¯s able to move like something of a shadow to approach his opponent noticing at lightspeeds and attack before his opponent can react.¡± It was rare for anyone to gain the acknowledgement of Arianna, but Olivier¡¯s self-created technique clearly had. ¡°Without truly grasping any of the profound mysteries, he¡¯s still managed to utilise the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mysteries of Lightspeed and Refraction, as well as the Law of Darkness¡¯s Profound Mystery of Shadows. If he were able to truly grasp all three of those profound mysteries, even if only on a surface level, his strength would rival some weaker peak saints,¡± Arianna praised. ¡°Fortunately, with his far superior comprehension and versatility, Ace can barely defend himself, but he can¡¯t keep it up forever. He¡¯s still only at the peak of the fifth rank; he¡¯ll run out of gas long before his opponent.¡± Book 5: Chapter 40 – Ace Vs. Olivier (3) Arianna¡¯s understanding of the situation was spot on, and Ace had long since reached the same conclusion. In fact, so had Olivier, which was why when Olivier suddenly came to a stop, it took everyone by surprise. ¡°Why did you stop?¡± Ace asked, not understanding what Olivier was doing. If things carried on the way they had been, unless Ace managed to make a last-minute breakthrough, it would inevitably be Olivier¡¯s win. ¡°I¡¯m already taking advantage of you with my age and higher realm,¡± Olivier explained indifferently. ¡°I refuse to wait until you tire out to defeat you on top of all that. This next move will be my last; if you¡¯re able to remain on your feet, then I¡¯ll admit my defeat, but I should warn you, this following technique is one I¡¯ve only recently created; as such, I don¡¯t have full control of it. If you fail to block it, you will die ¨C this is your last chance to give up!¡± Hearing that, the majority of the audience wanted to curse Olivier for his arrogance. It was as though he didn¡¯t understand what was on the line if he lost this ¨C the pride of their empire! Ace on the other hand didn¡¯t believe Olivier was being overly arrogant. He understood the pride of a genius better than anyone. Whether it was himself or any of his classmates, whether they displayed it outwardly or not, they were all very proud characters. As such, whenever their pride was put on the line, each and every one of them became the definition of unyielding. In Olivier¡¯s eyes, winning the right way was far more important for his state of mind than simply winning on behalf of his homeland. He¡¯d rather lose and be able to die with his head held high than win and forsake his pride. Still, Ace understood that although Olivier was giving him an opportunity, it was an incredibly small one. From Olivier¡¯s warning, this technique was likely far stronger than anything he had shown thus far, but at the same time, Ace had never been one to shy away from a challenge. ¡°Come,¡± Ace grinned as the crimson flames coating his glaive strengthened in preparation for what appeared to be the grand finale in today¡¯s festivities. Everyone was watching with rapt attention, not daring to blink for fear of missing what was to come. Still, the two that were most nervous were Milianna and Blumer. Blumer for fear of his brother¡¯s near-perfect record being tarnished, and Milianna because it was her son¡¯s life on the line. ¡°Trust in him,¡± Arianna whispered gently. ¡°Like he does in you.¡± Milianna didn¡¯t respond, but her eyes burned with resolve as she knew her master was right. At the same time, the shadowy outer layer of Olivier¡¯s battle-qi dissipated as the golden inner layer shone with far greater intensity until it took a golden-white hue. ¡°[Radiant Sword]!¡± Olivier said with a soft indifference as he calmly waved his sword from top to bottom. Before the sword light left his blade, Ace¡¯s eyes had already shrunk to pinholes as he urged his mageforce to its limits as he thrust his glaive forth with unbridled ferocity. ¡°[Blazing Penetration]!¡± With his [Observation: Foresight], Ace was able to barely pre-empt his opponent¡¯s technique and attack first. An extremely fine but burning beam exited from the tip of the blade of his glaive, tearing through the air at breakneck speed, threatening to pierce and then burn anything that dared get in its way. Still, despite attacking first, Ace¡¯s attack had barely left his glaive when Olivier¡¯s sword light seemed to teleport, appearing before his attack at a speed that left many of the saints in attendance in awe. It wasn¡¯t just them; even Olivier seemed to be taken aback by the might of his own attack. His eyes suddenly glazed over as the rest of the world faded out of sight, the scene of his last attack replaying in his mind over and over again as his aura seemed to grow with wild abandonment. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The moment anyone sensed Olivier¡¯s rising aura, be it mortal or saint, everyone understood what it meant. ¡°Saint,¡± Vena exclaimed with a hint of envy. ¡°Olivier just became the first of our generation to break through to the saint realm!¡± Olivier¡¯s sword light seemed to respond to his breakthrough as it too grew in power and speed, instantly tearing through Ace¡¯s fiery forcefield as though it were paper. ¡°AACCEEEE!¡± Milianna screamed frantically. She was too weak to follow an attack of that level with any kind of clarity, but at that moment, out of pure desperation, she too unlocked [Observation ¨C Foresight], but unfortunately, what she foresaw was enough to almost shatter her heart. She watched her son being cut in two before falling to his death. Her screams returned everyone¡¯s attention to Ace, but instead of the death of a genius which they expected, they saw Ace standing on his feet, a large laceration across his chest, but otherwise totally fine. They would¡¯ve been shocked by the outcome had it not been for the enchanting beauty casually stood in front of him with her open palm outstretched in front of her. ¡°No saints allowed,¡± Arianna commanded softly, leaving no room for negotiations. The meaning behind her words was crystal clear ¨C since Olivier had broken through to the saint realm, he was disqualified. Still, with things having come this far, how could those from the O¡¯Brien Empire be okay with that? ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± Byrius blurted out, unwilling to allow Ace to get a free pass after coming so close to finally killing him. ¡°Olivier was clearly still a mortal when the attack was initiated.¡± Arianna merely glanced at the crimson-haired man but said nothing, too lazy to reply to such a man. ¡°Are all the saints of the O¡¯Brien Empire really this stupid?¡± Carter snorted disdainfully. ¡°He may have been a saint when the attack was made, but as he broke through before the attack landed, his attack also became that of a saint-level strike!¡± Byrius and the others all felt indignant, but there was nothing they could say to that ¨C they knew Carter was right. It was bad enough that they had to resort to sending an alumni to represent them against a teen so young in the first place. They couldn¡¯t then squabble about the result when the truth was obvious for everyone to see. Still, it didn¡¯t stop them from glaring daggers at Carter for ruining their plans ¨C not that he seemed to care in the slightest. Olivier, who had only just completed his breakthrough, had to forcibly suppress his sudden urge to roar in excitement, having finally completed his lifelong dream of becoming a saint. Still, he knew now was neither the time nor the place for that. After taking a deep breath to regain his composure, Olivier¡¯s eyes went back to their usual indifferent state as he looked towards Ace. ¡°As a thank you for pushing me till I broke through to the saint realm, I¡¯m willing to take a step back and concede to a draw,¡± His words came as a shock to most listening, but they knew no one else was entitled to interfere in his decision, as much as they were against it. Still, what no one could¡¯ve predicted was Ace¡¯s response. ¡°Draw?¡± Ace asked, a confident grin adorning his handsome face. ¡°Our fight¡¯s just gotten started!¡± Ace¡¯s response received nothing but derisive looks and scorn from the audience. Even Arianna couldn¡¯t help but turn around with a raised brow, only to find a look she was all too familiar with. A look filled with confidence, excitement, and pride. A look that seemed to say, ¡°I won¡¯t lose!¡± Still, it was only when she sensed his aura that she seemed to somewhat understand his confidence. That¡¯s right, after that last attack, Olivier wasn¡¯t the only one who had broken through. Ace, who had been at the peak of the fifth stage as a warrior and mage, had just stepped into the early stages of the sixth rank. Still, she didn¡¯t completely understand where Ace¡¯s confidence stemmed from. Aside from Ace, Aiden, and potentially Amira, she was probably the one who understood Ace¡¯s strength best. As such, she understood that between the innate improvement after his mage and warrior cultivation increased, his insane level of comprehension, and his haki, which gets stronger with every breakthrough, Ace could likely fight on par with some weaker early-stage saints. But she also knew Olivier wasn¡¯t your average early-stage saint. Even though he had only just broken through after barely beginning to comprehend the law of light¡¯s profound mystery of lightspeed, he would struggle to find an opponent at the same level. All things considered, if their fight was to continue, Ace was asking to be abused and punished. Still, the more she looked into Ace¡¯s eyes, the more she couldn¡¯t help but believe in him. ¡°HAHAHAHA! Your bravery is truly commendable!¡± Byrius roared with laughter as his eyes fell back on Arianna. ¡°You heard him; he wants to continue the fight of his own free will. Now you have no reason to get involved.¡± Arianna didn¡¯t respond to Byrius she just glanced at him, but that fleeting look was all it took to put the fear of god in the peak stage saint. In less than a second, Byrius¡¯ back was drenched in sweat as he subconsciously jolted back. By the time he regained his senses, Arianna had already begun floating back up towards Carter and the others. ¡°Master, we can¡¯t let Ace continue,¡± Milianna exclaimed urgently. ¡°He¡¯s not read¡­¡± ¡°You have my word,¡± Arianna said seriously. ¡°Nothing bad will happen to Ace!¡± Book 5: Chapter 41 – Ace Vs. Olivier (4) ¡°Are you sure you wish to carry on?¡± Olivier asked indifferently after Arianna floated away. ¡°You should already know that I won¡¯t hold back, even if I am now a saint¡­¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way,¡± Ace replied with a hint of anticipation suffusing his voice. As he said that, Olivier and everyone else in the audience were taken aback by the mutation that happened to Ace¡¯s glaive. Golden vein-like markings suddenly appeared, running across the obsidian shaft and blade, giving it an overwhelming celestial-like aura. Olivier¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the glaive¡¯s transformed state, not because of its appearance but because the aura it gave off made his heart palpitate, something he didn¡¯t believe was possible after his breakthrough. It wasn¡¯t just him; all the saints present were able to sense the dangerous aura Ace was giving off; they just had no idea how a mortal child at the sixth rank was capable of such a feat. The only one able to understand what was going on was Arianna, and even then, it was only a vague understanding. She could clearly sense the aura Ace was radiating at present was similar to his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], only far more refined and pure! That¡¯s right, just as death loomed when facing Olivier¡¯s last attack, Ace was struck by a moment of realisation, allowing him to finally grasp [Conqueror¡¯s Haki Infusion]. She had no idea how he was able to do it, but he knew that this was the real reason behind his renewed confidence. ¡®It really is one surprise after the next with this brat.¡± Arianna sighed to herself as she waited patiently for their battle to restart. ¡°This power¡­ It¡¯s incredible!¡± Ace marvelled, feeling stronger than ever before. In his last life, Whitebeard had once told him that [Conqueror¡¯s Haki Infusion] would give the user a drastic increase in power, but this¡­ He knew it was impossible, but in that moment, he felt as though the world was at his beck and call, as though if he so chose, he could force the world around him to bend to his will. ¡°I should warn you,¡± Ace said as he looked back up at Olivier, who was currently hovering in mid-air. ¡°This is my first time using this attack, so I can¡¯t completely control it. If you fail to block it, you might die¡­ I suggest you give up now.¡± Ace words grated on the ear of all those of the O¡¯Brien Empire, but none more so than Blumer. He didn¡¯t care about the optics of his saint-level brother killing a mortal teenager younger than himself; he wanted nothing more than for Olivier to kill Ace before he could mature. Though for different reasons, the thoughts of many of his fellow countrymen were pretty similar. Ace¡¯s arrogance was getting to be too much to bear, but Olivier was different. He could sense Ace¡¯s sincerity, and as he could also sense the dangerous aura he was radiating, he understood Ace wasn¡¯t just being arrogant. Still, for the sake of his warrior¡¯s heart, he couldn¡¯t afford to take a step back. ¡°Come,¡± Olivier replied succinctly as a familiar white-golden aura coated his body and sword. Ace immediately felt how not only had Olivier¡¯s battle-qi improved after becoming a saint, but also, with the infusion of his insight into the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mystery of Lightspeed, his energy had also become far more powerful. Still, his grin only widened as he adopted a crouching stance, holding his glaive in his right hand, willing what was left of his fiery mageforce to coat the butt of his polearm. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Unfortunately, even though he had also made a breakthrough in realm, his mageforce had almost comple run dry ¨C not that it mattered. Just using [Infusion] on his weapon was difficult enough; he had no idea how long it would take him to learn how to use it on his flames as well. For the first time in a long time, his flames would have to take on a much more passive role, providing nothing more than support as he returned to basics. The moment he saw that, Olivier took off, moving like a flash of light, he appeared directly in front of Ace at a speed that many of the saints gasp in shock. He had just become a saint, yet his speed had surpassed many mid-staged saints. Even so, Ace remained unhurried as he calmly performed what could only be called a perfect [Thrust]. As his glaive pierced through the air, it felt as though if he pressed any harder, he¡¯d be able to pierce through the fabric of space. It was an incredible yet incomprehensible power that he couldn¡¯t put into words, even if he tried. Everyone watched with bated breaths as the edge of Olivier¡¯s icy longsword approached the tip of Ace¡¯s glaive, which was being propelled by a jet of flames that many realised was faintly approaching the saint level in power. But what really shocked them was what happened next. Before their weapons could even come into contact, Olivier¡¯s weapon appeared to be hit by an invisible shockwave as arcs of black lightning flickered around Ace¡¯s weapon. Before they could truly come to terms with what was happening, Olivier¡¯s sword ¨C Icedream ¨C shattered, sending Olivier hurtling through the air, spitting a mouthful of blood, directly losing consciousness. ¡°BROTHER!¡± Blumer roared as he jumped to catch Olivier¡¯s body before it fell off the mountain; unfortunately, with Olivier being sent flying in the opposite direction and his current speed, he was never going to be able to save his last remaining family member. Thankfully, Talore was standing next to him. The headmaster of the Academy took off like a bolt of lightning, catching his best friend just before he fell off. ¡°How is he?!¡± Blumer asked frantically as he hurried to Talore¡¯s side. ¡°How is my brother?!¡± ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Talore said as he turned to Emperor Johann, not bothering with Blumer¡¯s worrying. ¡°Olivier¡¯s injuries are severe; he¡¯s in desperate need of medical attention.¡± Like the rest of the audience, Emperor Johann was still reeling from his shock. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day one would get the chance to see someone of the sixth-rank jump four whole ranks to defeat a saint ¨C newly promoted or not. But when he heard the Headmaster Talore¡¯s words, he immediately snapped out of his daze and sent one of his men ¨C a light elemental mage of the eighth rank who specialised in healing. Whilst Olivier was being treated for his injuries, Ace wasn¡¯t doing too well himself. He had already been pretty drained from their first round, but that last clash had pushed him beyond his limits. But his current condition didn¡¯t have as much to do with his dwindling energy levels as it did with his use of [Infusion]. After using it only once, he had shattered most of the bones in his arm, forcing him to use his left hand to hold his glaive as a crutch. Speaking of his glaive¡­ As he looked down, he couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly as he saw the numerous cracks running along his weapon. It had to be remembered that his glaive was made of materials so precious that many saints would kill for a weapon of that quality. For his [Infusion] to not only do so much damage to his arm but also to his weapon, it was clear that, for whatever reason, it didn¡¯t appear that he was ready to be wielding that power, but that in and of itself made no sense to him. If the use of [Infusion] was such a double-edged sword, he was certain Whitebeard would have warned him, but since he hadn¡¯t, the only thing he could think of was that his conqueror¡¯s haki operated in a slightly different way in this world than it had in his previous. Still, that was of little concern at that moment. Whether it was those of his group or the audience, everyone was staring at him with expressions filled with shock, awe, and disbelief. When Ace and Olivier clashed, just now Ace¡¯s Conqueror¡¯s Haki spread like never before. Although everyone present was far too powerful to directly lose consciousness, the aura Ace projected made many feel a hint of reverence, as though they were in the presence of a genuine deity. The aura was so overwhelming that it managed to spread right throughout the mountain range surrounding the College, attracting the attention of all those in the vicinity ¨C including a certain deity who was sitting in secluded meditation deep underground. . . . Thousands of miles away, deep within the Forrest of Darkness, was a large, almost lifelike metallic castle that looked distinctly out of place. Inside the castle was a tall, middle-aged man with a long black beard and even longer inky black hair, donning a jet-black robe that almost appeared to meld with the shadow by his feet. Despite being so far away, the moment Ace¡¯s [Infusion] erupted, the man¡¯s head snapped in the direction of the O¡¯Brien Empire. His small beady abyss-like eyes seemed to be able to see through everything in its path, falling directly on the child who created such an effect. ¡°That boy,¡± the man mused aloud. ¡°Did he just use the power of will?¡± Book 5: Chapter 42 – The War God Arrives Back at the War God¡¯s Mountain, everyone was still in a daze, still blankly staring at Ace as he allowed his body to flop onto Leo¡¯s soft, furry back. He no longer had the strength to fight another battle, not that any mortal would dare to challenge him after witnessing his last strike. Still, before he and Leo could return to Arianna¡¯s side, a powerful aura suddenly appeared in the skies above. Though he was drained, he knew better than to lower his guard in enemy territory, so the moment the figure appeared, Ace¡¯s head snapped up only to see a crimson-haired man looking down at them all with an indifferent gaze, but the thing that shocked Ace was the overwhelming power the man radiated. Ace had met dozens of saints by now, but purely in terms of presence, none were anywhere near as imposing as this man. The aura he emitted seemed to burn even brighter than the sun that hung in the sky to his rear. Still, that shock only lasted a second before turning into a dense killing intent that seemed to lower the temperature in the surrounding area. Ace had never seen the man before, but it didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that he was the man who tainted his mother¡¯s pure soul. He was the one who fuelled Ace¡¯s desire to grow stronger most. It was he whom Ace had dreamt of slaughtering in the most brutal way imaginable every night for over a year. He was the War God of the Yulan Continent ¨C he was O¡¯Brien! Sensing such a powerful killing intent directed at him, O¡¯Brien¡¯s eyes immediately fell on the dark-haired teen. As a deity, he could very easily conceal his energy, preventing anyone from sensing him in the slightest, but he disdained such acts; he was an invincible deity who commanded respect from everyone who appeared before him. As such, it was rare for anyone ¨C saint or not ¨C to dare even look directly at him, let alone show such a warped expression, and for it to come from a child, how could he not be taken aback? But as soon as he looked at the defiant teen, he immediately understood he was the one who had caused all the commotion in his empire. Even so, he would never allow anyone who dared to show him such disrespect, even if they were a genius seen once every million years. His dignity was never to be infringed on! Still, the most important thing right now was to find the source of that energy he sensed earlier. Although it was nowhere near powerful enough to threaten him, it still made him shiver slightly. ¡°What happened?¡± O¡¯Brien asked as he turned to face his eldest disciple. ¡°Well,¡± Fain began. ¡°It all started when that child, Gol D. Ace, appeared with his group to challenge the students from the college¡­¡± Whilst Fain was explaining everything that happened, Arianna was watching her disciple trembling in a near uncontrollable manner in Lance¡¯s arms. This was the moment they had all been most worried about. If Milianna was able to see O¡¯Brien once more in person and all of them leave with their lives, they were 99% sure that Milianna¡¯s soul would once again see an improvement and after that, the day Ace challenged and defeated O¡¯Brien, Milianna¡¯s soul should recover completely. Unfortunately, this dangerous plan ¨C proposed by her disciple ¨C was a double-edged sword. Although it was true that it should be plain sailing once they left here, it was also very possible that just by being in his presence, it could cause Milianna¡¯s soul to worsen dramatically. What happened from here on out all depended on Milianna and her willpower. All she could do was protect her disciple and the rest of their group from harm¡¯s way. As such, she focused her attention back on O¡¯Brien, preparing herself to act at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°¡­ And that was when you arrived,¡± Fain explained slowly, making sure not to leave anything out. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°You mean to say that not only did that energy I sense originate from that boy?¡± O¡¯Brien asked expressionlessly. ¡°But he used it to defeat a newly promoted saint whilst only at the sixth rank?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but tha¡­¡± ¡°Your name¡¯s Ace, right?¡± O¡¯Brien asked before Fain could finish his sentence, watching as Ace dismounted his beast companion¡¯s back to sit facing him on the back of the peak saint staged lion. ¡°Be my disciple!¡± O¡¯Brien watched Ace being carried onto Carter¡¯s back but did nothing to stop them. After all, in his eyes, there was no way two trivial saints could stop him if he decided to make a move. If anything, their action was more cute than anything else. No one was shocked by the ¡®command¡¯ of the War God. The talent Ace showed here today was simply heaven-defying. He had already proved that he would face no bottlenecks until he became a deity, a being on the same level as the man speaking, and that didn¡¯t even take into consideration the fact that his beast companion was a Divine Beast who would also become a deity eventually as well, or the fact that he had knowledge of such a fearsome mystic technique. Still, although they weren¡¯t shocked, it didn¡¯t mean they were happy about it either. Those from other forces were unhappy because, should Ace say yes, it would mean that the O¡¯Brien Empire would have three deities in the future. Those from the O¡¯Brien Empire weren¡¯t happy as Ace had all but humiliated their empire only to be awarded a position that most of them could only look up to. Still, it was bittersweet as they also understood it would only bolster their power in the future. But the person most displeased with this development was Byrius. Not only had Ace killed his disciple and publicly humiliated him, he was also the disciple of his rival and greatest enemy ¨C Aiden Rohault. No matter how they felt about it, the moment O¡¯Brien opened his mouth, everyone already believed it was a done deal. When a deity speaks, the rest of the world had no choice but to obey. The only ones capable of acting against the War God were other deities, but that was why Ace¡¯s response shocked them beyond belief. Ace¡¯s eyes radiated pure killing intent as he met the gaze of the man the world stood in awe of. ¡°Fuck off!¡± It was only two words, but when they came out of Ace¡¯s mouth, whether it was O¡¯Brien himself, his disciples, or any of those present, they all stared at Ace blankly, not knowing what to say, think or do. The only ones who were still calm ¨C for the most part ¨C were Ace¡¯s group. They all knew that with Arianna here, O¡¯Brien couldn¡¯t do anything to them. Well, most of them knew that. As a former member of the O¡¯Brien Empire, Cirulus had been all but indoctrinated to fear and respect the War God. Still, he was a decisive man by nature. Since he had decided to stand by Ace, he would continue to do so until the day he died. The other person who wasn¡¯t able to remain calm was obviously Milianna. Her master had already told her that she was stronger than O¡¯Brien and that as long as she was there, O¡¯Brien would never be able to do anything to them. Milianna knew Arianna wouldn¡¯t lie to her, she knew she should believe her, but every fibre of her being was petrified of the man in front of her, but not for her own sake. She was scared for her son. She was scared that O¡¯Brien would take Ace away from her. Her whole body was trembling non-stop, and had it been any other time, her odd reaction would¡¯ve caught the attention of those present, but lucky for her, each of Ace¡¯s actions seemed to take their full attention. Had O¡¯Brien swept his Divine Sense over their group, with the power of his soul, the shadow robe would do next to nothing to stop him from seeing the identity of the wearer, but at the moment, he was way too distracted for anything else. ¡°What did you say?¡± O¡¯Brien asked blankly as though he couldn¡¯t comprehend the boy¡¯s reply. ¡°I said, fuck off!¡± Ace repeated just as coldly as before. God or not, anyone who dared to touch his mother was nothing but a walking corpse in his eyes. ¡°Good,¡± O¡¯Brien voiced emotionlessly. ¡°Very Good!¡± Even though O¡¯Brien displayed no visible emotion, none of those watching dared take a breath for fear of what was about to happen. ¡°How long has it been since someone dared to take that tone with me?¡± O¡¯Brien asked as he stared up at the sky as though he were seriously wondering. ¡°Since you¡¯re so intent on doing things the hard way,¡± O¡¯Brien voiced slowly. ¡°Have it your way.¡± As he said that, O¡¯Brien disappeared from his previous position. The moment he moved, whether it was Ace, Fain or Desri, none of them were capable of following him with any of their incredible senses. Even though he didn¡¯t specialise in speed, the speed of a deity was simply immeasurable for saints to follow. Well, most saints, anyway. Unfortunately for O¡¯Brien, Arianna wasn¡¯t ¡°most saints¡±. O¡¯Brien had only covered half the distance when his eyes widened in shock and horror. Without a moment of hesitation, O¡¯Brien immediately came to a halt and raised his arms, covering them with his deity-level energy to block the incoming sword-shaped beam of golden light. Once again, the audience was shocked speechless as they saw smoke rising from O¡¯Brien¡¯s arms as he looked deeply at the only human saint among Ace¡¯s group. ¡°I believe you were already told to fuck off!¡± Arianna said, still as calm as ever. Book 5: Chapter 43 – Arianna Shocks The World As far as Arianna was concerned, because her soul wasn¡¯t at the deity level, nor was it as strong as her husband¡¯s, had O¡¯Brien hidden his presence when he arrived, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to sense him, but because he hadn¡¯t, she had nothing to worry about. He may be a deity, but she was well aware he could only rank among the weakest of deities. As calm as Arianna and the majority of her group were, the rest of the crowd didn¡¯t share their reaction, or in this case, lack thereof. From the moment Ace arrived, it had been one shock after the next, but this was by far the most shocking! Even though it was only one attack, and it had done next to no damage at all, the simple fact that it had even managed to stop O¡¯Brien ¨C a genuine deity ¨C in his tracks was enough. Especially as, from the way Arianna slowly lowered her supple index finger, it appeared to be nothing more than a casual attack from her. O¡¯Brien looked down at his stinging arms before looking up at Arianna, his casual demeanour having disappeared. ¡°Who are you?¡± Even though an attack of that level wasn¡¯t quite at the deity level, it had clearly surpassed anything your average prime saint was capable of. It was the reason that the faces of both Fain and Desri had suddenly paled. Even though the power of her soul was stronger than either of theirs, it wasn¡¯t to the point where they would be instantly killed, and even though the comprehension she had shown was at their level, as she was still only at the middle stages of the saint realm, her power would only put her at the top of the peak saint level, but now¡­ ¡®First Ace, and now her¡­¡¯ Fain thought as he continuously stared wide-eyed at the mysterious woman opposing his master. ¡®Both of their comprehensions are well into the deity levels. Just who are these people?!¡¯ On the other hand, although Desri was also very much in shock, as a mage at the prime saint level who specialised in the laws of light, he was able to sense a lot more than Fain. ¡°This woman,¡± Desri muttered. ¡°Her insights¡­¡± ¡°What about them?¡± His wife, Pennslyn, asked when she saw the almost captivated expression on Desri¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s as though¡­¡± Desri¡¯s face revealed a pensive expression as the scene of that beam of light flying through the air replayed in his head over and over again. ¡°They¡¯ve fused¡­¡± Even at his level, Desri had only been able to catch a glimpse of the beam of light as it tore through the air. Its speed far beyond anything he could clearly follow. ¡°Fused?¡± Fain asked, not understanding Desri¡¯s meaning. ¡°It moved too fast for me to see clearly, so I don¡¯t completely understand it myself,¡± Desri explained as he brought his index finger and thumb to his chin. ¡°But from what I could sense, it was as though she had somehow manipulated the shape and speed of the light at the same time.¡± It had to be remembered that other than those of the pavilion, the various experts of the Yulan Continent didn¡¯t have a thorough grasp of the true intricacies and paths of progression when comprehending the various laws and edicts. As such, although they could sense that Arianna¡¯s comprehension had surpassed theirs, they weren¡¯t able to truly appreciate the true brilliance of her seemingly simple technique. But just that little attack had opened Desri¡¯s eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. O¡¯Brien had heard everything Desri had said, but as he was far stronger than the prime saint-level mage, he was able to see what happened with greater detail. As such, he had long since come to the same conclusion. Still, that wasn¡¯t what caused his brows to furrow. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Are you a descendent of the Qingya Family?¡± O¡¯Brien asked when he sensed that the mysterious saint had no intention of answering. A hardly visible flicker of emotion flashed across Arianna¡¯s otherwise placid eyes at a speed virtually no one could detect. Still, O¡¯Brien wasn¡¯t just anyone. ¡°It¡¯s fine; you don¡¯t have to speak. Your silence is all the answer I need.¡± O¡¯Brien sighed. ¡°To think there are members of the so-called ¡®supreme¡¯ Qingya clan still alive after all this time¡­ Back in my day, the Qingya¡¯s golden era had long since come to an end. There was only the odd descendant that would pop up every once in a while. Still, because of the teachings your clan held and passed down only to their direct descendants, any member that popped would immediately be hunted down. So, unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting any of the descendants, but after seeing you here today and hearing about the prowess of a child related to you in no small way, I see that the rumours of your family¡¯s teachings weren¡¯t exaggerated in the least.¡± After the initial mention of the ¡®Qingya Clan,¡¯ Arianna¡¯s eyes regained their usual tranquillity. No matter what O¡¯Brien said, not even a ripple could be seen, but O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°Honestly, I have a great deal of respect for your clan,¡± the crimson-haired deity continued. ¡°If I had known that young Ace here was of any relation to you or your clan, I would never have allowed any of my people to show him such disrespect. Still, I can¡¯t overlook the fact that he has not only killed so many of my countrymen but also showed such blatant disrespect to me, a genuine deity.¡± ¡°Ooh, and what would you suggest we do?¡± Arianna asked, humouring the War God¡¯s obvious greed whilst hiding her sneer behind her beautifully tranquil face. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked,¡± O¡¯Brien replied, suppressing his growing excitement. In his eyes, the fact that Arianna finally responded meant that despite her incredible comprehension, she hadn¡¯t reached a point where she was confident in her ability to defeat him. Still, unless it was absolutely possible, he had no intention of trying to strongarm her into giving in to his demands. For one, he didn¡¯t know how many Qingyas there were hiding away or how strong the others, if any, were. And secondly, although he was a deity, speed wasn¡¯t exactly his forte. Even though this mysterious Qingya descendant was only a mid-staged saint, judging by her last attack, she was one that seemed to specialise in speed. If it really came down to it, he had absolutely no guarantee that he¡¯d be able to make her stay behind. ¡°How about if both sides were to take a step back,¡± O¡¯Brien suggested. ¡°I give you my word that you and your group will be allowed to leave here safely, and in return, all I ask is that you share your family¡¯s teachings with me.¡± Arianna merely glanced lightly at O¡¯Brien before disregarding him and his proposal entirely. ¡°Come on,¡± Arianna said softly as she turned to Carter. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± If everyone was stunned by this group¡¯s brazenness before, then they were beyond shocked now. This seemingly insane woman had genuinely turned her back on one of the most powerful existences on their continent and begun floating behind the peak saint magical lion preparing to take their leave, but before they could get more than a few meters, the temperature seemed to skyrocket to the point where, forget the mortals, even some of the weaker saints began to feel genuinely uncomfortable. ¡°You¡¯d be wise not to mistake my kindness for weakness,¡± O¡¯Brien growled as a crimson skin-tight aura wrapped around his body. Ace¡¯s frosty eyes, which had never left his mother¡¯s assailant for even a second since his arrival, narrowed slightly. Whilst others might not be able to tell, his [Observation] allowed him to see things which most couldn¡¯t. As he was so far away from that stage, neither Arianna nor his master had bothered to explain the difference between deities and mortals, but the moment he saw O¡¯Brien, he understood the core difference between them. Whilst mortals, and even saints, were made of blood, bones, organs and other such features, deities seemed to be made of an extremely overbearing energy of some sort. At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of fusion of battle-qi and mageforce, only dozens, if not hundreds of times more pure and potent. It was then that he realised one of the many reasons why it was so hard for saints to jump ranks to defeat deities. If his assessment was correct, because their bodies were made of this incredible energy, it would mean that any physical wounds they received could be instantly healed, provided they didn¡¯t run out of energy. He didn¡¯t know what would happen if a wound was inflicted using energy of the same calibre, but what he was able to deduce was that if ordinairy battle-qi or mageforce were used to harm him, it would do next to no genuine harm. Unless¡­ O¡¯Brien had barely moved an inch when Arianna¡¯s body moved at a speed that not even he could follow clearly. ¡°My family¡¯s legacy isn¡¯t for the likes of you to covet,¡± Arianna said softly as she slowly re-sheathed her sword. It was only after she returned to the side of Ace and the others that Fain, Desri, and the others even realised she had even moved, but it was only when the clink of her sheathe met the hilt of her katana that they realised the impossible had happened. O¡¯Brien¡¯s head had been cut clean off his shoulders! Book 5: Chapter 44 – Ace & Milianna’s Identities Revealed As Ace guessed, O¡¯Brien¡¯s head instantly reformed as though the previous attack had never transpired. Still, as fast as it was, the fact that her attack landed so cleanly shocked Fain and the rest of the audience ¨C from the looks of it, they were still underestimating her. O¡¯Brien¡¯s expression was also one of shock, but unlike his disciples and the rest of the audience, he didn¡¯t appear to have eyes for Arianna, despite her having shown strength that seemed to be able to threaten him. No, in that moment, his full, undivided attention was solely on the shivering-robed mortal woman on the back of the peak saint stage lion. ¡°Arianna¡­¡± O¡¯Brien called out, excitement seeping out every fibre of his being. ¡°My wife is th¡­¡± ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± Ace roared with pure, unbridled rage. ¡°KEEP MY MOTHER¡¯S NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!¡± Whilst everyone else stared at Ace incredulously for daring to raise his voice at a deity, O¡¯Brien was focused on something else entirely. ¡°Mother?¡± O¡¯Brien asked, not quite able to believe what he was hearing. ¡°Arianna¡¯s your mother?¡± As he asked that, O¡¯Brien¡¯s mind raced as he began doing calculations, comparing Ace¡¯s age to when he last ¡®saw¡¯ Milianna. With the power of his soul, like Aiden, he too was capable of accurately assessing the age of a mortal, and as he did, his body couldn¡¯t help but tremble with excitement as he roared with laughter. Other than Ace, his group, and the War God¡¯s disciples, no one was 100% sure what was going on, but picking up on the clues left from the conversation so far, several were able to make a guess as to what was going on. Still, O¡¯Brien¡¯s following sentence confirmed their guesses. ¡°Hahaha, now it makes sense!¡± O¡¯Brien nodded excitedly as he began to study the dark-haired youth in front of him, having already completely forgiven him for his prior indiscretions. ¡°Only a son of mine could be born with such talent!¡± Though they had already guessed the truth, jaw-dropping gasps could be heard from just about everyone present when they heard the confirmation from O¡¯Brien, causing them to look back and forth between the father and son pair. Still, the more they thought about O¡¯Brien¡¯s words, they couldn¡¯t help but think about the heaven-defying talent Ace had shown. Despite only being at the early stages of the sixth rank, Ace had been able to defeat a genuine saint. That kind of talent is one you could only expect to see in the child of a god like O¡¯Brien. This time it was Ace¡¯s turn to burst out laughing, but it was clear from the ever-growing killing intent he was radiating that it had no positive connotations. Still, O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t seem to mind. A warm smile suffused his lips as he looked at his biological son. ¡°Is something funny?¡± ¡°Yeah, haha. It¡¯s you; you¡¯re hilarious!¡± Ace laughed coldly. ¡°You really overestimate yourself if you genuinely believe I inherited my talent from you!¡± As he said that, his laughter came to a sudden halt, his expression turning completely indifferent as he stared straight into his biological father¡¯s eyes. ¡°My name¡¯s Gol D. Ace, and I inherited both my bloodline and talent from my mother ¨C Gol D. Milianna.¡± Hearing his words, although she was still trembling uncontrollably in fear, Milianna couldn¡¯t help but look at the surprisingly broad back of her son. A hint of subconscious pride beginning to shine through the abyss of fear threatening to swallow her whole. She didn¡¯t understand how or why, but it was like the more Ace chose to believe in her, the more she couldn¡¯t help but have faith in herself. ¡°Hahaha, your mother?!¡± Byrius sneered. ¡°You mean that trembling mess of a woman behind you? Do you really believe your talent came from her instead of our ancestor, one of the most powerful beings on our continent? You may not have inherited her talent, but you sure as hell inherited that woman¡¯s stupidity!¡± ¡°Do you think you¡¯re qualified to even pass judgement about my talent?¡± Ace asked directly. ¡°You¡¯re over 1000 years old, and yet your comprehension hasn¡¯t even reached the prime saint level. If I were you, I would¡¯ve killed myself from the humiliation. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that you and your pathetic excuse for a family had to get someone to cripple my master because of your inferiority, chances are, you wouldn¡¯t be alive to even talk to me today. In front of me and everyone in my Yin-Yang Pavilion, you are nothing more than trash!¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Byrius¡¯ eyes reddened with rage. Never in his life had he felt such humiliation. Still, there wasn¡¯t much he could say in response. No matter how much he refused to admit it, deep down inside, he knew everything Ace said was true. Still, it took every ounce of self-control and willpower to keep himself from rushing over and incinerating Ace where he was. But in his defence, most of those present felt irked by Ace¡¯s arrogance, including O¡¯Brien. ¡°Enough!¡± O¡¯Brian growled in frustration as he released a terrifying energy that made almost everyone cower in fear. Even Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly constricted in shock as he was suddenly rendered unable to move so much as a muscle. ¡®So this is the power of a deity.¡¯ It was as though spacetime had suddenly frozen, preventing even the saints among them from moving. Still, after the initial shock, Ace calmed down. His cold and indifferent eyes remaining trained on his biological father. ¡°Even if you are my son, your insolence will not be tolerated,¡± O¡¯Brien snorted as he lifted his hand in the direction of his son, causing Ace and Milianna¡¯s bodies to suddenly float up towards him. ¡°Now come, it¡¯s time for you both to return to your rightful place by my side.¡± In that moment, the whole of War God¡¯s Mountain was deathly silent as they watched a deity act with impunity, but that silence only made the sound of Arianna¡¯s swordlight streaking through the sky all the more audible. ¡°My disciple and martial nephew won¡¯t be going anywhere with you,¡± Arianna said lightly, leaving no room for discussion as both Ace and Milianna fell back on Carter¡¯s back. Even though O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t need to move out of the way to dodge her strike, his brows couldn¡¯t help but furrow as he looked cautiously at Arianna. ¡°Why are you unaffected by my Godrealm?¡± The Godrealm of a deity was effectively the domain of said deity. Its more subtle uses include allowing the deity to communicate telepathically with others or even the use of telekinesis ¨C as seen when O¡¯Brien attempted to bring Ace and his mother to him. But its most practical and popular use was to suppress all targets within the user¡¯s range. It was so effective that ordinarily, all those beneath the deity realm ¨C including prime saints ¨C were incapable of even moving a finger inside it. As far as O¡¯Brien was concerned, even if Arianna wasn¡¯t rendered completely immobile, she should still be somewhat suppressed, but from the looks of things, she was completely unaffected. Not only that, but her last strike had actually shattered his Godrealm. ¡°The Godrealm of a second-rate Demi-God is too weak to affect me,¡± Arianna said, maintaining her usual air of indifference. ¡°Second rate?¡± O¡¯Brien snarled. ¡°What would you call someone who can only become a deity by absorbing a divine spark?¡± Arianna asked back in a calm yet very straightforward manner. Surprisingly, O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t seem angry when he heard that; instead, he seemed to go through a moment of internal struggle as he looked back and forth between Ace and Arianna as though he was trying to decide on his next course of action. There were two ways to become a deity; the first, and by far the most easiest of the two options, was to do precisely what O¡¯Brien had done and absorb a divine spark ¨C a deity¡¯s version of a dantian/beast core. The only prerequisites for this are that the expert in question needs to have become a saint of the same law or edict of the divine spark they¡¯re trying to absorb, and the divine spark is one that belonged to a Demi-God level deity before they died ¨C also known as the first stage of Godhood. After absorbing it, they will automatically assimilate the insights of the completed Profound Mystery comprehended by the original owner of said divine spark. However, after that Profound Mystery has been completely assimilated, forget fusing Profound Mysteries, it becomes virtually impossible for them to comprehend more profound mysteries by themselves in the future. The only way they can progress is by absorbing the divine spark of a deity of the same law or edict at a higher level. The second way is to do what Arianna and Ace had done and comprehend the Profound Mysteries by themselves. Although more difficult and much slower, they can still comprehend and fuse further Profound Mysteries, meaning their ceilings are much higher than their counterparts. Although this was common knowledge for the rest of the universe, the vast majority of the Yulan Continent had no idea about these simple facts ¨C including O¡¯Brien! Although not on the level of Ace or even Olivier, O¡¯Brien had once been a genius allowing him to become a saint in under 100 years. Then, after exploring a certain ruin, he had been lucky enough to discover the divine spark of a Demi-God. Not knowing the future limitations it would put on him, he immediately absorbed it and soon became one of the very few deities on the continent. That was over 5000 years ago, and since then, he had desperately searched for answers or a way out of his current predicament, but unfortunately, ever since becoming a deity, no matter how hard he tried, he had been unable to improve even a little bit. That was the main reason he had initially been so interested in Arianna and her Qingya clan¡¯s teachings. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but he desperately hoped they held the answers he needed, so although he was essentially being insulted when he heard Arianna¡¯s assessment of his strength, he couldn¡¯t help but be excited ¨C to the point where he was even considering giving up his pursuit of forcefully capturing his son and ¡®woman¡¯, after all, he was well aware that in this world, ultimately, nothing was more important than your personal strength. ¡°I had no idea that my woman had become your disciple,¡± O¡¯Brien said, deciding to change his approach as he once again turned to Arianna, this time talking to her like an equal. Ace¡¯s killing intent once again soared as O¡¯Brien addressed his mother as his ¡®woman¡¯; in fact, he wasn¡¯t alone. Even Lance had a hard time holding back his anger, but before either could say or do anything, O¡¯Brien continued. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯re effective all one family,¡± O¡¯Brien said warmly as excitement seeped into his voice. ¡°I say we let bygones be bygones and move on. Tell you what, how about you stay here in my Empire, and I¡¯ll have my people organise a banquet to celebrate.¡± Hearing that, a gentle smile suffused Arianna¡¯s angel-like face, which only seemed to add to her enchanting beauty, but the moment O¡¯Brien saw it, he felt like he was being eyed by the grim reaper himself. ¡°O¡¯Brien,¡± Arianna said softly. ¡°You can forget about ever laying your hands on my family¡¯s teaching! The only reason I have allowed you to live all this time after finding out that you had raped my disciple is because I agreed to let Ace be the one to take your pathetic excuse for a life in the future!¡± Book 5: Chapter 45 – Arianna Qingya The Valkyrie This was a world where above all else, strength was respected and even worshipped. With enough strength, rules and laws meant nothing. As a result, it unfortunately meant that sexual assault was a common occurrence in the martial world. The moment it was confirmed that Ace was O¡¯Brien¡¯s biological son, most were able to guess what O¡¯Brien had done to Milianna. Still, most didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid, and for those that did, there was no shock or outrage, only a hint of pity which they forcibly suppressed for fear of what the War God would do if he sensed it. But the moment Arianna mentioned the word ¡°rape¡±, the audience couldn¡¯t help but react, but instead of shock or anything like that, it was fear they felt overwhelmed with. The killing intent that Arianna radiated was so dreadful it made Ace¡¯s feel like a spring breeze. In fact, not even a prime saint-level warrior like Cesar, who had dedicated the majority of his life to the art of killing, could even begin to compare. It was so potent that some of the weaker mortals present, like Wharton, found themselves losing consciousness, and even the more powerful ones struggled to catch their breaths, and none of them was actually the target of her anger, so it could be imagined how uncomfortable O¡¯Brien was feeling. Despite being a supposedly ¡®all-powerful¡¯ deity, the moment the War God felt Arianna¡¯s killing intent, his eyes immediately constricted as his hairs stood on edge. There were four deities on the continent, but there was only one capable of making him feel genuine fear. As far as he was concerned, the mysterious deity who ruled the forest of Darkness was an unfathomable being that could take his life with a mere thought. But that was Lord Beirut, and this was Arianna. Forget deities; Arianna wasn¡¯t even at the peak of the saint realm! How could he possibly fear a trivial saint? That fear quickly morphed into all-out anger as he glared at Arianna, allowing his own killing intent to erupt like a volcano. Though not as potent as Arianna¡¯s, it was more than most present were able to bear. The moment he sensed that, Carter shot off into the distance. He had already been warned by Arianna that if O¡¯Brien appeared and things took a serious turn for the worst that he shouldn¡¯t hesitate in taking Ace and the others and escaping. His actions caused a chain reaction, with everyone immediately turning to escape as far away as possible as quickly as physically possible. Olivier, who had only woken up upon sensing Arianna¡¯s fearful killing intent, was still greatly confused as to what had happened during his slumber, but at that moment, he didn¡¯t dare to waste time. He was still far from 100%, with his internal organs still severely damaged, but he unhesitantly grabbed his unconscious little brother and Talore, wrapping them both in his newly enhanced battle-qi, before ignoring the doctor who had treated his wounds and escaping at a speed far surpassing many of the saints around. Still, even as he was escaping, he found himself subconsciously hoping Ace would make it out alive. Though he didn¡¯t know what was happening, he could guess it had something to do with his former opponent, but even after his loss, he found that instead of shame or anger, the only thing he felt for Ace was respect. Other than Arianna and O¡¯Brien, the only one who hadn¡¯t left was Fain. Although far more powerful than him, Fain and Desri were still barely strong enough to stay and watch from a safe distance. Unfortunately for Desri, he still had his wife to care for, so like the others, he took his wife and left at a speed everyone else could only watch in envy. ¡°Fain,¡± O¡¯Brien voiced coldly as he continued to glare at Arianna. ¡°Bring me, my child and woman!¡± ¡°Yes, master!¡± Fain nodded respectfully as his body turned into a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, before he could take off, at a speed that caught even O¡¯Brien by surprise, Arianna¡¯s body moved like a flash of light appearing directly in front of the blue-haired expert, her sword gracefully arcing through the air aiming to cut him in two from top to bottom. As a warrior who focused on the laws of lightning, Fain prided himself on his speed. Still, as the cold hard blade of Arianna¡¯s sword descended, he could only watch in horror, unable to do a thing to stop it. Thankfully, though apparently not as fast as Arianna, his master had been a lot closer. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Before she could complete her attack, Arianna¡¯s sword was interrupted mid-slash mere inches from Fain¡¯s sweat-covered forehead. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Arianna said as she looked at the cyan-haired prime saint, the corners of her cherry lips arcing up slightly as she completely ignored O¡¯Brien. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I really got to stretch my legs, and your master on his own won¡¯t be enough.¡± Like most of the others in the Pavilion, Arianna was also something of a battle-fiend, but with her current strength, there was hardly anyone who could give her a good battle. So finally, having found opponents who could last more than one attack, she felt her blood starting to boil. It had been over 10,000 years since Arianna disappeared from the world, but today was the day she would remind everyone why she was once called ¡®The Valkyrie¡¯! . . . At the same time, a giant ball of fire could be seen streaking through the air like a meteor, rapidly approaching the borders of the O¡¯Brien Empire. Inside the ball of fire was Carter, who was carrying Ace and the others on his back. Though it hadn¡¯t even been a minute since everyone scattered from the top of the mountain, Carter had travelled hundreds of miles, going to show precisely how terrifyingly fast a magical beast at the peak of the saint realm was. Ordinarily, forget Milianna; it would be impossible for Ace to withstand the wind resistance whilst travelling at such a speed, but the giant sphere of fire encapsulating them was actually working as a barrier preventing any resistance from touching them ¨C the inside of the ring was almost like a separate dimension. This was one of the Pavilion¡¯s few saint-level techniques reserved for those whose comprehension had reached the peak of the saint realm, called the [Pseudo Godrealm]. Like the majority of the other techniques the Pavilion had in its libraries, this was part of Arianna¡¯s family¡¯s teachings. It was an ingenious technique that somewhat imitated the Godrealm of a deity. Unfortunately, as it was only an imitation, it didn¡¯t have a suppression effect on enemies inside, but it did allow the user to create an almost separate world where they could not only use their elemental techniques with far better energy efficiency but also increased might. Anticipating the possibility of such a scenario unfolding, Arianna had granted Carter the opportunity to learn it. Unfortunately, even though Carter was able to fly at his top speed without worrying about his passengers, speed had never been his forte. As a result, there were close to a dozen peak-level saints slowly gaining on them, all of whom were O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples, and leading the pack was Byrius, who was doing nothing to hide his killing intent. ¡°We¡¯re here to capture the boy and his mother,¡± A burly axe-wielding woman said as she glanced over her shoulder at her crimson-haired junior brother. ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard, Byrius!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t answer to you, Talana!¡± Byrius growled back as he gave his second sister a threatening glare. Talana didn¡¯t back down from the intense stare-off, clearly displeased with the attitude of this junior brother of hers. ¡°Both of you need to knock it off!¡± Magnar, O¡¯Brien¡¯s 3rd disciple, said indifferently. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for infighting; we¡¯ve got a job to do.¡± Byrius may have been the most talented of O¡¯Brien¡¯s 20+ disciples and considered by many of the junior brothers to be the strongest besides Fain, but each of O¡¯Brien¡¯s five eldest disciples, was at the very peak of the saint realm, and like Byrius, each of them was a mere step away from becoming prime saints, as such none of them feared Byrius in the slightest. It was rare that all of them would gather like this, but when they did, tensions would rise. Still, they all knew that if they allowed their infighting to be the reason Ace and Milianna were allowed to escape, disciple or not, there would be nothing that could save them from their master¡¯s fiery temper. Back inside Carter¡¯s [Pseudo-Godrealm], anxiety was starting to rise as, by now, everyone could feel that it wouldn¡¯t be long before they were caught up to. Still, Ace didn¡¯t seem to care in the slightest. His whole attention was on his mother, whom he could see was desperately and valiantly fighting to suppress her obviously overwhelming fear. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Okay¡­ Stop¡­ Worrying¡­¡± Milianna stammered between forced breaths as she lay back against Lance¡¯s chest with her son¡¯s hand in hers. Though she said that, her whole body was drenched in sweat, and her face had paled drastically, but the worst part was that Ace could sense that the condition of her soul was worsening by the second. He didn¡¯t mind what happened to him, but if anything happened to his mother, despite her being the one to choose to come today, he would never be able to live with himself. Quite frankly, Ace¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t much better. Not only were the bones in his right arm shattered, every fibre of his being was screaming at him to rest. He was quite literally running on fumes just staying awake, but as he looked at his mother suffering before him, he couldn¡¯t feel anything. Be it physical or emotional, Ace was unable to feel anything. Subconsciously he had suppressed all sense of feelings so as not to let himself be overwhelmed. Even as Carter¡¯s [Pseudo-Godrealm] dissipated ¨C with him unable to maintain the consumption any longer ¨C Ace remained utterly emotionless. Without his domain to protect Ace and the others, Carter was forced to slow down drastically. The moment they saw that, the eyes of Byrius and his fellow martial brothers and sisters lit up in anticipation. Their group was only a little over a kilometer away, which may sound like a lot, but to experts at that level, it may as well have been on top of them. The quickest to react was a white-haired middle-aged man. He was O¡¯Brien¡¯s fifth disciple, Rana ¨C a warrior who specialised in the laws of wind. In a selfish attempt to garner the favour of his master, Rana shot forward like a bullet leaving his fellow brothers and sisters in the dust. Byrius glared at Rana unwillingly. He knew that as soon as Ace fell into Rana¡¯s hand, there would be no chance of him being able to orchestrate an accident, but there was nothing he could do ¨C Rana was simply too fast. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two come with me?¡± Rana laughed as his hands neared Ace and Milianna, preparing to capture them both. Had he paid more attention to his surroundings, he would¡¯ve noticed that, aside from Ace and Milianna, the expressions of anxiety had all but vanished; taking their place was one of relief ¨C an odd expression considering their current situation. It was only when Rana was virtually right on top of them that Ace reacted. It was at that moment that Rana finally sensed something was off. One word¡­ One word coming from his master¡¯s emotionless son was all Rana heard before his vision went dark. ¡°Die!¡± Book 5: Chapter 46 – Arianna’s Disciples Vs. O’Brien’s Disciples The eyes of Byrius and his group constricted as they all suddenly came to a halt and hurriedly flew back as a sphere of pure destruction appeared around Carter and the others. It only appeared for under a second, but when it vanished, Byrius and the others saw a scene that would forever be ingrained in their memories. The body of their fifth brother slowly disintegrating by the feet of a black-robed figure holding a giant war cleaver over his shoulder. ¡°Who are you?¡± Talana asked as she quickly got over her shock. She had no idea who this mystery figure was, and due to his robe, she was unable to sense anything about him. But she could still vividly remember the energy used. Still, that only left them with more questions than answers. First, the energy used was of the edict of destruction. Although somewhat surprising due to its rarity, it wasn¡¯t enough to make experts of their level hesitate. No, the hesitation stemmed from the fact that the energy seemed to only be of a mid-staged saint but had the comprehension of a prime saint. The moment they sensed that, they couldn¡¯t help but think of the monstrous woman currently stuck fighting their master. If this was an individual who had, for whatever reason, chosen to follow a path like hers¡­ They couldn¡¯t help but hope that their concerns were unfounded, or better yet, as unlikely as it was, that he had nothing to do with Ace and his group. The mystery man was obviously Mathias. Arianna, having foreseen the potential of an outcome such as this, had planned to turn this exact location into a rendezvous spot for her disciples to provide backup should it be needed. But with each of the senior members of the pavilion having to travel back from their various chosen schools, first back to the pavilion to drop off the student they were tasked with protecting, then hurrying here, not even she had been 100% they would be able to make it in time. Thankfully, it appeared that, at the very least, her eldest disciple had been able to make it on time. ¡°Sixth sister¡­¡± Mathias voiced in a worried tone, paying absolutely no attention to Talana and the rest of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples. He turned to ask Ace how she was, but he could tell from the expression on his face that Ace was in no condition to conversate. As such, he was forced to land on Carter¡¯s back and check for himself. Byrius and the others all frowned when they heard that. If he were another and more senior disciple of that monstrous woman, then it would make sense that he too had followed her path. The only question that was on their mind was what level his comprehension had actually reached. If it were only that of a prime saint, though slightly problematic, it wouldn¡¯t be the end of the world, but if it had surpassed that and stepped into the realms of a deity¡­ Since Mathias¡¯ soul wasn¡¯t as strong as Aiden¡¯s or his master¡¯s, nor could he use [Observation Haki] like Ace to spread his soul so adeptly out of his body to get a better understanding, he had to make direct contact with Milianna before sending his spiritual essence into her body. No one said or did anything as Mathias moved; his so blatantly ignoring Byrius and the others only made them more hesitant. Mathias¡¯ control of his spiritual essence was never his strong point. Still, even though he couldn¡¯t perform as thorough a check as he would¡¯ve liked, what he could sense was enough to make his face darken. ¡°Carter, you take Milianna and the others back to the Pavilion,¡± Mathias commanded as he slowly floated off the lion¡¯s back. ¡°Leave them to us.¡± As the sound of his voice waned, the eyes of Byrius and the others constricted as they sensed four imposing auras heading their way. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. One seemed to belong to a mortal at the ninth rank, whilst two of the others belonged to experts at the early stages of the saint realm. For most forces, such a lineup would be pretty impressive, but for a group like Byrius and his fellow brothers and sisters, it wasn¡¯t anything to write home about. What truly had them so surprised was the one who seemed to be leading the charge. It wasn¡¯t long before the four experts arrived on the scene, having already passed Carter, Ace, and the others on the way. As their eyes fell on their soon-to-be enemies, their collective killing intent soared as they remembered the condition of their junior sister. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Kimai, O¡¯Brien¡¯s eighth disciple, asked cautiously. Though he didn¡¯t say anything else, his fellow disciples understood and quite frankly shared his concerns. Though they had Arianna¡¯s disciples outnumbered nine to five, and three of them weren¡¯t even worth mentioning, the other two remained a problem. They still had no idea the true limits of Mathias¡¯ strength, but the violet-haired woman was a different matter altogether. The moment she appeared, they instantly understood that naturally, she too was only at the middle stages of the saint realm, but even if her comprehension wasn¡¯t as freakish as her masters, individually, she was still stronger than all of them ¨C thus was the fearsomeness of the descendants of the four supreme warriors. Lauriella stood in the skies above, her Violetflame Phoenix bloodline on clear display for the world to see, as she looked down at O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples, the wrath in her eyes anything but hidden. Whilst usually, she was only at the middle stages of the saint realm, once transformed, her mage realm would see an explosive increase. As it stood, her realm had jumped all the way to that of a prime saint. The only disciple among their ranks that could even hope to challenge her was Fain. Unfortunately, he was still stuck with their master, facing Arianna. Still, before any of them could respond to Kimai¡¯s query, Wukong wordlessly decided to answer for them. Wukong took a single step forward; his eyes closed as he remembered the state Ace had been in when moments ago. Like his senior brothers and sisters, Wukong had come to care a great deal about Milianna over the last few years, but though he didn¡¯t say it, his relationship with Ace was much deeper. He genuinely saw Ace as his little brother, so seeing him in his current state ¨C Wukong¡¯s mood could be understood! As his foot landed, nine bolts of lightning descended from the skies at a speed that made all nine look at Wukong in surprise. Though nothing to them, the power of each bolt had impressively reached the power of an early saint. But as mentioned earlier, such power was nothing to them. Still, Wukong couldn¡¯t care less about the ease with which they blocked his blow. With his eyes still closed, he took a second step, a step that was equal to the first in just about every way, but this time the bolt of lightning had doubled in speed and power ¨C once again shocking his targets. Unfortunately, it was still too weak to do them any real danger. As Wukong raised his foot for the third time, what sounded like the enraged roar of a divine dragon threatened to burst their ear drums. Byrius had been approaching boiling point long before Mathias arrived on the scene, then having to watch as the target of his anger and frustration slowly flew away with there apparently being nothing he could do to stop it¡­ His patience was really being tested! So when yet another mortal dared to oppose him¡­ ¡°This is no place for mortals!¡± Byrius snorted as he flicked his wrist, sending a scorching wave of battle-qi at the ape-like young man. Though it was only a casual attack from him, it still had the might of a peak saint, but Wukong carried on with his third step; his eyes still firmly shut as though he couldn¡¯t sense anything wrong. Just because Wukong didn¡¯t appear to be paying attention to his surroundings didn¡¯t mean his seniors weren¡¯t. The moment Byrius made a move, Lazerim, Arianna¡¯s third and usually most unassuming, casually raised his gauntlet-covered arm. Before Byrius¡¯ attack could land, a diamond-encrusted wall rose from the ground, shielding Wukong from harm before warping into a tree entirely made of diamond. A diamond-covered tree was truly a spectacular sight, but none of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples was in the mood to appreciate its splendour as its branches suddenly extended in each of their directions. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Talana ordered as she used her battle-axe to slice through the branch aimed at her, her brows furrowing slightly as she took one final glance at the sliced branch on the floor before turning to make a run for it. ¡°Now!¡± There were too many unpredictable factors at play for her to allow things to proceed any further. In fact, she wished she had been more decisive and retreated the moment the robed figure arrived. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret. Byrius wanted to roar in frustration as he took one final glance at the disappearing figures of Ace and his group. There was no one more unwilling than him, but he wasn¡¯t suicidal. He had come to the same conclusion as his second sister. Unfortunately for them, Arianna¡¯s disciples were far too angry to let things end so simply. On behalf of their junior sister, each of them wanted to show the world the consequences of messing with their little family. Book 5: Chapter 47 – Rise of a New Prime Saint Seeing what Byrius and the other O¡¯Brien disciples were planning, Mathias, Lauriella, and Kimika all took action at once. Though the weakest in realm, Kimika appeared to be the fastest of the three. Her killing intent soared as she seemed to teleport, appearing at the rear of the group blocking off the path of Kimai. ¡°I refuse to believe that a mere early saint can stop me!¡± O¡¯Brien¡¯s 8th disciple roared as he summoned his spear from his storage ring and thrust it forward with all his might. An overbearing heat wave suddenly assaulted Kimika as the air seemed to distort, creating the image of hundreds of spears aiming to riddle her body with hundreds of holes. The moment she saw Kimai¡¯s attack, she instantly understood that the man had comprehended the Law of Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of Mirages. Unfortunately, for the spear-wielding saint, as realistic as it appeared to the naked eye, Kimika had long since learnt not to rely solely on her eyes. By listening to the symphony of the air, she could tell exactly what was happening around her without even opening her eyes. Every subtle shift in the air was automatically fed back to her mind. As a result, Kimika was able to ignore all the fake spears and focus only on the 30 real ones. Despite being so much weaker than her opponent, Kimika¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t flicker as she calmly waved her sword hundreds of times in the space of a second, but instead of aiming for Kimai himself, she chose to target his spear, allowing her to barely knock each of his strikes off target. Though it took a while to explain, everything happened in a fraction of a second. By the time Kimai realised he¡¯d done no damage to this seemingly weak saint, Wukong had just completed his third step. He was so taken aback by Kimika¡¯s skill with the sword that he¡¯d actually been slow in reacting to the third bolt of lightning. The moment Kimai moved to block Wukong¡¯s descending bolt of lightning, Kimika slashed her sword across her body from left to right. ¡°[Void Rend]!¡± Kimika said with a cold indifference that made her opponent¡¯s heart shudder. Kimai¡¯s eyes constricted as he saw Kimika¡¯s blade tearing through the fabric of space. In that moment, he understood that, if nothing else, he couldn¡¯t allow Kimika¡¯s strike to land. Knowing it was do or die, he hurriedly transitioned from defence to offence, allowing Wukong¡¯s attack to strike him on the crown of his head as his battle-qi roared to life, burning the air and anything else that dared stand in his way. With the threat of death pressing down on him, Kimai managed to subconsciously comprehend his second profound mystery ¨C the profound mystery of heat; unfortunately, just as his spear took flight, his ears were assaulted by the roar of thunder. It was only a fraction of a fraction of a second, but by the time he shook off its effects, he found his vision spinning as he intermittently caught sight of his headless body. Just like that, another of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples met their end, their numbers going from nine to eight, but Kimika didn¡¯t spare him another glance as her body vanished, looking for her next opponent. The other eight disciples hadn¡¯t even realised that another of their brothers had just fallen. Each of them was facing a threat that prevented them from even considering splitting their attention. Three of them had been targeted by Mathias, whilst Lauriella had targeted the other five. With both husband and wife immediately deciding to lock their targets in their [Pseudo-Godrealms]. The moment she sensed Mathias appear behind her, Talana¡¯s heart froze. Though she wasn¡¯t sure, she couldn¡¯t help but expect the worst ¨C that Mathias¡¯ comprehension really had reached the deity realm. She was so scared that, in that moment, she had even forgotten to move, but when she sensed the ¡®destruction¡¯ of her 11th sister, her brows momentarily furrowed before she erupted in a boisterous laughter filled with relief. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. In that moment, she realised that Mathias¡¯s comprehension really had only reached the level of a prime saint. If it had gone past that, with how much he wanted to kill them all, there was no way he would still be holding back. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. She was brought back to reality by the death of her sixth brother. Though she had hit the nail on the head with her deduction, with his [Pseudo-Godrealm], Mathias¡¯ power had stepped into the realms of prime saints. Coming to that realisation, Talana¡¯s body shot back explosively, creating as much space between her and the enemy as possible. Mathias could guess what she was planning, but as soon as he had finished with O¡¯Brien¡¯s sixth disciple, instead of chasing after Talana to try and stop her from forcibly destroying his domain, he lifted his war cleaver and calmly slashed from top to bottom. ¡°[Sundering Decimation]!¡± Mathias¡¯s voice had barely left his mouth when a terrifyingly powerful, grey, crescent-shaped axe light radiating pure destruction shot forth. Talana had only just destroyed Mathias¡¯ domain when she sensed Mathias¡¯ attack approaching her. Aside from the few times she¡¯d been lucky enough to watch a battle at the deity level, this was by far the strongest attack she¡¯d ever witnessed. She was just about to dodge when the sound of thunder rang in her ears, faintly disorientating her, and another bolt of lightning descended from the sky, snaking down till it struck her on the head. Previously, Mathias¡¯ domain had effectively shielded her from Wukong¡¯s [Tribulation Steps], but Wukong had never stopped. In fact, he seemed to have entered a trance-like state. Between the grief caused by seeing Ace suffering and then facing the people who were causing it, his soul had faced enough stimulation to enter sudden enlightenment. Not only had his comprehension of lightning¡¯s profound mystery of movement reached the prime saint level, but¡­ ¡°Argh!¡± Talana grunted as her face paled slightly due to her soul receiving a jolt. It wasn¡¯t just her. Of the five targeted by Lauriella, she had managed to kill three, one of whom was Magnar, O¡¯Brien¡¯s 3rd disciple. The difference between those targeted by Lauriella and those targeted by Mathias was that whilst Talana and her two juniors were overwhelmed by fear of the unknown, not knowing the limits of Mathias¡¯ strength, the five trapped by Lauriella¡¯s [Pseudo-Godrealm] all knew exactly how powerful Lauriella was. Whilst a prime saint was far more powerful than each of them individually, together, they stood a chance, provided they destroyed her domain. Unfortunately, by the time they succeeded, only Byrius and his 4th brother, Wendell, remained. But like Talana, as they escaped, they too were hit by Wukong¡¯s sixth lightning strike. With his improved insights into the profound mystery of movement, the speed of each bolt reached a level you¡¯d expect to see from a peak saint, but what was most impressive was that during his enlightenment, he had actually managed to not only grasp a trace amount of lightning¡¯s profound mystery of judgement but also fuse it with his insights into the mystery of movement, giving each of his lightning bolts the ability to attack the soul of his targets ¨C at least in part. Still, the power of his soul was only faintly approaching the saint realm. His strike was far from enough to do any lasting damage to three peak saints of this level. Even though they were nowhere near out of danger, whether it was Byrius or Wendell, they both turned to Wukong ¨C who had only just awoken from his enlightenment ¨C in disbelief. That last strike, although it was only barely, could genuinely threaten them. A mortal with the ability to threaten three peak saints¡­ They couldn¡¯t help but wonder how so many monsters could gather under one roof. The worst part was that if not for their choosing to reveal themselves of their own free will, no one would have any idea¡­ ¡°For daring to target this king¡¯s family, you all deserve death!¡± Wukong growled as he raised his foot for the seventh time. ¡°[Tribulation Step ¨C Seventh Ste¡­¡± Before Wukong could finish his attack, Byrius attacked once more, this time not holding back ¨C Wukong was way too dangerous to take lightly any longer! Wukong moved like a bolt of lightning, easily evading Byrius¡¯ strike, but unfortunately, with his technique interrupted, he would no longer be able to continue without starting again from the first step ¨C something he very much doubted would be possible anymore. ¡°Argh!¡± Wendell grunted suddenly as he was sent flying. Whilst Byrius had been busy with Wukong, Lazerim and Kimika had shown seamless teamwork to target O¡¯Brien¡¯s fourth disciple. Unfortunately, he was far stronger than either of them and had still been in a relatively alert state, despite being distracted by Wukong. At the same time, Mathias¡¯ last strike was virtually on top of Talana, and due to Wukong¡¯s interference, it was far too late to dodge. At that moment, as her life began to flash before her eyes, she was struck by a moment of enlightenment, which in turn allowed her to draw strength from the earth beneath her feet to increase her own power. Previously, like Byrius, Talana had been at the very peak of the saint realm, not even half a step from becoming a prime saint, but now¡­ Talana calmly swung her axe, but as it moved, space seemed to distort around her blade. As her earthen-battle-qi-covered axe met Mathias¡¯ attack, she somehow managed to shatter it with what appeared to be nothing but raw power. Though she was sent skidding back with a trickle of blood seeping out the corner of her mouth, she survived. That wasn¡¯t the only thing of note¡­ ¡°HAHAHA,¡± Talana¡¯s ecstatic laugh rang through the battlefield, causing everyone to stop and stare at her. ¡°I should really thank you! Because of you, I too have finally become a prime saint!¡± Book 5: Chapter 48 – Captured With the energy in his beast core depleted, Carter could no longer use his [Pseudo-Godrealm], meaning he could no longer afford to fly at full speed with the level of the passengers sitting on his back being too weak to bear the turbulence. As such, his speed was a lot slower. Still, they weren¡¯t far away from the Pavilion now. Unfortunately, it appeared that they weren¡¯t completely out of trouble yet. Before they could return to the safety of the Pavilion, they were intercepted by another of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples. Shamar was O¡¯Brien¡¯s 14th and most cunning disciple. When his senior brothers and sisters rushed ahead to chase after Ace and his group, he calmly followed on the ground, a shadowy aura covering his body, hiding him from the senses of everyone he was tailing. Originally, he didn¡¯t expect to find an opportunity to capitalise on the situation, but when he noticed Ace and the others escaping after the intervention of Mathias, Lauriella, and the others, he couldn¡¯t help but grin to himself. Still, even after trailing his master¡¯s son and mistress for dozens of miles, he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to take action. He had no idea how many, if any, more powerhouses this Yin-Yang Pavilion had. It was only after travelling another hundred or so miles that Shamar felt comfortable enough to take action. The moment he did, Carter reacted instantly. ¡°LEO!¡± Carter growled at his son as he turned to face the new threat. Nothing else needed to be said; by that point, Leo could also feel Shamar¡¯s overwhelming presence speeding in their direction. Leo immediately turned to Ace, preparing to lift his partner onto his back, knowing Ace was in no condition to move by himself, but what he got in response was a threatening glare. ¡°Take my mother and Lance,¡± Ace commanded, leaving no room for discussion. ¡°NOW!¡± Leo didn¡¯t want to leave Ace, but he didn¡¯t dare disobey him either. As unwilling as he was, Leo hurriedly lifted Milianna and Lance onto his back before leaping off his father¡¯s back and jumping through the air as quickly as possible. Milianna¡¯s heart dropped as she was forced to leave her son, but thankfully, before she could try and order Leo to go back and get him, Cirilus, Ace¡¯s new subordinate, flung his new master over his shoulder and, like Leo, began leaping through the air at breakneck speed to try and escape. With everyone off his back, Carter was finally free to engage their assailant. After becoming a peak saint and gaining access to the knowledge of the pavilion, Carter¡¯s current strength was enough to rank him among the likes of Haydson and Shelia ¨C the leader of the Cult of Darkness. If he were at his best, he would have nothing to fear facing a saint like Shamar, but right now, he was far from his best! Shamar smirked disdainfully when he heard Carter¡¯s enraged roar, but he didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest. In fact, he barely even looked at him. Most of his attention was still focused on Ace and his mother. ¡°You would¡¯ve been better off running away,¡± Carter snorted when he felt the feeble flames coating Carter¡¯s man-sized paw as it flew towards him. Two throwing knives appeared in Shamar¡¯s hands, and with a casual flick of his wrist, the knives whistled through the air, but instead of heading towards the giant lion, they seemed to be aimed at the ground. Carter had no idea what his target was thinking, but it didn¡¯t matter; all that mattered to him was tearing the dark-robed man limb from limb before he could get anywhere near his son. Unfortunately, fate had other plans in store for him. His paw was mere inches away from Shamar¡¯s pale-skinned face when he not only felt a piercing pain coming from his paw and neck, but his body also refused to listen to him. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Carter roared as he looked down, only to find blood leaking from both his neck and paw. ¡°You didn¡¯t even hit¡­¡± ¡°You figured it out too late,¡± Shamar chuckled evilly as he summoned a long sword from his storage ring, slashing at the beast¡¯s neck as he passed him before continuing his pursuit of his true targets. He had intended to decapitate Carter in one blow, but his mane had been a lot thicker than he had foreseen. Still, Carter could only let out a faint whimpering sound as he fell to the ground, a fountain of blood gushing from his neck, its state ultimately unknown. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! With the only saint of the group down, Shamar had nothing left to worry about as he flew towards Ace and Cirulus. Cirulus had been paying attention to everything that had happened between the two saints, so the moment he noticed Shamar dispatching Carter, he took action. Knowing that he and Ace would be next, Cirulus did the only thing a loyal subordinate could do in his situation. ¡°It¡¯s been short, but it¡¯s been fun!¡± Cirulus grinned at Ace one last time before launching his body towards Leo and the others and turning around to face Shamar. Ace didn¡¯t seem to react when thrown through the air like a javelin; his eyes remained trained on Cirulus¡¯ back as he fearlessly faced death head-on to protect him ¨C as if to etch that scene into his memory. ¡°YAAHHHH!¡± Cirulus roared as he coated his sword in crimson fire-style battle-qi and slashed at Shamar with all his might. Facing the attack of Cirulus, Shamar didn¡¯t react; he simply carried on flying as though the rank nine warrior was mere air. The moment his sword made contact with Shamar¡¯s neck, Cirulus helplessly watched as his sword shattered before his body was sent flying off into the distance as he had his chest caved in by Shamar¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡± Ace roared when he sensed Leo slow as if to catch him. ¡°Protect my mother!¡± ¡°NOOO, AACCEEE!¡± Milianna wailed as she fought to escape Lance¡¯s hold with tears streaming down her pale yet still beautiful face. ¡°GO BACK! WE NEED TO GO BACK!¡± Tears could be seen welling up in the eyes of Leo and Lance, but neither of them said or did anything to help her. As much as it killed them, both were determined not to let Ace¡¯s sacrifice be in vain. After his last fight, Ace knew he would be lucky to defeat the average rank nine expert in his current state, but as he summoned ¡®Newgate¡¯ for what he knew would inevitably be the last time, into his one good hand, no hesitation or fear could be seen in his eyes. Ace could barely stand straight; he was literally running on fumes by this point, but still, he coated his glaive in both his [Armament & Conqueror¡¯s Haki] as he faced the 14th disciple of his biological father. ¡°We really don¡¯t need to fight, young master,¡± Shamar explained as he came to a stop in front of the teen, his eyes diligently studying the polearm in Ace¡¯s hand with a hint of fear but even more curiosity. Newgate had several very prominent cracks running across its obsidian body and blade, but its most noteworthy feature was the golden veins running along it. Shamar could clearly feel that, at best, the power it gave off was that of a warrior at the early stages of the saint realm, but still, there was something about that aura that made a peak saint like him feel slightly threatened. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to harm you or your mother,¡± Shamar continued. ¡°I just want to bring you back to your fa¡­¡± Ace refused to let Shamar finish his sentence. The moment Shamar attempted to say the word ¡°father¡±, Ace leapt forward and thrust the blade of his glaive towards the saint¡¯s mouth. A helpless sigh escaped Shamar¡¯s mouth when he saw that, as he didn¡¯t want to do any more harm to his master¡¯s only living child, but now it appeared he didn¡¯t have a choice. Even though he could quite easily dodge it, Shamar wanted to experience Ace¡¯s technique for himself. Ace could see Shamar''s look of curiosity and anticipation as his attack neared. He knew he wasn¡¯t being taken very seriously, but all he was focused on was doing as much damage to the man as possible whilst allowing his mother and the others to get as far away as possible ¨C as long as they got back to the Pavilion, they¡¯d be safe! As Ace¡¯s glaive met Shamar¡¯s sword, Shamar couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes in surprise, but it wasn¡¯t because of the force¡­ As he suspected, the force of the blow was around that of a weaker early saint, but as the attack neared, he felt something tug at his consciousness as if trying to force him to submit, as though something was telling him that he wasn¡¯t qualified to even dare to resist. That tug was so strong that for the briefest of seconds, he actually relaxed his arm slightly and weakened his Darkness Battle-Qi as though he was about to disperse it. Shamar stared at his wrist, lost in thought. Even though he hadn¡¯t suffered any real damage, his arm was still numb, and that in and of itself was shocking enough considering the difference in realm; it was only when he heard a pained grunt that he snapped out of his thoughts. After using [Conqueror¡¯s Infusion], not only had Newgate shattered into thousands of pieces, but so too had the bones in his left arm. Still, he wasn¡¯t done fighting! He ignored his ever-growing fatigue and the pain of two broken arms as he hardened his leg to perform a shin kick. The power of Ace¡¯s strike would¡¯ve been enough to shatter the shin of any mortal, but Shamar, who still had his battle-qi protecting him, hadn¡¯t even felt it. But Ace refused to give in. Since his first did nothing, he would try a second. Using his one good limb, Ace performed another shin kick. Once again, aiming for Shamar¡¯s shin. Still, Shamar did nothing. He simply watched Ace¡¯s act of futility whilst studying the teen¡¯s expression. Though his talent was genuinely frightening, it was at that moment, as Ace broke his last good limb and attempted to headbutt him, that he realised Ace¡¯s most fearful attribute was the power of his will. For a second, Shamar had to fight the urge to kill him. He was well aware that keeping someone like this was no different from asking to spend the rest of your life sleeping with one eye open, but as frightening as Ace¡¯s potential was, he was easily 100x more scared of his master. ¡°Enough!¡± Shamar commanded as he grabbed the boy and held him up by his throat, preventing him from attacking him any further. Still, even though every cell in his body was screaming for Ace to go to sleep, and the pain of his four broken limbs was enough to make even the most hardened of warriors wail in pain, Ace¡¯s expression showed none of that. ¡°Be good whilst I go and pick up your mother and familiar,¡± Shamar commanded as he flew off after Leo and the others, whilst trying his best to forget the sight of Ace¡¯s fear-inducing eyes. Book 5: Chapter 49 – Divine Ability Book 5: Chapter 49 ¨C Divine Ability By that point, Leo was only a few kilometres away from the Pavilion when Shamar caught up to them. Sensing that, Leo glanced back at Lance as he came to a sudden stop. Lance may not have been able to truly communicate with the lion, but he understood the meaning behind that look, not that he needed it. The moment he felt the overwhelming presence of Shamar once again chasing after them, he ignored Milianna¡¯s protests and tears as he forcibly scooped her into his arms and began hurrying through the air in the direction of Yin-Yang Mountain. ¡°You lot think too highly of yourselves!¡± Shamar snorted when he saw that. He knew Leo was a Divine Beast, but as it was still only at the sixth rank, as incredible as its innate abilities and comprehension were, it wasn¡¯t at the point where it could threaten a saint. Shamar flew straight through Leo¡¯s sky-covering fiery paw-print and casually slapped the top of his skull, sending it crashing into the ground. If it were another beast of the sixth rank, Shamar¡¯s strike would¡¯ve killed it, but he had already seen the power of its body from its previous fights. He knew it could take that much of a beating and live. Lance felt a shudder coming from the very depths of his soul as Shamar¡¯s fist was mere inches from turning his skull into paste. Still, he managed to suppress his fears and keep running. Shamar on the other hand, had felt a familiar aura crash into him. Though it wasn¡¯t particularly strong, it had been enough to make him falter. Looking at the boy in his hand, he saw a pair of jet-black, ice-cold eyes trying to pierce his soul. ¡°You should kill me,¡± Ace voiced with an ice-cold indifference that made Shamar¡¯s soul shudder. ¡°If you allow me to live¡­ I will make you watch as I kill your master, and then I¡¯ll kill you!¡± As much as he believed in his master, the longer Shamar looked into Ace¡¯s eyes, the more he began to believe in Ace¡¯s declaration. It wasn¡¯t that he thought any less of O¡¯Brien, but after everything he had come to learn about Ace, especially knowing what his master had done to offend the teen, he couldn¡¯t see any way of Ace being convinced to put down his hatred, and even less of a chance of stopping him after he matures. The only way to protect not only himself but also his master is to kill Ace now before he gets the chance to mature. Because of the speed at which Leo was moving and the way Lance had been holding her, Milianna couldn¡¯t see much previously. But with Lance now carrying her like a princess, it was easy for her to see over his shoulder. Hell, with her senses, even with the rushing winds, she could hear everything Ace had said and even feel Shamar¡¯s rising killing intent. ¡°Noo¡­ Don¡¯t¡­ Please¡­¡± Milianna whimpered in an almost incoherent tone. ¡°Lance, please! I¡¯m begging you! Please Turn around! LANCE!¡± This was by far the hardest decision Lance had ever made. After all this time together, he had also grown to love Ace like a son, but before leaving for War God¡¯s Mountain this morning, Ace had pulled him aside for a chat, during which Ace made him promise that no matter what happens to him or anyone else, Lance would prioritise the safety and protection of his mother. No matter what happened from then on, Lance had every intention of keeping his promise ¨C even if it meant Milianna hating him in the future, but what neither he nor Ace could¡¯ve foreseen was what happened next. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Like Ace¡¯s, Milianna¡¯s soul was a carbon copy of her with her eyes closed, but unlike Ace¡¯s, her soul was shrouded in darkness with only a few specs of brightness but as Milianna watched Shamar raise his hand as if to pierce her son¡¯s chest and rip out his soul, something changed ¨C her soul manifestation opened its eyes! As Milianna¡¯s soul awoke, the few specs of brightness began to multiply, rapidly engulfing the veil of darkness that threatened to devour them. ¡°I SAID STOP!¡± Milianna ordered. As soon as she opened her mouth, an all too familiar energy exploded out of her knocking Lance unconscious and causing him to fall to the ground. Shamar¡¯s fingers had just torn the skin around Ace¡¯s chest; he was mere inches from being able to wrap his hand around the teen¡¯s beating heart when Milianna¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] crashed into him. Shamar was currently going through an odd inner battle, the likes of which he had never experienced before, or at least not on this level. He desperately wanted to finish ripping out Ace¡¯s heart, but he couldn¡¯t. The sound of that voice was simply inviolable! In the end, all he could do was turn back around to face the voice, and as he did, he saw something he would never forget. Till now, other than O¡¯Brien, no one had seen the face of Milianna, who had had the hood of the shadow robe up the entire time. In fact, even now, it was still up, but floating elegantly in the skies behind her was an enormous phantom of whom Shamar could only describe as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Flawless milky white skin, piercing bronze eyes that looked almost golden under the sun¡¯s glare, and long wavy brunette hair. She wore a pristine white dress that showed little of her skin but still hugged her body enough to make just about anyone, man or woman, stare in awe. And sat on her head was a thin silver tiara that only added to her regal and ethereal aura. For the first time since O¡¯Brien made his appearance, a genuinely warm smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t quite understand what was happening, as nothing like this had ever happened to him, but what he did know was that Milianna¡¯s soul was healed. For the most part, those with pure souls abhor violence; it¡¯s why they don¡¯t get very far in the martial world, with most choosing to lead a simple life of peace and kindness as mortals. But there are a few who, for one reason or another, are forced to come to terms with violence and are still able to retain their pure souls. For those, as much as they still dislike violence, they also understand that by being kind to their enemies, they¡¯re effectively being cruel to their loved ones. As of that moment, Milianna is one of those few. ¡°All those who dare harm my son,¡± Milianna said softly, her voice resembling that of an angel, which only made the content of her words that much more frightening. ¡°Deserve Death!¡± As she said that, a wave of [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] erupted from Milianna, or more specifically, the phantom she conjured. Hers was so powerful it somehow even dwarfed that of Ace¡¯s. Facing that, Shamar couldn¡¯t even last a breath before his consciousness was snuffed out like a candle. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his body seemed to stop breathing. If one were to perform an autopsy on him, they would be left speechless as there would be no signs of foul play. It was as if his body simply lost the will to continue living. Still, even as his body fell lifelessly to the floor, Milianna paid it no attention. All of her focus was on her son. Her phantom quickly dispersed as she threw herself towards Ace, so she could catch him before he fell. Previously, it was unknown how, but presumably because of her conjured phantom, Milianna was somehow able to float in mid-air, but now that it had vanished, as well as her still being too weak to use Geppo, she wasn¡¯t able to levitate any longer. In the end, because she was so worried about her son¡¯s injuries, Milianna had to cradle Ace in her arms as she fell backwards, so she absorbed as much of the impact as possible. A fall from that height was no small impact, even for those more powerful, let alone someone like Milianna, who was still only a rank three warrior. All she could do was coat her back in [Armament Haki], but she was still forced to cough a mouthful of blood as her inner organs rattled. Still, she ignored all her injuries to focus on her son, who didn¡¯t seem to care about his injuries as he looked up at her with the warmest of smiles. ¡°Your soul,¡± Ace murmured feebly. ¡°It¡¯s healed.¡± ¡°Shh,¡± Milianna said softly as she laid Ace down, holding her palms over his chest. ¡°That¡¯s not important right now.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Ace smiled as he looked at the calm confidence his mother silently exuded as she began to heal him. The aura she now radiated made him feel safe, like no matter what happened, she would take care of it. ¡®So this is the real Milianna ¨C my mother¡­¡¯ Ace thought to himself as his eyes started to close. ¡°Mom¡­¡± ¡°Yes, son?¡± Milianna replied gently. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± Ace explained, his voice getting softer with each word. ¡°I think I need to sleep for a bit¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, you sleep,¡± Milianna¡¯s replied, her angelic voice almost hypnotic as it put Ace to sleep. ¡°Mommy will be right here when you wake up.¡± Thousands of meters in the air above the mother and son pair, the mysterious ruler of the forest of darkness hovered, looking down at them with visible shock on his face. ¡°That woman¡­ That was a divine ability¡­ As a mortal¡­ Just where did this family originate from?¡± He mused aloud, his thoughts moving at a million miles an hour as plans began to formulate in his mind. ¡°If I bet on them, then maybe¡­ Looks like I¡¯ll have to open the doors a little early this time!¡± Book 5: Chapter 50 – Lord Beirut (Finale) ¡°Do you really think Mathias can win against a prime saint without his domain?¡± Kimika asked sceptically as she watched her senior brother end up on the losing side against O¡¯Brien¡¯s second disciple, time and time again. Though she was sceptical, she didn¡¯t seem all that worried. Especially not with her second sister standing beside her. ¡°Mathias won¡¯t lose!¡± Lauriella exclaimed confidently as she calmly watched her husband¡¯s fight whilst casually standing on top of Byrius¡¯ unconscious body. ¡°Knowing that masochist, he¡¯s probably using that Talana woman as a whetstone so that he can finally have his comprehension break through to the deity realm,¡± Wukong surmised as he too casually watched the battle whilst sitting lazily on the branch of one of the few remaining trees in the area. ¡°Masochist?¡± Lazerim asked with a raised brow as he turned to his junior brother. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk about masochism.¡± ¡°This king¡¯s a genius,¡± Wukong argued back. ¡°You¡¯re just jealous of this king¡¯s brilliance!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t argue with that!¡± Lazerim sighed. ¡°To think you¡¯ve already begun fusing two profound mysteries¡­¡± ¡°You say that like you haven¡¯t,¡± Kimika rolled her eyes as she remembered the tree her third brother created previously. It must be remembered that at the saint level, earth mages could form pure diamonds with their mageforce, but Kimika and the others could sense traces of adamantium in Lazerim¡¯s tree. It was clear that he had begun to fuse the Profound Mysteries of the Essence of Earth with Strength. ¡°But look at the age difference,¡± Lazerim reminded his fourth sister whilst glancing at his fifth brother. ¡°I¡¯m over 150 now, whilst little Kong¡¯s only in his 30s. Plus, after his enlightenment, his comprehension of the Profound Mystery of Movement seems to have reached the level of a prime saint.¡± The more he spoke, the more jealous he became. As it stood, the only reason he was still slightly stronger was because he was a saint, whilst Wukong was still in the middle stages of the ninth rank. The moment he decided he was ready to break through to the saint realm, Wukong¡¯s strength would reach the level of Byrius or maybe even a prime saint. ¡°Still, I don¡¯t want to hear you complaining,¡± Kimika snorted as she glanced at her junior brother, not bothering to hide her envy. ¡°I¡¯m already over 80, and this brat has already caught up to me.¡± If any other saint were to hear their conversation, they¡¯d be hard-pressed not to cough a mouthful of blood of pure frustration. One was considered a peak genius if they were able to break through to the saint realm by the age of 100 and the peak of the saint realm in under 500 years. Each and every one of Arianna¡¯s original disciples had attained the strength of a peak saint well before 100. Still, that only went to show the standards they all had for themselves. It was why they were able to look down on all the saints of their continent with such disdain ¨C at the same level, they were literally invincible! Lazerim was just about to reply when they all sensed a sudden change in the battle. ¡°He did it,¡± Lauriella said softly with a proud smile. ¡°You¡­ You just¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mathias said, cutting Talana off mid-stammer, a proud and fiendish smirk suffusing his face as he looked at the burly axe-wielding Amazonian before him. ¡°I helped you make a breakthrough, and now you helped me make one. Now we¡¯re even; I think it¡¯s finally time to end this.¡± Till now, though Talana had been the one dominating the fight, Mathias had been able to somewhat hold his own. There were multiple mitigating factors that went into making such a feat possible. For one, though not quite at the level of Aiden, Wukong, and Kimika, Mathias¡¯ weapon handling was sublime. To the point where even a warrior like Talana had to admit her inferiority. Second was that Talana¡¯s fighting style matched Mathias perfectly. Had she been a prime saint who focused on speed, Mathias never would¡¯ve been able to compete, being easily dominated. But with her being a power hitter and him being a saint who focused on the edict of destruction ¨C the law famed for its overwhelming power ¨C Mathias was in his element. Finally, and arguably most importantly, Talana was on her own whilst being watched by four other saints with the power to threaten her, one of whom was no weaker than her, even with her breakthrough. The moment the rest of her juniors had lost, she had wanted to escape, but she had promptly been forced to stay here. The only good thing was that it appeared that the others seemed to have no intention of getting involved. Still, the stress of them being there was ultimately a big enough distraction that prevented her from being able to go all out. Now though, Mathias¡¯ comprehension had stepped into the realms of deities. Meaning that even without any support, Mathias could calmly face off against prime saints. The moment she sensed the change in Mathias¡¯ aura, Talana gave up attempting to fight her way out. She knew that as small as the chance was, if she were to stand any chance of escaping with her life, she would have to go for broke and try her best at running. Unfortunately, whether she tried to escape or fight to the bitter end made no difference in Mathias¡¯ eyes. ¡°[World Decimation]!¡± Mathias exclaimed as he slowly swung his axe from top to bottom. Wukong and the others watched with rapt attention, but unlike what they expected, there was no giant axe light or earth-shaking explosion. Instead, Talana¡¯s body simply disintegrated until there was simply nothing left. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Well, that was anticlimactic,¡± Wukong yawned lazily as he stood up and hopped off the branch. It wasn¡¯t that Mathias couldn¡¯t have made it more showy it was just that after his breakthrough, he realised that there was no need. ¡°True Gods of Destruction ¡®destroy¡¯ only what they want to!¡± Mathias said slowly as he landed on the ground before Lauriella and the others. As they looked at him, they couldn¡¯t help but raise their brows slightly as they found his presence had evolved, becoming closer to that of their master¡¯s. If they had to use a word to describe it, it would be ¡°natural¡±. Unlike with Arianna, they could still sense Mathias, but it was definitely a lot harder. He seemed to have become a lot closer to nature. ¡°You all stayed here?¡± Mathias asked as he scanned his junior brothers and sisters. ¡°What about Ace and Milianna?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Kimika said to put his mind at ease. ¡°Elise used our bond of equals to let me know that she picked them all up. Apparently, they got caught by another saint, but everyone¡¯s alive and back at the Pavilion. With Elise and Jax there, they¡¯ll be safe until we get back.¡± ¡°What about Cesar and Uncle Aiden?¡± Mathias frowned pensively. ¡°Apparently, neither of their groups made it back yet,¡± Kimika replied somewhat concernedly. ¡°I see,¡± Mathias nodded. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no need for concern; with the strength of Uncle Aiden and Cesar, the chances of anything happening to them are virtually non-existent.¡± ¡°What do you wanna do with him?¡± Lauriella asked as she casually stomped on Byrius, startling him awake. Seeing all of Arianna¡¯s disciple¡¯s still alive and kicking with none of his fellow disciples around, Byrius¡¯ heart dropped as the fear of death overwhelmed him. ¡°Uncle Aiden will likely want to finish him himself in the future,¡± Mathias sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll take him back to his empire and go get master. The rest of you go back to the pavilion to stop any other surprises from happening.¡± At the same time, atop War God¡¯s Mountain, the sound of deafening, violent explosions rang through the empire, shocking and putting the fear of god in the empire¡¯s residents. As one of the two most powerful nations on the continent, there wasn¡¯t much that could scare them, but the repeated thunderous roars of battle¡­ The only ones capable of creating such terrifying sounds were deities. Most believed that it had to be the High Priest returning to challenge their empire¡¯s founder and spiritual god, but those who were present for Ace¡¯s challenge on War God Mountain knew the truth. It was hard to believe that one saint was capable of clashing with a deity for so long, but they knew that was the case. And every explosion that resounded was just another reminder of how powerful that woman was and, in turn, how powerful and untouchable this Yin-Yang Pavilion and its students were. Still, as shocked as they were, their surprise paled in comparison to that of Fain and O¡¯Brien! From the very beginning of the fight, O¡¯Brien had been placed firmly on the back foot, and even with Fain¡¯s support, there was no extricating himself. What was even more inconceivable was that despite it appearing as though Arianna was going all out to Fain, O¡¯Brien had this nagging suspicion that she was still holding back. ¡°Mathias,¡± Arianna called out, her sword coming to a halt mid-swing, giving Fain a chance to escape what looked to be certain death. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯m guessing Milianna and the others are safe?¡± O¡¯Brien and Fain had been under so much pressure previously that neither of them had detected the arrival of the dishevelled and bloodied man carrying Byrius over his shoulder, but when they did, their eyes couldn¡¯t help but narrow. Like Arianna, Mathias was only at the middle stages of the saint realm, but the aura he unknowingly gave off made it clear he wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. After battling Arianna for so long, they had both understood the implications of her aura, despite being so much weaker, still seeming much closer to nature than either of theirs. ¡°Yes, master. Ace and the others suffered a few injuries, but all are alive now and back at the pavilion with Lauriella and the others. As for his disciples,¡± Mathias said, glancing indifferently at O¡¯Brien. ¡°Other than this one, all who came paid with their lives.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Arianna nodded gently as she casually put away her swords. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes, master.¡± Mathias nodded before tossing Byrius like a rag doll at O¡¯Brien, forcing Fain to step forward and catch him. O¡¯Brien couldn¡¯t remember the last time he had been treated with such disdain, but as much as he hated everything to do with the situation, he didn¡¯t dare say or do anything to agitate the situation further, but before leaving, Arianna¡¯s soft but soul-chilling voice entered his ears. ¡°I have no intention of harming you or your people, but O¡¯Brien,¡± As she said to there, Arianna¡¯s voice became several times frostier in a second as her killing intent returned with a vengeance. ¡°If you so much as breathe in my disciple¡¯s direction, I will erase your miserable existence from this world.¡± O¡¯Brien and Faye stood in the skies, silently staring at the spot Arianna disappeared from for several minutes before O¡¯Brien let out an enraged roar that shook the whole of the empire as the heat suddenly spiked throughout the whole empire. ¡°Fain,¡± O¡¯Brien growled. ¡°No one is to disturb me; I¡¯ll call for you when I¡¯m ready!¡± Before he even got the chance to respond, Fain could only watch as his master disappeared before turning to Byrius, who appeared to be the most shaken up of them all. ¡°Tell me what happened,¡± Fain commanded his master¡¯s crimson-haired descendant. ¡°I want to know everything about that Mathias fellow and the rest of this Yin-Yang Pavilion¡¯s members¡­¡± . . . Several hours had passed since the explosions stopped ringing in the empire, but the mood was anything but harmonious. Most still didn¡¯t know the outcome, but from O¡¯Brien¡¯s roar, they could guess that it was less than desirable. O¡¯Brien was still in his personal cave, licking his wounds after his humiliating defeat when the doors to his abode opened without his permission. ¡°WHAT PART OF NO DISTURBANCES DIDN¡¯T YOU UNDERSTAND?!¡± O¡¯Brien boomed as he attacked the door without holding back, not caring who it was. Space burnt and warped under the heat of O¡¯Brien¡¯s attack, but when it approached the door, it simply fizzled out, but even before that, O¡¯Brien¡¯s body had already frozen in shock and horror. ¡°Lo¡­ Lord Beirut!¡± O¡¯Brien exclaimed as he hurriedly took a knee and bowed his head. ¡°I¡­ I apologise for my¡­¡± ¡°The boy and his mother,¡± Beirut indifferently interrupted the crimson-haired deity from his grovelling. ¡°Where did they come from?¡± O¡¯Brien hesitated when he heard that. As far as he knew, other than opening the doors to a certain ruin every few thousand years, Beirut rarely bothered to interact with the rest of the world in any way, shape or form. Hearing him take an interest in his woman and son, especially when they may well be the key to everything he¡¯d been dreaming of since his becoming a deity, how could O¡¯Brien not be hesitant? Still, as strong as Arianna was, in front of this man, she was nothing but a child. If Beirut wanted his life, he could only obediently hand it over. ¡°The boy, Ace, is my long-lost son, and his mother was once my woman,¡± O¡¯Brien explained. ¡°She escaped a little over 16 years ago when you last came to see me.¡± ¡°Not that,¡± Beirut shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t care about their connection to you; I want to know where she¡¯s from. Do you know who that Milianna¡¯s parents are?¡± ¡°No, Milord,¡± O¡¯Brien shook his head respectfully. ¡°As far as I know, Milianna grew up an orphan in an orphanage in my empire.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Beirut replied vacantly, a calculative light flickering in his eyes as he casually made his way to the exit. ¡®The timelines should match. Milianna should be that man¡¯s daughter¡­¡¯ ¡°Milord,¡± O¡¯Brien called out nervously before Beirut disappeared. ¡°Would you like me to pass the order not to touch them as they¡¯re connected to you?¡± Beirut opened his mouth to say yes when an idea suddenly popped into his head and changed his mind. ¡°No need,¡± Beirut shook his head as his body vanished, moving at a speed that not even O¡¯Brien could catch a glimpse of. ¡°What happens between you all is your business; I won¡¯t interfere.¡± Book 6: Chapter 1 – One Year Later Deep within the northern expanse of the Anarchic Lands, not far away from the forest of darkness, sat a small and simple yet elegant log cabin that overlooked a lake so pure you could see all the way to the bottom from on top. A caramel-skinned young woman no older than 16 dressed in a tight-fitting white battle suit that showed off her still-maturing but obvious curves landed gracefully on the shore just outside the cabin, preparing to knock on the door when she heard the chime of an angelic voice sound in her ears. ¡°It¡¯s open.¡± Hearing that, the teen didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. She gently opened the door and strolled through the simple living room, entering a small but simple bedroom at the back of the cabin. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Mira,¡± a stunning dark-haired woman voiced slowly when the teen entered. ¡°You¡¯ve become even more beautiful since the last time I saw you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Aunt Milli,¡± Amira said gently as she greeted her senior martial sister. ¡°I¡¯m still nothing compared to you.¡± ¡°Still as sweet as ever,¡± Milianna replied, her smile brightening the room. ¡°How¡¯re your parents and the twins doing?¡± ¡°My parents are good,¡± Amira nodded. ¡°As for the twins, they¡¯re only a little over one, but they¡¯re already becoming quite the handful now.¡± ¡°Awwh, I bet they¡¯re adorable,¡± Milianna said as she looked at the dark-haired youth sleeping peacefully on the bed beside her. ¡°I remember when Ace was their age. He spent all his free time in the library at the orphanage I worked at, ignoring the other kids, much to my dismay ¨C although I have to admit, it makes sense now that I know the truth about his reincarnation.¡± ¡°I bet he was quite the handful in his own way,¡± Amira smiled warmly as she too looked lovingly at the teen on the bed. It had been a year since the Yin-Yang Pavilion revealed itself to the world in the most overbearing way possible. Since then, the political landscape of the whole continent had effectively been thrown on its head, but since losing consciousness in his mother¡¯s arms, Ace had slipped into a deep coma that nothing seemed able to awaken him from. At first, they had all been deeply worried, as there didn¡¯t seem to be a reason for it. Whether it was Arianna or even Aiden after he eventually returned, no one could seem to figure out the problem. Ironically, it had been Milianna who eventually discovered the truth behind the medical mystery and put everyone¡¯s mind at ease. After the recovery of her pure soul, when she subconsciously used what Beirut had described as a Divine Ability, her ability to control her haki multiplied, even surpassing that of her son. As such, she was innately more sensitive to the power of will than others. Having spent every waking moment by her son¡¯s side, she eventually sensed her son¡¯s will. She knew that even if she had surpassed him in terms of control, as far as raw power went, she was well aware that she couldn¡¯t even begin to compare, so when she felt how weak her son¡¯s will appeared to be the reason for his coma suddenly dawned on her. Ace had overdrawn the power of his will, turning what should¡¯ve been a blazing sun into nothing more than a flickering ember. Everyone was sceptical, as none of them, not even Arianna, had heard of the power of will, but hearing Milianna¡¯s explanation and witnessing her ability to control it, they had no choice but to believe her. Milianna sensed that Ace¡¯s will was growing stronger each day but at an extremely slow pace. Still, the fact that it was growing stronger at all was enough for Milianna. Unfortunately, she had no idea exactly how powerful her son¡¯s will was originally, so she had no way of knowing exactly when he would wake up. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°He wasn¡¯t actually,¡± Milianna said, preparing to tell the young woman she had already acknowledged as her future daughter-in-law about her son¡¯s childhood. ¡°If anything¡­¡± Before Milianna could finish her next sentence, both she and Amira felt something stir within Ace. Milianna, because of their shared bloodline and Mira, due to their innate connection. The bodies of both women trembled when they saw Ace¡¯s long lashes flutter softly. ¡°Mom, Mira?¡± Ace groaned softly. ¡°Welcome back, son,¡± Milianna said with tears of joy threatening to fall down her face. Although she had been confident in her assessment of her son¡¯s condition, it didn¡¯t stop her from worrying about him. Still, all that mattered now was that he was awake. ¡°How¡¯re you feeling?¡± Mira asked gently as she reached forward to help him sit up. Hearing that, Ace subconsciously tensed and relaxed his body multiple times before his eyes widened in surprise. ¡°I feel better than ever!¡± He had no idea how long he¡¯d been unconscious, but last he remembered, ignoring all the grievous injuries he¡¯d suffered that day, he had only just broken through to the early stages of the sixth rank as a mage and warrior, but now¡­ ¡°How long have I been asleep for?¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but wonder aloud when he felt that he was firmly in the middle stages of the sixth rank in both paths. Not only that, but his foundation was extremely stable. More stable now than ever before. Something he didn¡¯t know was even possible. ¡°It¡¯s been a year now, sleepy head,¡± Milianna explained with an amused smile as she looked at her shocked son. ¡°A year?!¡± Ace exclaimed as he turned to Mira for confirmation. ¡°How¡¯s that even possible?¡± ¡°You repeated use of your [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] that day overdrew the power of your will,¡± Milianna explained. ¡°In the end, it took a whole year for you to recover.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know it was possible to overuse your willpower,¡± Ace muttered. ¡°It must have something to do with the laws of this world.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about all of that,¡± Milianna shrugged. ¡°But from now on, you need to be more careful when using your [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], especially [Infusion]. From what I can tell, it¡¯s a power that shouldn¡¯t be used as a mortal.¡± ¡°From what you can tell?¡± Ace asked in surprise. ¡°You mean, you already lear¡­¡± Before he could say anything, he sensed an all too familiar fluctuation pressing down on him before it disappeared. Before Ace could get over his initial surprise, his jaw almost ended up hitting the floor over what he witnessed next. ¡°You¡­ How¡­ When?¡± Ace stammered as he saw his golden veins running across his mother¡¯s [armament] coated finger. ¡°You didn¡¯t expect me to sit still and not improve after a full year now, did you?¡± Milianna said teasingly when she saw her son¡¯s shock whilst shaking her hand to get rid of the pain from using [Infusion]. Even though it was barely a second and not going anywhere near all out, it was still strenuous. But it was worth it to finally be able to impress her genius of a son. It was just one shock after another, and it wasn¡¯t simply how far her control over her [Haki] had come, nor that she had impressively broken through to the fifth rank ¨C one rank below him ¨C in both paths. The most significant but most welcomed shock came as a result of the giant change in her demeanour. The confident and pride-filled aura she silently exuded was a far cry from the meek and fragile aura she had emitted his whole life. Ace dove into his mother¡¯s arms, unable to control his happiness over the full recovery of her pure soul. Milianna was taken aback by her son¡¯s reaction, but being that she was able to sense his emotions using her [Observation], how could she not understand what he was feeling? A gentle smile replaced her teasing smirk as she returned his hug. Her aura oozed appreciation. Not just because her son was awake but also because of everything he had done for her. With her condition, since he was born, Ace had been forced to step up and be the head of their little but constantly growing family. Not only had he done so without a single complaint, but he had also gone above and beyond to heal her. Even if he was given a little cheat code, having reincarnated with all his memories intact, she knew it wasn¡¯t easy. Now though, it was her turn to be a mother Ace could rely on. ¡°Now, now,¡± Milianna said as she pat him on the back before standing up to make her way to the exit. ¡°We¡¯re being rude hosts. I¡¯ll fix us all something to eat whilst you two catch up.¡± ¡°How rude of me,¡± Ace said as Milianna took her leave, his attention returning to Mira, who watched Ace and Milianna¡¯s intimate moment in silence, not wanting to interrupt. ¡°I almost forgot that my beautiful wife was in the room.¡± ¡°Wife?¡± Mira asked as a furious blush crept up her neck, covering her endearing face. ¡°Who¡¯s your wife?!¡± ¡°You are,¡± Ace teased shamelessly. ¡°Or at least you will be!¡± ¡°Talk to me after you put a ring on my finger!¡± Amira snorted, trying to hide her embarrassment. ¡°I will!¡± Ace exclaimed, his sincerity catching Mira by surprise, causing her to stare blankly at his face. ¡°But before that, why don¡¯t you start by catching me up ¨C tell me everything I¡¯ve missed over the last year!¡± Book 6: Chapter 2 – Milianna’s Passion ¡°There were two major incidents that basically turned the entire continent on its head,¡± Amira explained as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. ¡°The first was the Pavilion finally revealing itself to the world, although the rest of our accomplishments when challenging and defeating the other schools were quickly overshadowed by yours and master¡¯s feats in the O¡¯Brien Empire.¡± Ace could practically hear Mira¡¯s eyes rolling as she said that, but he didn¡¯t interrupt her as she continued. ¡°As for the second, that was the reason Uncle Aiden and Cesar couldn¡¯t make it back in time to assist you,¡± Mira explained with a hint of pity, unwillingness, and even guilt, knowing that if either of them had been able to make it back, things would never have gotten to the point where Ace was forced to overdraw his will. Hearing that, Ace¡¯s ears suddenly perked up. Even though he wasn¡¯t a saint, his master¡¯s power ranked among the very best, only surpassed by the prime saints. As for Cesar, after his initial fusion of two profound mysteries, his strength far surpassed the average prime saint. According to Arianna, even if he didn¡¯t finish his original profound mystery of the body of darkness and instead focused on his comprehension of the fusion, he wouldn¡¯t need to complete the fusion to become a deity. Simply by comprehending around 25% of the fused mysteries, the king of killers would become a deity. For two such experts to have been stalled on what should¡¯ve been a simple mission for them, Ace couldn¡¯t even imagine what could have possibly stalled them. Thankfully, Mira didn¡¯t make him wait too long. ¡°The evening after Alyssa and I challenged and defeated all the students of the Ernst Institute and Rhine Centre of Excellence, the four of us had just met back up when ten saint-level beasts marched out of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, leading a beast tide filled with hundreds if not thousands of high-ranking beasts and innumerable middle and lower ranking beasts¡­¡± ¡°Ten saints?¡± Ace asked in surprise, not because that was a high number, but the opposite. As previously mentioned, Aiden and Cesar were powerhouses that had the power to look down on most saints with complete disdain. Forget ten; there could be twice that number, and the two of them would still be unphased by the lineup unless¡­ ¡°Were all ten at the prime saint level?!¡± Ace asked, believing that was the only way those two would be stalled by a mere beast tide. ¡°No,¡± Amira shook her head. ¡°There were only three magical beasts at the prime saint level.¡± ¡°Three?¡± Ace asked in confusion. ¡°That¡¯s quite the line-up, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop the two of them, especially if they were together.¡± ¡°If that were all there was to it, then you¡¯d be right, but leading them was a genuine deity-level magical beast!¡± Mira explained, bringing no small shock to Ace. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t your average deity like that bastard O¡¯Brien or the High Priest of the Yulan Empire. According to Uncle Aiden, that beast, Dylin, was a Full God!¡± ¡°Full God?¡± Ace asked in confusion. ¡°Ooh right, I forgot that you were taking your little nap when Master explained to us about the deity realms,¡± Mira said teasingly, causing Ace to roll his eyes. ¡°Apparently, there are three realms when becoming a deity. The first, as you already know, is the Demi-God realm. This is the realm that the O¡¯Brien and High Priest are at. To enter this realm, one must be a peak saint who has comprehended a completely profound mystery in its entirety. Or, in the case of those like Cesar, comprehend a fusion of two profound mysteries to around the 25% mark. The following realm is the Full God realm. To enter, one must fully comprehend at least two profound mysteries. The next realm is the realm of Highgods. This is the realm one enters after completely comprehending all the profound mysteries of their chosen law. According to Master, this is the time when the average deity begins to focus on fusing profound mysteries. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The fourth and final realm for deities is the paragon realm. Paragons are supposedly the kings among deities, having completely fused all profound mysteries, becoming a paragon of their chosen law.¡± Ace¡¯s eyes opened in amazement, feeling as though a door had been opened into a far wider world. One he couldn¡¯t wait to step into! ¡°What about after the Paragon realm?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Are there no realms after that?¡± ¡°Master said there is another realm after that ¨C the realm of Sovereigns, but not even she knows much about them, other than they¡¯re all powerful beings who could kill even paragons with a thought!¡± Amira explained, unable to hide her awe and excitement. ¡°Sovereigns, huh?¡± Ace smiled, a faint but undeniable anticipation building up inside him. ¡®One day¡­¡¯ ¡°But as Master said, that¡¯s way too far away for the likes of us to even think about as we are now,¡± Amira continued. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Ace sighed as he suppressed his bubbling excitement. ¡°What happened with that Dylin guy anyway? I¡¯m guessing everyone made it out in one piece.¡± ¡°We had a few close calls,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°But we all made it out in one piece, even Linley.¡± ¡°Linley?¡± Ace asked with a raised brow. ¡°You saw Linley again?¡± ¡°We did,¡± Mira nodded. ¡°He and his father had just attempted to assassinate the King of Fenlai ¨C King Clayde, I think his name was. Apparently, it was this Clayde fellow who orchestrated the attempted kidnapping of Linley¡¯s mother all those years ago. At the time, Linley had already reached the peak of the sixth rank in his human form; after transforming, though, he was actually able to jump three ranks, effectively becoming a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank. ¡°Impressive,¡± Ace commented sincerely, a faint flicker of excitement appearing in his eyes as he remembered the real reason he gave Linley the blood of the Azure Dragon when they last met. ¡°Very!¡± Amira agreed. ¡°But before they could assassinate that Clayde fellow, he successfully sent a signal to the Radiant Church. Even more unfortunate, the one to respond to the signal was a warrior at the early stages of the saint level. That woman got there just in time to save Clayde and for him to explain Linley¡¯s hatred of the Church. Hearing how much of a problem the Baruchs apparently had with the church and seeing how their clan had already produced two fearsome Dragonblood Warriors, that woman attempted to kill Linley, Bebe, and Hogg to prevent any future problems that could arise. If not for the intervention of Cesar, who apparently was a big fan of Linley¡¯s work as a grandmaster sculptor, Linley¡¯s old ghost of a Master would have gone on to sacrifice himself so Linley and his father could live on. ¡°Sculptor?¡± Ace asked, not seeming to care about Doehring Cowart¡¯s near suicide. ¡°Yeah, apparently, he¡¯s the best sculptor of the current era, even able to rank among the best our continent has ever produced.¡± Amira shrugged, clearly not very interested in art. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he aiming to destroy the church?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Why¡¯s he wasting time sculpting instead of training?¡± ¡°Uncle Aiden guessed that he¡¯s using art as a way to temper his spiritual essence. If he¡¯s right, it¡¯s the reason Linley was able to progress as a mage so quickly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible too?¡± ¡°Of course it is,¡± Amira explained, rolling her eyes at Ace¡¯s lack of understanding of anything that wasn¡¯t combat related. ¡°In fact, you know at least three people who have followed a somewhat similar path. We both do.¡± Ace¡¯s brows momentarily furrowed as he went through all the people they knew until a round and severely overweight figure popped into his head. ¡°Fatty!¡± Ace said in realisation, as he guessed that cooking had replaced sculpting for the young fire mage. ¡°But who¡¯s the other one?¡± ¡°Second sister Lauriella with her forging, and aunt Milianna with her healing,¡± Mira revealed. ¡°My mother?!¡± Ace exclaimed. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t remember having been unconscious, but ever since returning from O¡¯Brien Empire, your mother has thrown herself into furthering her comprehension of the art of healing,¡± Amira said with unconcealed admiration. ¡°At least once, sometimes several times a day, Aunty would practice her healing magic on you. It may have started with simply wanting to heal you quicker, but before long, she genuinely learnt to love it. Having devoted every fibre of her being to the art, she even experienced two bouts of sudden enlightenment, the last of which allowed her to gain a trace of insight into the edict of Life. According to Master, that was the reason you were able to carry on progressing whilst in your coma. Master said she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you experienced any added benefits aside from that.¡± Ace had to admit that Arianna was spot on. It wasn¡¯t just his realms that had progressed; even the power of his soul had improved, having reached its limits for his current realm, but aside from that, his body felt lighter and full of vitality. It was hard to put it into words, but if one had to, the only way he could describe it was that his very life force had sublimated. He didn¡¯t know what it meant for his future, if anything, but it felt amazing. Still, Ace wasn¡¯t thinking about any of that; the only thing he felt was joy and appreciation. Still, as happy as his mother¡¯s newfound passion made him, he still wanted to happen next with his master and the others. Book 6: Chapter 3 – Son of Heaven ¡°So what happened next after running into Linley?¡± Ace asked, bringing the focus back to the story. ¡°After realising the danger Linley was in, Cesar took action and forced the saint to leave,¡± Mira explained. ¡°As the so-called king of killers, I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t kill her,¡± ¡°We were as well, until Cesar explained that unless he was paid, he always made a point to avoid killing saints from the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness. Although he¡¯s not scared of them, killing them always brings more trouble than it¡¯s worth,¡± Mira shrugged before continuing. ¡°But anyway, after saving Linley, he explained how, after parting with us and awakening his bloodline, he went on to graduate early so that he and his father could focus on slowly rebuilding their clan¡¯s strength. In doing so, they finally gathered all the ingredients to concoct the potion to restore the purity of Lina¡¯s soul. After leaving the forest of Darkness, they had prepared to meet up with Linley¡¯s brother and mother when they got word back from the Dawson Conglomerate that the ones who had tried to kidnap Lina was Clayde. As a result, they decided to head back to the Kingdom of Fenlai to kill him first before meeting back up with the rest of their family. But before they could, the beast tide erupted. It was, ironically, the chaos of the beast tide that ended up protecting Clayde.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°But that can¡¯t be the end of the story. That would of, at most, slowed you guys down by an hour.¡± A guilt-filled sigh escaped Mira¡¯s trembling lips before she explained, ¡°When Cesar stopped the saint from the church, unfortunately, it attracted the attention of a few of the saints of the magical beasts. By the time Linley had finished his story, they had already nearly caught up to us. It would¡¯ve been easy enough to escape had it just been the four of us, but I foolishly suggested we bring Linley and his group with us, to which Cesar readily agreed. Unfortunately, in a scenario like that, you¡¯re only as fast as your slowest person. In the end, we were surrounded by five saint-level magical beasts.¡± Hearing that, Ace could understand why Mira felt guilty, not that he blamed her. How could she know what was happening in the O¡¯Brien Empire? Plus, in the end, everything worked out for the best. ¡°Still, with the strength of Cesar and Uncle Aiden, we quickly managed to slaughter a path out of the encirclement, but things took a drastic turn for the worst when I managed to break through to the sixth rank,¡± Mira said, the guilt in her voice only getting thicker, much to Ace¡¯s confusion. ¡°Why do you make your breakthrough sound like a bad thing?¡± Ace asked. ¡°If anything, shouldn¡¯t that have made things easier for you guys?¡± ¡°Yeah, it would have, only it turns out that, like you, Alissa, and Linley, I also have a unique bloodline which decided to awaken the moment I reached the sixth rank,¡± Amira sighed as she calmly activated her bloodline right there and then. Ace¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when he saw a literal angel manifest from the void behind Mira. The angel was a carbon copy of Mira; only this angel had six wings and a golden halo that radiated pure light. It was then that he noticed the actual changes to Mira as he subconsciously scanned her with his [Observation]. Not only did she experience a whole rank increase as both a mage and a warrior, but her spiritual essence seemed to jump from the late stages of the eighth rank ¨C which, considering she was naturally only at the late stages of the sixth rank, was already incredibly impressive ¨C all the way to the peak of the ninth rank. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Similar to when the barrier around your soul broke, or when Aunt Millie¡¯s soul healed itself when my bloodline awoke for the first time, it created a huge disturbance, attracting the attention of all the powerhouses in the area,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°The results were that remaining saint-level magical beasts all converged on our position,¡± Mira explained. ¡°Uncle Aiden and Cesar stopped caring about the presence of Linley and his group and tried to take Alissa and me out, but by then, it was too late. The three prime saints ¨C all of which were Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions ¨C were the first to catch up with us, causing Cesar to explode with all his strength. His strength was incredible; he quickly suppressed all three of them on his own, but before he could kill the first one, a terrifying suppressive force surrounded all of us, causing the space in the area to freeze.¡± ¡°Godrealm¡­¡± Ace sighed when he remembered the feeling of being trapped in O¡¯Brien¡¯s. ¡°Exactly,¡± Mira explained with a hint of unwillingness. ¡°With that Full God, Dylin, entering the fray, escaping became all but impossible, especially as the three identical lions were apparently Dylin¡¯s children. The first thing he did was attack Cesar leaving him with a hair¡¯s breadth away from death. Just as it looked like Cesar would die, Uncle Aiden used the power of his soul to withdraw a single golden drop of liquid from his storage ring.¡± As she thought back to that drop, a look of awe and even reverence appeared on Mira¡¯s face. ¡°I only found out after, but that drop of liquid was actually a drop of sovereign¡¯s might. Apparently, it blesses anyone who absorbs it with the power of a sovereign. When he saw it, Dylin¡¯s brows furrowed slightly, but still, no fear could be seen on his face. Presumably, because he was confident that even if Uncle Aiden absorbed it, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten him, but when Uncle sent a message to Dylin mentally, Dylin¡¯s face dropped. I don¡¯t know what was said, but whatever it was, it genuinely appeared to put the fear of death in him. Ultimately, things ended with Uncle Aiden getting Dylin to agree to let us go by making a trade. We got to leave without being attacked; in return, Uncle Aiden gave Dylin that drop of light element Sovereign¡¯s Might. Still, even though we were allowed to escape with our lives, Cesar was still badly injured, causing the speed of our group to drop substantially, which in turn prevented us from being able to be there for you when you needed us most. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¡°Silly girl!¡± Ace gently chided. ¡°You have absolutely nothing to apologise for ¨C I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re all okay, and your bloodline¡­ It¡¯s incredible!¡± Ever since finding out about what happened with Ace, she had spent every day riddled with guilt. It was only after hearing the sincerity in Ace¡¯s voice that Amira¡¯s mind was finally put at ease. ¡°I know, according to my mother, mine is the bloodline of the Viz clan ¨C a powerful clan from one of the higher worlds. It allows us to conjure something called a ¡®Spiritual Manifestation¡¯ into reality. The Manifestation of each member of my clan varies from person to person. The Manifestation could take the form of a weapon, a magical beast, or potentially even a Divine Beast; the variations are limitless. Still, the only hard and fast rule is that the earlier it is one awakens their bloodline, the more powerful it is. Apparently, the average descendant of the Viz clan awakens their bloodline at the deity rank, similar to a Divine Beast. Not even my mother has awakened hers yet, but she said that since mine awakened at the sixth rank, it makes it one of the purest bloodlines she had ever heard of in the clan¡¯s history.¡± Amira said, her face radiating pure unadulterated pride. ¡°As you can imagine, after hearing all of this from her, I desperately wanted to learn more about our Viz clan, but she refused to tell me. She said that if I really want to know the truth, she will tell me everything when I become a deity.¡± ¡°Deity?!¡± Ace asked wide-eyed. ¡°That¡¯s a bit harsh, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°But apparently, with my talent, she¡¯d be surprised if I wasn¡¯t able to become a deity in 100 years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Ace nodded, understanding that if not for his reincarnated memories, even with his bloodline, it¡¯d be arguable whether or not he¡¯d still be stronger than Amira. ¡°It¡¯s still a long time to wait,¡± Mira pouted adorably. ¡°But for now, I¡¯m just happy that I¡¯ve finally closed the gap with you ¨C well, almost closed.¡± Ace merely smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Amira snorted, her battle intent surging forth like a rushing tide. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a little spar for old time¡¯s sake, Mr ¡°Son of Heaven¡±.¡± ¡°Son of heaven?¡± Ace asked, his head tilting in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s the epithet you got given after everything that happened in the O¡¯Brien Empire,¡± Amira snorted with an exaggerated eye-roll. ¡°After the events of last year, most think of this as the start of a new era, and you, ¡®Mr Son of Heaven¡¯, are seen as the young poster boy of this new era.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace sighed helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare sigh like that!¡± Amira snorted, glaring threateningly. ¡°Are you gonna accept my challenge or what? That first-ranked core disciple spot has been yours for a bit too long now!¡± ¡°I would love to,¡± Ace said as his eyes drifted out the window, as a knowing smile suffused his lips. ¡°But before that, it appears we have some guests to see.¡± Before Amira could voice her confusion, the sound of an excited roar threatened to blow her eardrums! Book 6: Chapter 4 – Stubborn Fool The moment Ace woke, even though he had been travelling through the Forest of Darkness for training, Leo had sensed it via their bond. Ace¡¯s being put in a coma was hard on everyone, but Leo was actually one of the ones who took it hardest. He was supposed to be his partner, but aside from the first few months of being together, where they were around the same strength still, Leo hadn¡¯t truly been of much actual help. Whenever there was a truly strong opponent, Ace would always be the one to face them by himself, whilst Leo was forced to bring up the rear. To make matters worse, there was nothing he, Leo, could say as he knew that if he tried to stay and help, nine out of ten times, he¡¯d only end up making things worse and getting in the way. As such, after Milianna repeatedly assured Leo that Ace would be okay when the power of his will eventually recovered, Leo, along with his father, who had barely, but thankfully survived that day, ventured off into the Forest of Darkness to temper themselves. After a year, Leo had matured into a genuine high-ranking divine beast reaching the seventh rank. He had also grown to the size of a small building. Even before Ace had slipped into a coma, Leo had struggled to find opponents in the ninth rank, but now, forget the ninth rank, Leo had to challenge magical beasts at the early stages of the saint rank to find a challenge. Leo let out another excited roar when his human partner entered his sight, but he showed no intention of slowing down. In fact, not only did he seem to be speeding up, but a blazing crimson aura also coated his paw as he charged at Ace. ¡°Come!¡± Ace grinned when he understood his familiar¡¯s intention. ¡°Let¡¯s see just how strong you¡¯ve gotten in this last year.¡± Ace took off like a bullet, this was his first time taking action since that day, and despite being in a coma that whole time, the speed he showed was enough to make the him that fought Olivier that day look like a snail. His foot was like a blur as it kicked off against the ground over 50 times instantly, leaving a fire trail in his wake as he shot into the sky like a flaming arrow. His fist was jet-black in colour and also coated in flames, with a jet of fire shooting from his elbow to enhance the speed and power of his strike as he met Leo¡¯s strike head-on. A giant explosion sounded for miles as the two separated. But whilst Leo took three steps back before stabilising himself, Ace only managed to stop after ten. After coming out on the losing side of that exchange, although he wasn¡¯t jealous or angry, Ace would be lying if he said his competitive nature hadn¡¯t been ignited. An emotion that only served to excite the obsidian lion further. Finally, he had gone from only being able to bring up the rear to finally being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with his partner ¨C how could he not be excited?! Both Ace and Leo took off at the same time, about to clash for the second time. ¡°Did you already forget?¡± Amira said, her figure moving like a flash of light at a speed that caught both Ace and Leo by surprise. ¡°I already called first!¡± Ace and Leo had been over 100 meters away after their first clash, and neither had been holding back when they moved. Still, by the time they were in striking distance of each other, Amira had already arrived, holding a silvery-white treasured katana in each hand as she slashed at both Ace and Leo, her sword gracefully arcing through the air whistling as it moved. Both man and lion had to go from attacking each other to evading the swords aimed at their napes at the last moment. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°You¡­ Your comprehension¡­¡± Ace stammered as he looked at Amira in disbelief. ¡°You underestimate me if you thought a year wouldn¡¯t be enough time for me to start comprehending a profound mystery,¡± Amira smirked as her Spiritual Manifestation appeared behind her. ¡°A Profound Mystery?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I sensed you using two profound mysteries there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the only genius in the Pavilion,¡± Mira grinned. ¡°Clearly,¡± Ace said, his lust for battle growing with each passing second. The bodies of all three youngsters tensed at once as they prepared to fight when a chilling, but angelic voice entered their ears, sending shivers up each of their spines. ¡°I know you three aren¡¯t about to make a mess of my home now, are you?¡± Just like that, the raging battle intent of all three was doused like a flickering candle thrown in a river. ¡°No, Mom,¡± Ace gulped as Amira and Leo looked away, pretending to be innocently minding their own business. In the end, Milianna glanced lightly at the three young troublemakers before shaking her head with a gentle sigh and turning back in. Carter, who had accompanied his son back from the Forest of Darkness, could only stare at Milianna. No matter how many times he saw her, it never got any easier to believe that frail, fragile woman from before was the same woman before him now. The difference between the two of them was like night and day. Even he felt a hint of awe in front of the regal yet warm aura she subconsciously radiated. ¡°Uncle Carter,¡± Ace called out respectfully after his mother had gone back inside. ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for everything you did for us in the O¡¯Brien Empire. If not for your help, I don¡¯t know what would have happened.¡± ¡°I was only repaying my debt to the Pavilion for all the support they¡¯d given me,¡± Carter snorted. ¡°You have nothing to thank me for.¡± ¡°Still,¡± Ace replied, smiling in response to his familiar¡¯s father¡¯s abruptness, taking no offence. ¡°If there¡¯s ever anything I can do, please don¡¯t hesitate.¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re still way too weak to be of any help to me, brat!¡± Carter snorted. ¡°If you really want to pay me back, then just promise to take good care of my son in the future!¡± ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Ace replied sincerely. ¡°Leo¡¯s like a brother to me, and as long as I¡¯m alive, I will continue to treat him as such!¡± A low grunt escaped Carter¡¯s lips, but he was no longer bothered with Ace as he turned back to his son. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re going to stay with your human from now on?¡± ¡°Yes, Father,¡± Leo growled back, with only Ace and Carter being able to understand him. ¡°Okay,¡± Carter nodded, having no intention of standing in his way, knowing full well that the place Ace held in his heart was incomparable to even his. ¡°I¡¯m heading back to the Forest of Darkness to continue training with your brothers and sisters. I¡¯ll see you when I return.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Leo nodded, hiding the hint of unwillingness as he saw him off. ¡°Ooh, and father,¡± Leo called out as Carter was flying off. ¡°Thanks for everything.¡± Carter was right, Ace was still number one in Leo¡¯s heart, but after all the time they¡¯d spent together since reuniting, especially over the last year, the love Leo felt for his father was undeniable. ¡°So what do you intend on doing first?¡± Amira asked after Carter left. ¡°You should head over to the Pavilion,¡± Milianna suggested as she returned back outside. ¡°Without the help of Master and the others last year, things would¡¯ve ended a whole lot worse than they did. The least you can do is thank them all personally.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the Pavilion first.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace sounded when he noticed Milianna turning to head back inside. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming, Mom?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need your mother to hold your hand,¡± Milianna jokingly scolded. ¡°You kids go on; I¡¯ll be waiting for you here when you return. Ooh, and if you see that stubborn fool, Lance, tell him it¡¯s time he came home.¡± ¡°Uhm, okay,¡± Ace replied in confusion as he leapt into the air with Mira and Leo following. ¡°Did something happen between my mother and Lance?¡± Ace asked when he was sure his mother was out of earshot. ¡°It¡¯s complicated,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°After everything that happened, we were all worried, but if I¡¯m honest, the person who took it hardest was Uncle Lance.¡± ¡°He did?¡± Ace asked in surprise. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t come as much of a surprise,¡± Mira replied as she flew alongside Ace and Leo. ¡°Not only was he ultimately unable to protect Aunt Milli, she ended up being the one to protect him and the rest of you. Then, to add insult to injury, he had to live with the fact that his choice, choosing to prioritise your mother over you, resulted in you ending up in a coma.¡± ¡°He has nothing to feel guilty about,¡± Ace voiced resolutely. ¡°I was the one who told him to do that should a situation like that arise.¡± ¡°Im a situation like that, it doesn¡¯t really matter if he obeyed your wishes,¡± Mira shook her head. ¡°After all, in his eyes, it was his decision that led to things ending up the way they did.¡± Ace could only sigh because he knew that if it had been him in that situation, he would probably feel no different. ¡°So what happened after that?¡± ¡°As you can imagine, your mother didn¡¯t hold it against Uncle Lance,¡± Mira explained. ¡°Still, the guilt and responsibility he felt was too much to bear to just go back to how things were. Uncle Lance vowed to spend every day until you woke up in training so that in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be so useless to you and your mother.¡± ¡°Stubborn fool!¡± Ace sighed. Book 6: Chapter 5 – The Pavilion’s First Official Selection It wasn¡¯t long before the trio neared the Pavilion, and as they did, Ace¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but widen. Inside Yin-Yang Mountain, there were close to 30 young and weak auras he didn¡¯t recognise. ¡°Ooh right, I completely forgot to mention it earlier,¡± Amira said when she noticed his surprise. ¡°A couple of months after the start of this new era, the Pavilion finally opened its doors for its first official selection tests.¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve seen it, boss,¡± Leo voiced via their connection. ¡°There was a sea of literally tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of humans. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before!¡± ¡°So many?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°Of course!¡± Amira replied, having guessed what Leo had said. ¡°Even if you exclude your accomplishments in the O¡¯Brien Empire, the fact that the rest of us managed to challenge and completely suppress all the top students at each of the strongest establishments for mages and warriors in the continent was enough to solidify the Pavilion¡¯s standing as the number one school on the continent. Then when you factor in your results at the War God¡¯s College and Master¡¯s single-handedly fighting O¡¯Brien and Fain, the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s two strongest experts, to a standstill¡­ The day the Pavilion announced its selection date to the world, people from all over the continent began to rush over, hoping to get a glimpse into what makes us so special.¡± ¡°That would explain the new mountains,¡± Ace said, pointing at the new cloud-piercing mountains in the distance. ¡°You can thank third brother for that,¡± Amira explained. ¡°When the numbers began to reach the astronomical range, eldest brother had Lazerim reconstruct several of the mountains for the purpose of viewing.¡± ¡°Just viewing?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Where did they all stay?¡± He could imagine that a selection process of that magnitude lasted much longer than one day as it did for his cohort. ¡°Everyone was forced to stay in some of the neighbouring cities in the Anarchic Lands,¡± Amira explained. ¡°Which reminds me, you really found yourself a good subordinate.¡± ¡°Subordinate?¡± Ace questioned before realising who Mira was referring to. ¡°You mean Cirulus? He¡¯s alright? That¡¯s great!¡± The last time Ace saw him, Cirulus had been blown away by Shamar. He had no idea if Cirulus had even managed to survive, but hearing Mira bring him up now, meant that he had survived. Even though they hadn¡¯t been together long, the loyalty he had shown that day was more than enough to earn Ace¡¯s trust and respect. ¡°Alright?¡± Mira smiled. ¡°He¡¯s great! He saw the upcoming selection as a chance to help you further your plans for when you awoke.¡± ¡°He did?¡± Ace asked curiously. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let him explain that himself when you see him personally,¡± Amira smiled mysteriously. Ace¡¯s curiosity had definitely been piqued when he heard that, but he knew Mira wouldn¡¯t say anything after having made her decision, so he didn¡¯t bother pestering her for answers. ¡°So, how many applicants were there in the end?¡± He knew that with everything that the Pavilion had revealed, the majority of those who came to view was likely just experts who wanted to know more about this mysterious but incredibly powerful upstart. ¡°Altogether, there must have been over 50,000 children who attempted to enter, some of whom were actually students of some of the other institutes that had wanted to jump ship,¡± Mira explained. ¡°Because there were so many, eldest brother was forced to hand off the responsibility for the first stage ¨C the aptitude phase ¨C to the Dawson Conglomerate, who, thanks to Joel being a direct descendant and also their desire to get closer to the Pavilion, agreed to do it for free. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Still, the first phase alone took over a week to get through, and the numbers went from 50,000 to under 1000. ¡°So many failed?¡± Ace asked in surprise. ¡°Have you forgotten the talent requirements for the Pavilion?¡± Mira asked, rolling her eyes. ¡°Do you think geniuses aged ten or under who haven¡¯t begun cultivating their battle qi and be on track to reach the second rank as a warrior by their eleventh birthday, as well as having an exceptional-grade affinity to at least one of the laws and have a minimum of 20x as much spiritual essence as the average person of the same age grows on trees?¡± ¡°I knew there¡¯d be a high failure rate; I just didn¡¯t expect the first phase to cut so many,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°It¡¯s to be expected,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡°Our Yin-Yang Pavilion has incredibly high standards to maintain after our batch. Plus, Mathias explained that the Pavilion wouldn¡¯t accept any students connected to the Radiant Church, Cult of Darkness, or, as you can imagine, the O¡¯Brien Empire.¡± There were quite a few unhappy parents and representatives, but all those who were still mortals were quickly dealt with by me, Leo, Killian, and the others. As for the few saints, most of whom came from the Radiant Church, they were roughed up by senior brother Wukong.¡± Ace didn¡¯t doubt that for a second; he knew that the average expert could be easily defeated with the strength of each of Leo and his classmates. As for Wukong, even though he didn¡¯t know exactly how strong he¡¯d become now, he knew that no ordinairy saint would be able to withstand one strike from his staff. And by having all threats, be it mortals or saints, dealt with by mortals, it would only help to reaffirm the invincible image the Pavilion had built! As for Mathias updating the Pavilion¡¯s recruitment to exclude the O¡¯Brien Empire as well, he was anything but shocked. Although his hatred for the Empire as a whole had virtually disappeared the night he managed to truly awaken his conqueror¡¯s haki, and even more now that his mother¡¯s soul had recovered, he also understood and appreciated how protective Arianna and the rest of her disciples were of his mother. The only person he would never forgive was O¡¯Brien himself; as for the rest of them, he wouldn¡¯t bother with them as long as they didn¡¯t stand in his way. Unfortunately, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Mathias and the others. After everything that happened, the O¡¯Brien Empire were lucky Arianna¡¯s disciples hadn¡¯t caused them any more trouble. Still, there was one thing he couldn¡¯t help being curious about. ¡°After everything that happened last year, I¡¯m surprised the O¡¯Brien Empire dared to step foot in the Pavilion¡¯s territory. Did they send many people in the end?¡± ¡°Not many, just a few of their more unknown powerhouses. Probably in an attempt to gather intelligence,¡± Amira shrugged. ¡°Still, with the intelligence of Sabre, Cesar had long since learnt the identities of each of the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s saint-level experts. None of us killed any of those who acted out, but those experts sent by the O¡¯Brien Empire¡­ Wukong slaughtered all four of them. It was after that that all the other forces understood just how deep the hatred for the O¡¯Brien Empire ran for us here.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t harbour any strong feelings for the Empire of his so-called biological father, he still felt appreciation for the Pavilion; after all, it was for him and his mother that they were willing to go so far. ¡°But anyway,¡± Mira continued, bringing the subject back to the selection. ¡°The second stage was a lot faster; each wave was composed of 100 kids and set off to climb to the top of Yin-Yang mountain.¡± ¡°I remember that,¡± Ace sighed as feelings of nostalgia started to well up inside him. ¡°How did they all do?¡± ¡°None managed to beat the time set by you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± Mira rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. ¡°But there were still a few impressive times, some of whom actually managed to beat the times set by myself and Joel.¡± It had to be remembered that back then, although her combat strength was second only to Ace, Amira¡¯s realm as a warrior had only reached the early stages of the second rank; as for Joel, like Ace, he had reached the late stages of the second rank. The thing that separated Ace and Joel was Ace¡¯s ridiculous willpower, but when you took into consideration the fact that Ace had two lives to temper it, that much wasn¡¯t surprising. Ace knew how competitive Mira was, so he knew better than to wind her up; as such, he simply waited for her to continue with her explanation of events. ¡°Of the 900+ kids that made it to that point, only a little over 40 managed to make it to the top,¡± Mira explained. To that, Ace wasn¡¯t particularly surprised. He could still vividly remember the difficulty of the climb. Even after you finished climbing all that way using nothing but your hands and feet, you still had to face the ever-increasing gravity as you hiked the rest of the way. It was a miracle that their batch had a 100% pass rate. The only thing that still made him curious was the fact that there were apparently over 40 passes, but he could only sense 28 new auras. But before he could give voice to his curiosity, the excited shout of an all too familiar voice entered his ears. ¡°ACCEEEEEEE!¡± A giant ball of meat shouted cheerfully as he took to the skies with flames propelling his large, round figure. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Fatty!¡± Ace smiled as he returned the bear hug of his excited classmate. Book 6: Chapter 6 – City of Gol It wasn¡¯t long before several familiar figures took to the skies appearing before Ace with warm and cheerful smiles. Seeing Arianna and each of her disciples, an expression of sincere gratitude and appreciation appeared on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°Thank you, all of you,¡± Ace said earnestly as he cupped his fist and bowed his head respectfully. After 15 years in this new world, Ace had long since learnt the customs of the people here, it was just that as the free spirit he was, it was rare that he personally used them, but after everything they did for he and his mother, he couldn¡¯t think of a more fitting time to start. ¡°I think this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen you take a bow,¡± Lauriella teased. ¡°Me too,¡± Lazerim added, stroking his beard and pretending to curiously study the dark-haired teen. ¡°Maybe he hit his head before he went into the coma,¡± Kimika guessed, looking at Ace as though he were an alien. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like this ¡®new and improved¡¯ Ace,¡± Mathias sighed, shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think it suits him.¡± ¡°What are you lot talking about?¡± Wukong exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s about time this brat shows this king his respect!¡± Ace¡¯s brows couldn¡¯t help but twitch at their nonsense. It was rare that he went out of his way to show thanks and appreciation, and this is how they act when he does. ¡°Respect? Who could respect you, you shitty ape!¡± Ace snorted. ¡°There he is!¡± Mathias smiled. ¡°It was fun whilst it lasted,¡± Lauriella sighed, feigning helplessness. ¡°You old farts were the ones who used to complain about my not showing manners,¡± Ace rolled his eyes. ¡°Make up your minds already!¡± ¡°I think what my disciples were trying to say,¡± Arianna said softly before the group could continue bickering. ¡°Was that we were worried about you and that we¡¯re glad you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°This king wasn¡¯t!¡± Wukong snorted. ¡°This king said what he meant and meant what he said!¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Ace nodded respectfully, completely disregarding the ape-like young man¡¯s attempts at riling him up before looking around with a hint of confusion. ¡°Where¡¯s the old man, by the way? I can¡¯t sense him anywhere.¡± ¡°Your master recently felt a slight opening in his bottleneck,¡± Arianna explained. ¡°He¡¯s gone into isolation to prepare for a breakthrough.¡± Ace was fully aware of the condition preventing Aiden from becoming a saint; he also understood that his master¡¯s only way of increasing his strength was by increasing the power of his soul using [Imposing Devourment]. Aiden¡¯s soul had long since surpassed anything a saint should be capable of; if he was preparing to attempt a breakthrough, it was so that his soul could reach the deity level. This was Aiden¡¯s self-created technique, so he knew the risks better than anyone. Still, having used the technique once already and understanding how fragile the soul was compared to the body, Ace couldn¡¯t help but worry. The fact that Aiden hadn¡¯t actively attempted to make a breakthrough in the last century spoke volumes about how challenging a task this was. Especially when remembering he was still suffering the pain of his last ¡®successful breakthrough¡¯. ¡°Is he sure?¡± Ace asked with concern. ¡°Your master¡¯s path is unchartered territory; as such, there can be no guarantees,¡± Arianna explained helplessly. ¡°But your master is anything but stupid; he wouldn¡¯t be attempting this now without some sort of assurance.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ace was still worried, but he knew Arianna was right. At this point, all he could do was believe in his Master. ¡°What about Kil and the others?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Where have they all gone?¡± Aside from those before him and the youngsters staring up at him with glistening stars in their eyes from the peak of Yin-Yang Mountain, there was no one else around. ¡°Ooh, they went to the City of Gol to support Lance and Cirulus with the upcoming beast tide,¡± Mathias explained casually. ¡°City of Gol?¡± Ace asked weirdly. ¡°It¡¯s the new name of the city that subordinate of yours took over on your behalf whilst you were taking your extended beauty nap,¡± Wukong explained teasingly. ¡°Is this what you were talking about before?¡± Ace asked as he turned his attention back to Amira. ¡°Why are you asking me?¡± Amira poked her tongue out adorably. ¡°Won¡¯t you know when you ask him yourself?¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Ace shook his head helplessly, knowing how stubborn Amira could be. ¡°What¡¯s this about a beast tide anyway?¡± ¡°The city he and Lance took over was one of the ones bordering on the Forest of Darkness,¡± Lauriella explained. ¡°As such, it has to face a beast tide once every few years.¡± ¡°Like Silverlight City!¡± Ace exclaimed as he remembered the scenes from that shocking battle from almost eight years ago. ¡°Exactly,¡± Kimika nodded. ¡°Speaking of, my husband wanted me to pass on his best wishes to you and thank you again for everything you did back then.¡± ¡°I almost forgot you and Venerin were married,¡± Ace replied. ¡°How is he and Silverlight City?¡± ¡°They¡¯re good,¡± Kimika nodded appreciatively. ¡°When you get some time, you should take that disciple of mine and pay them a visit. I¡¯m sure everyone would love to see you.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°But before that, I think I¡¯ll go to this City of Gol and stretch my legs a bit.¡± ¡°Who¡¯re you trying to kid?¡± Lauriella rolled her eyes. ¡°We all know you¡¯re just looking for some excitement with the beast tide.¡± Ace didn¡¯t reply, but the grin of anticipation plastered on his face said it all. Still, no one said anything to dissuade him. With Ace¡¯s current strength, unless a magical beast at the middle stages of the saint realm, like Yasha ¨C the black dragon from last time ¨C were to make an appearance, there would be nothing capable of posing a threat to him. ¡°This king will come too,¡± Wukong added. ¡°It¡¯s about time this king got some fresh air.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like the two of you going out unsupervised is a bad idea?¡± Lazerim sighed whilst scratching the side of his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Amira said proudly. ¡°I¡¯ll be there to keep them from doing anything foolish.¡± ¡°For some reason, that does nothing to put my mind at ease,¡± Mathias added. ¡°Ace,¡± Arianna called out. ¡°Take your mother with you ¨C I know how much she¡¯s been dying to reunite with Lance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect!¡± Lauriella nodded. ¡°With sixth sister there, none of you barbarians will dare to go overboard.¡± Ace could only smile wryly at that. Judging by the cautious expression on Wukong¡¯s face, it appeared he wasn¡¯t the only one intimidated by his mother¡¯s new aura. ¡°What about you, Fatty?¡± Ace asked, quickly changing the subject. ¡°You wanna come with us?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Julius shook his round and oversized face whilst sitting on Leo¡¯s back. ¡°After breaking through to the eighth rank, I¡¯ve officially gone from a disciple to a deacon here at the pavilion. It¡¯s my job to support Elder Lazerim during the kid¡¯s mage lessons.¡± ¡°Deacon? Elder?¡± Ace asked, not recognising the terms. ¡°Ah, right; with the pavilion officially opening its doors, I decided it was finally time to create a strict structure that future disciples can understand,¡± Mathias explained. ¡°No changes were made to the structure of the disciples, but after reaching the eighth rank, students can either become a serving deacon like Julius or if they want to pursue a life outside the Pavilion, they can become an apostle. Should you choose to remain an active part of the Pavilion, you would become a deacon at the eighth rank; then, when you break through to the saint realm, you would become an elder. As for the paths of apostles, like I told you when you first joined, the pavilion will never restrict your freedom. If you choose to become an apostle, you will really only ever be tied to the pavilion in name only. All I¡¯d ask is that you not forget your alma mater, and if one day the pavilion needs your help, you do everything in your power to assist us.¡± Ace didn¡¯t need to say anything; everyone already knew that as soon as he reached the eighth rank, he would unhesitantly choose the path of an apostle. He values his freedom too much to be bound by the pavilion. But at the same time, everyone also knew that with Ace being who he was, there was absolutely no chance that Ace could sit by and watch as a tragedy befell his alma mater. Mathias could already see it ¨C should such a day come, he had no doubts that Ace would be the one to protect them. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough of that,¡± Mathias announced. ¡°Julius, you have a class to finish teaching.¡± Looking down, Ace could only smile helplessly at the looks of adoration and near veneration he was receiving. They may not have been able to recognise him, but there wasn¡¯t a child on the continent who hadn¡¯t heard of the legendary child of heaven ¨C Gol D. Ace! The moment they heard Julius¡¯ excited shout, each of the kids silently looked up at the young man who had been dubbed the leader of his generation. ¡°As for you four,¡± Mathias sighed when he looked at Ace, Mira, Leo, and Wukong. ¡°Don¡¯t cause too much trouble whilst you¡¯re out! We won¡¯t be able to take such an active role in helping you if things go sideways in the future.¡± Book 6: Chapter 7 – HIKEN ¡°What did Mathias mean before?¡± Ace asked, turning to Wukong as the group of five made their way North. ¡°When he mentioned being unable to take an active role in helping us if things go south in the future.¡± ¡°Why are you asking this king?¡± Wukong snorted. ¡°This king hates politics the most!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain,¡± Milianna sighed softly from Leo¡¯s back. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what happened between Master and O¡¯Brien after we fled, but whatever happened, it was enough to scare him enough to form some sort of alliance with Catherine ¨C the High Priest of the Yulan Empire.¡± Ace didn¡¯t have to be there to understand that Arianna¡¯s strength would be genuinely frightening to just about any Demi-God. Their decision to form an alliance to protect their empires made sense, but it still didn¡¯t answer his original question. ¡°At the end of the selection, both O¡¯Brien and Catherine made an appearance in an attempt to not only force the pavilion to hand you and me over to O¡¯Brien but also to get their hands on Master¡¯s family legacy,¡± Milianna explained calmly. ¡°Fortunately, though both of them returned with all of their saint-level disciples and subordinates, they had underestimated the true power of the Pavilion. It was only when they appeared that Cesar made his appearance, revealing that not only was he now an official member of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, but also that his strength had also improved significantly. As soon as Catherine made a move to attack, Cesar instantly beheaded her eldest disciple, who, like Fain, was also a prime saint.¡± Hearing that, even though he knew everyone was alright, Ace couldn¡¯t help but listen with bated breaths as a sense of worry began to creep up inside him. Although he knew Cesar was strong, he also knew the King of Killers was far from enough to deter two deities in a situation like that. And as powerful as she was, he doubted even Arianna would be able to fight two Demi-Gods on her own. ¡°Thankfully, Senior Brother had already foreseen a situation like this arising,¡± Milianna continued. ¡°As soon as it looked like Catherine and O¡¯Brien were willing to forsake their subordinates for what they came for, Senior Brother threatened to make a breakthrough right there and then. I should probably mention that during his fight against O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples, his comprehension finally broke through to the deity level. So had he really broken through as he threatened, he would¡¯ve leapt straight over the peak and prime saint level and directly become a Demi-God. Catherine and O¡¯Brien both instantly understood that point, and although Catherine was apparently the stronger of the two Demi-Gods, it wasn¡¯t by enough to ignore the presence of a newly promoted Demi-God. Had the two carried on, it would have been a simple matter of Mathias blocking Catherine until Master finished with O¡¯Brien allowing both Mathias and Master to suppress Catherine together. Still, it was impossible for the two Demi-Gods to leave just like that after making such a public spectacle; as such, Senior Brother promised them that not only would the Pavilion not make any attempts to expand its current territory, should an apostle face any danger from external influences, no active member of the Pavilion will make any attempts to help them. Unfortunately, O¡¯Brien, recognising the threat you posed to him and his empire, forced Mathias to promote you to the position of an apostle in advance, as your strength had clearly far surpassed that of an expert at the eighth rank. Mathias didn¡¯t want to. He wanted to give you as much time to grow as possible, but I was the one to agree on your behalf,¡± Milianna explained, her face still the picture of serenity, despite her actions effectively throwing her own son to the wolves. ¡°Don¡¯t blame Master or Senior Brother for not telling you earlier; I told them that it was best coming from me. Do you blame me?¡± Even though Milianna still looked perfectly calm, Ace could sense a hint of guilt mixed in her otherwise warm and gentle aura. ¡°Of course not,¡± Ace shook his head decisively. ¡°Had I been present at the time, I would¡¯ve made the exact same choice. Everyone at the Pavilion has already done more than enough. I can¡¯t expect them to protect me for the rest of my life.¡± A gentle but resolute smile suffused Milianna¡¯s otherworldly face as she proudly met her son¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯d expect no less from a descendant of our Gol family!¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A knowing smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face when he heard that, but he didn¡¯t say anything more on the matter. Instead, he brought the topic of conversation back on track. ¡°So was that it, or did anything else happen whilst I was out of it?¡± ¡°Well, after Catherine and O¡¯Brien were forced to retreat, the Pavilion¡¯s position as one of the continent¡¯s major forces was firmly established,¡± Amira shrugged as she flew beside Ace and Wukong. ¡°But the pressure the Pavilion put on the rest of the continent was apparently too much to bear as all the top schools began to emulate the blueprint of the Pavilion, choosing to focus on both paths of cultivation instead of limiting themselves and their students to just one. The most surprising was the fusion of the Ernst Institute and the War God¡¯s Academy. You have to remember that although the Ernst Institute was the only school with a direct pipeline to the Yulan Empire¡¯s College of Light, ultimately, it was an institution that was founded and belonged to the Radiant Church. Apparently, Catherine made some sort of deal with the Church, and although no one knows the details of the deal, judging by how the Church migrated their HQ to the Yulan Empire, it¡¯s fair to assume that they too have made some sort of alliance.¡± Ace calmly nodded, not too bothered by that particular development. He had no particular gripe with the Radiant Church or the Yulan Empire; he was far more interested in the fusion of the War God¡¯s Academy and the Ernst Institute. ¡°The fusion of both institutes is still ongoing, but apparently, their new campus is in the middle of the Anarchic Region, with that Byrius fellow and a number of the saint-level personal disciples of both deities there to preside over it. It was because of that, that the Anarchic Region entered into its first period of peace in over a millennia, although everyone knows that it will inevitably be short-lived. The only thing that¡¯s still unknown is what the Anarchic Lands will look like after the Yulan and O¡¯Brien Empire are done cutting it up between them.¡± ¡°I guess that is the only way they could hope to have their students even think about competing with us at the Pavilion,¡± Ace replied with a smirk. ¡°But it¡¯s still far from en¡­¡± Before Ace could finish his sentence, his eyes constricted into pinholes as he suddenly exploded with his fastest speed, leaving nothing but a trail of flames in his wake as he shot into the distance. . . . At the same time, a few miles away, a small but seemingly well-organised army stood in despair, watching as seven mortals were forced to face off against a mountain-sized Rainbow Dragon at the early stages of the saint realm. Scattered around them were the corpses of soldiers and beasts alike, but at that moment, whether it was man or beast, as long as they were alive, they were all focused on the saint-level battle taking place in the sky. ¡°Why the fuck is there a saint-level beast?!¡± A young but undeniably imposing teenage girl dressed in leather battle armour shouted unwillingly as she continuously launched spear after spear of the earth at the giant dragon¡¯s weak spots. ¡°This was just supposed to be an ordinairy beast tide!¡± Her attacks did absolutely nothing to hinder such a beast, but she persisted nonetheless. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± An elegant young woman replied as she too continuously bombarded the dragon with cone after cone of ice. ¡°But it looks almost as though it¡¯s after Uncle Lance.¡± ¡°Who cares why it¡¯s here,¡± The youngest of the mortals voiced coldly, his tone laced with a thick killing intent as he fired slash after slash of wind at the beast. ¡°All we need to focus on is killing it.¡± The group of seven were the remainder of Ace¡¯s classmates ¨C minus Alissa ¨C along with Cirulus. The beast tide had been fairly ordinairy in terms of power before that, with the strongest being a blue-eyed tiger mastiff of the ninth rank, which Killian had unsurprisingly made quick work of. He had previously been reluctant in his ability to take on warriors of the ninth rank, but now after a year, his progress could only be described as blazing! Not only had he reached the middle of the seventh rank as a warrior and mage, he had even comprehended [Impose]! Unless one had the power of a general, you could forget about fighting Killian. Still, things took a sudden and completely unforeseen turn for the worst when a saint-level dragon suddenly appeared and made a beeline straight for Lance. Unfortunately, even with all his training, Lance, who had been easily slaughtering beast after beast, was far from a match for a beast of that level. The only reason Lance was even still alive right now was because it appeared to be more interested in Lance¡¯s spear than the man wielding it. It was only after sniffing and studying the spear that the colourful rainbow dragon let out an enraged roar and turned its attention back to the man formerly wielding it, whom it had previously sent flying. Had it not been for the pressure of a saint-level beast attempting to kill the man Killian had grown to see as something of a father figure stimulating him enough to finally comprehend a trace amount of his first Profound Mystery, there would¡¯ve been no one capable of stopping the beast. Still, even with his sudden breakthrough, Killian was far from a match for the dragon. It was only with the assistance of his classmates and the presiding city lord of the city of Gol ¨C Cirulus Reacher ¨C that Killian was reluctantly able to hold the dragon off. Unfortunately, even with the seven of them working together, they were still slowly being suppressed. ¡°KILLIAN!¡± Faye roared when she saw Killian sent flying by the beast¡¯s gigantic knife-like claws. The eyes of her and the others went red as each of them watched unwillingly what appeared to be a sure death for their classmate when¡­ ¡°[HIKEN]!¡± A furious yet familiar roar of a young man once again brought the battlefield to a deafening halt as a giant fist-shaped pillar of fire descended from the clouds, engulfing the enormous figure of the dragon. Book 6: Chapter 8 – Dragon Number Three The heads of everyone present snapped up in shock and confusion, but only the faces of the mortals who previously faced the dragon held knowing smiles. ¡°Was that really him?¡± Yulana asked as her piercing blue eyes scanned the clouds above her head, searching for a particular figure. ¡°Only he¡¯s capable of that!¡± Faye grinned excitedly. ¡°Ace,¡± Killian smiled softly as he rolled to his feet, ignoring the agony of his opened chest. ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late,¡± Ace smiled as his body suddenly appeared before Killian¡¯s at a speed that hardly anyone present was able to follow. The majority of the army didn¡¯t recognise the dark-haired teen, but as far as they were aware of, there was only one teen on the continent that was capable of challenging a saint. ¡°Is that Young Master Ace?¡± One of the soldiers of the city of Gol asked. ¡°It must be.¡± Another soldier replied. ¡°He¡¯s just as impressive as the rumours made him out to be,¡± As the soldiers began to discuss Ace¡¯s arrival, the pained grunts of the searing rainbow dragon reminded everyone that there was still a genuine saint-level creature that threatened each of their safety. ¡°Who are you, human?¡± The dragon grunted as the smoke dissipated, revealing its burnt scaly body. Since the dragon arrived, it hadn¡¯t said so much as a word to anyone. After all, in its eyes, they were just mortal ants. But this new arrival was different. Judging by the power of that last strike, this teen appeared to be no weaker than him. It had to be remembered that all dragons were known for the defensive capabilities of their usually impenetrable scales, but after just one attack, although it was a sneak attack, many of its formerly beautiful rainbow-coloured scales had been incinerated and of those that remained, most had all but lost their shine, giving it more of a dull burnt look. Still, Ace¡¯s eyes chilled as he turned to look at the dragon with undisguised killing intent. ¡°You¡¯re in no position to be asking me questions.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Harelk,¡± The dragon revealed, seeming to want to take a step back after feeling the might of the teen¡¯s previous attack. ¡°I only interfered in this beast tide because the spear of that man has the aura of one of our kidnapped young.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± Ace¡¯s indifferent voice rang in his ears, causing Harelk¡¯s eyes to narrow. Ace had already noticed Lance¡¯s unconscious body, as well as the Azure Dragon Spear Lauriella forged for him wrapped in the tail of the dragon. With how far the dragons were willing to go to find that Hatchling, it didn¡¯t take a genius to know how they¡¯d react once they found out their Divine hatchling had not only been killed, but its bones and beast core had also been turned into a mere weapon for a human. Still, Ace didn¡¯t care about that. All he knew was that Killian and Lance, two people he saw as a part of his family, had almost died. If it wasn¡¯t because he was worried about the aftermath of his fight with the dragon worsening Killian and Lance¡¯s injuries, Ace would have long since attacked. But in Harelk¡¯s eyes, he had already been more than kind by treating Ace like an equal. Still, his patience had limits. He was an almighty saint-level dragon of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt. He may have acknowledged Ace¡¯s strength, but he refused to believe that in a true fight, a little teen was really his match ¨C even with his current injuries. ¡°Give me that man, and I¡¯ll leave,¡± Harelk commanded cooly. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Leave now, or I¡¯ll kill you,¡± Ace replied, leaving no room for negotiation. His words shocked the army to no end. Everyone in the world understood that Ace was a madman from the rumours of his past deeds, but there was a big difference between hearing it and seeing it in person. The creature he was speaking to was a saint, a being who held the power to wipe out their whole army in one attack. The only ones not shocked by Ace¡¯s brazenness were his classmates. They all knew full well that there was virtually nothing that Ace didn¡¯t dare to do! Instead, they were more concerned with putting as much distance between Ace and the dragon as possible. As the fastest of those present, Joel and Kannal¡¯s bodies transformed into blurs as they picked up Killian and Lance respectively, before chasing after the rest of their classmates. ¡°GET BACK!¡± Cirulus, who was the next to react, quickly commanded his troops before giving his young master an excited nod and also taking his leave. ¡°EVERYONE BACK, NOW!¡± ¡°You may be the most arrogant human I¡¯ve ever met!¡± Harelk snorted, paying no heed to the escaping mortals. In fact, if anything, he was more worried about them staying near. The only reason Killian had been able to fight him to a standstill for so long was because of their help, and Harelk was well aware that Ace was much stronger than Killian. ¡°Number three,¡± Ace voiced as he summoned a spear from his storage ring before coating it and his entire body in his [Armament Haki] and a skin-tight crimson aura of compressed flames. Unfortunately, after his repeated use of [Conqueror¡¯s Infusion], his previous weapon, ¡°Newgate¡±, had shattered into thousands of pieces and with him only just waking up, he hadn¡¯t had time to get a new one ¨C not that it particularly mattered to him at this moment. ¡°You what?¡± The dragon asked, not following Ace¡¯s meaning. ¡°You¡¯ll be the third dragon to die by my hand!¡± Ace explained coldly as his afterimage faded into the wind. Though enraged by Ace¡¯s words, Harelk had been around long enough to know not to let his anger get the better of him in a fight. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer when he saw Ace explosively leap towards him as though he wanted a fight at close range. ¡°[Blazing Drill]!¡± Ace voiced calmly as he transformed the flames coating the tip of his spear into a rapidly rotating drill tip and thrust it forth to meet the incoming tail. Harelk¡¯s sneer quickly vanished as the two attacks met, and he found he was unable to gain the upper hand. It needs to be understood that although Ace was technically only a warrior at the middle stages of the sixth rank, because his soul was already equal to the average prime saint when using impose, he could increase his physical strength to match that of a peak ninth rank warrior. Now when you include his [Armament Haki] and the current power of his flames, which had already reached the might of a saint, it was no shock that Ace could contend directly with weaker saints now. Still, Harelk didn¡¯t know all of that. He assumed that it was only his abilities as a mage that had reached the saint rank. A small smile suffused Ace¡¯s lips as his body flickered, appearing beneath the dragon¡¯s right wing, aiming to pierce the space between its ribs. Although he was shocked by Ace¡¯s strength, it wasn¡¯t to the point where he¡¯d allow it to slow him down. Without hesitation, the dragon shifted its body slightly whilst slashing its enormous claws at its opponent¡¯s chest as if to rip him apart, only to helplessly watch as Ace casually stepped into the air allowing him to gracefully escape its clutches. ¡°Why does it feel like even after a year with him in a coma, the gap between us is just as big as ever?¡± Joel sighed with a helpless smile as he watched Ace practically dance around a saint-level magical beast. ¡°Because he¡¯s Ace,¡± Osiris shrugged calmly as he stored his bow away and watched the fight with his classmates. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Faye chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no point in any of us trying to compete with that freak!¡± ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± A young but elegant voice sounded from the skies behind the group. ¡°Mira?¡± Yulana called as she turned around. ¡°Aunt Mili, Senior Kong, and Leo, you¡¯re all here too?¡± ¡°We were supposed to come together,¡± Amira snorted as she glanced at Ace. ¡°But that idiot left us to go have all the fun on his own.¡± Her words caused the rest of her classmates to smile helplessly, as she was probably the only other disciple of their cohort who could call a saint-level beast ¡°fun¡±. Still, they didn¡¯t doubt her words; they all knew how strong she had become after awakening her ¡°Viz¡± bloodline ¨C in their eyes, she had become a freak on the same level as Ace himself. ¡°You really are a stubborn old fool, aren¡¯t you?¡± Milianna sighed as she elegantly leapt off Leo¡¯s back and made her way to the side of her unconscious partner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aunty,¡± Killian said softly as he watched Milianna raise her left hand and begin to use her insights into the edict of life to heal Lance at a speed visible to the naked eye. ¡°I was too weak to protect him.¡± ¡°How could I blame you, my silly boy?¡± Milianna scolded gently whilst she gently stroked Killian¡¯s shoulder-length twists out of the way of his face before lowering her unused palm to her adoptive son¡¯s bloodied chest. ¡°Now, stand still; let me focus on healing you both.¡± Book 6: Chapter 9 – Yasha The Black Dragon Returns ¡°Mil¡­ Milianna?¡± Lance muttered in shock as he looked up at the angel from his dreams. The last thing he remembered was him being brutally attacked by a giant saint-level dragon before directly losing consciousness, but now the woman he¡¯d spent the last year thinking about was standing over him ¨C his confusion could be easily understood. ¡°Who else?¡± Milianna smiled warmly as she stroked his beard. Lance couldn¡¯t help but relax as the dainty hands of the only woman he had ever loved softly stroked his face. Every night for the last year, hers would be the last face he saw before he fell asleep and the first person he thought about when he woke up ¨C he wanted nothing more than to be by her side. Still, after everything that happened that day, he couldn¡¯t. At least not until¡­ ¡°I came to bring you home!¡± Milianna said directly, ignoring the inner turmoil he was feeling. ¡°Milli, I¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t give me that excuse anymore,¡± Milianna smiled as she pointed to the centre of the battlefield where a dark-haired teen was dancing around a giant dragon, casually piercing its giant frame with his burning spear. ¡°Ace is awake!¡± ¡°Ace¡­¡± Lance muttered, tears welling up in his usually stoic eyes. ¡°He¡¯s really awa¡­¡± ¡°Oi brat!¡± Wukong hollered lazily, cutting Lance off mid-sentence. ¡°Can you hurry up already ¨C this King¡¯s bored!¡± Previously, Harelk had been put under so much pressure that he hadn¡¯t noticed the arrival of the powerful newcomers, but when he did, his eyes immediately constricted, as every fibre of his being was overwhelmed with fear. He didn¡¯t recognise the others, but it was impossible for him, a senior member of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt, not to recognise the ape-like young man ¨C Wukong! It was almost a decade ago now; at the time, he was just a newly ascended saint in the Dragon¡¯s Pitt when Ignus, the king of the dragons, returned with Yasha, a black dragon, after going out on what could be considered a very important but still, very simple mission. But unlike what they all had expected, not only had one of their saint-level experts forfeited their lives, Yasha, a senior member of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt, came back in critical condition. It was only after the Dragon King explained what happened that they all understood they had kicked the iron bucket that time. After that, it was passed down through the Pitt that no dragon was to do anything to antagonise anyone even remotely related to Wukong and his mysterious faction. Still, that was only part of the reason behind his fear. The main reason was because Zarconix, the dragon-scaled bear Wukong killed, though only a newly promoted saint, was apparently easily defeated, to the point where it apparently looked like he was being toyed with, a feat he knew he still wasn¡¯t capable of doing, and back then, Wukong was only at the 8th rank. He had no idea how strong Wukong was back then, but whichever way you sliced it, getting tangled up with this group was the definition of a bad idea. Without a second thought, Harelk took off like a bullet in the opposite direction, releasing an earth-shattering roar as he flew, the sound of which caused several of the weaker warriors and beasts to collapse, holding their bleeding ears in agony. ¡°Ooh no you don¡¯t,¡± Ace muttered as he flicked his wrist, changing his hold over his spear as though he was now holding a javelin. ¡°[Blazing Jet]!¡± As the spear left his fingertips, the previously peaceful flames at the back of the spear erupted in a wild and imposing manner, propelling the spear forth at speeds that caused several sonic booms that threatened to drown out Harelk¡¯s thunderous roar. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Wukong, Amira, and Leo were the only ones able to follow the trajectory of the spear with their eyes, and without fail, each and every one of them cringed slightly as they watched Ace¡¯s spear pierce through the Dragon¡¯s rear end and out of its eyes, bringing with it a chunk of brain matter. ¡°That¡¯s gotta hurt,¡± Ace shuddered, subconsciously clenching his arse muscles as he watched the now-deceased dragon fall from the skies onto the still retreating army of beasts. ¡°You definitely did that on purpose!¡± Amira snorted, her body appearing by Ace¡¯s side as though she had teleported. ¡°You really think so little of me?¡± Ace pouted back as he strolled through the air towards the corpse of the dead dragon. ¡°Yes!¡± Amira replied matter-of-factly. ¡°I¡¯m hurt!¡± Ace feigned heartbreak as he slowly bent over to remove Lance¡¯s Azure Dragon Spear from within Harelk¡¯s coiling tail. ¡°You not gonna pick up your weapon?¡± Wukong teased. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Ace said, glancing back at his spear, which was now covered in dragon insides. ¡°It was just a spear I picked up from one of the soldiers of the O¡¯Brien Army a while back.¡± As he said that, Ace came to a stop in front of his would-be stepfather. ¡°I believe this is yours.¡± ¡°Forget the spear,¡± Lance said, knocking it away and taking Ace in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take more than a trivial O¡¯Brien Empire to keep me down,¡± Ace grinned as he returned the man¡¯s bear hug. ¡°Unfortunately, the reunion¡¯s gonna have to wait,¡± Ace sighed as he turned back to face the forest of Darkness. ¡°It appears we have an old friend to greet.¡± Before Lance and the others even had the chance to voice their confusion, an ear-splitting roar sounded from the difference. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this roar came from so far away, Killian and the others understood that it would be no less loud than Harelk¡¯s from moments ago, especially as the aura it projected was several times that of the Rainbow Dragon¡¯s. ¡°Cirulus,¡± Lance called out sombrely as he turned to the man he had become good friends with over the last year. ¡°We need to get all the troops to retreat.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not enough time for that,¡± Milianna sighed helplessly as she saw several towering and imposing creatures fly towards them, slowly covering the sky in what may as well have been an eclipse. ¡°Why is it always lizards?¡± Ace sighed. ¡°Maybe stop calling them that when five saint-level dragons come over, looking like they wanna eat us!¡± Yulana scolded silently. ¡°Why?¡± Faye smiled mockingly. ¡°You scared?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s scared, you barbaric little girl?!¡± Yulana snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m just stating the obvious! There are five saint-level dragons, and judging by their auras, one of them is at the peak of the saint realm, but we only have four who can fight against saints. You do the maths, you braindead brute!¡± Even though Yulana¡¯s words were true, and each member of the group had come to the same conclusion, not an ounce of fear could be seen on any of their faces ¨C including Yulana¡¯s. Instead, there was a hint of excitement and anticipation. This was the reason they had chosen to venture out of the safety of the Pavilion¡¯s walls ¨C to use the pressure of real life-threatening situations to push themselves past their limits. And although the only one to see tangible results so far was Killian, no one felt demoralised; if anything, it had spurred them on even more. Cirulus¡¯ army, on the other hand, felt their knees weaken under such pressure. Each of them had faced beast tides in the past, but never could they imagine the seemingly ordinairy beast tide developing in such a way. Cirulus, whilst not as scared as his subordinates, wasn¡¯t able to be as relaxed as Ace and his group. Still, he was nothing if not decisive. As he had decided to stand behind Ace, he would continue to do so until the very end ¨C a fact he had already proved time and time again over the last year and a half since they first met. But the person with the strangest reaction to the arrival of the Dragons was undoubtedly Kannal. The moment they appeared, a dense and chilling killing intent erupted from the youngster, and strangely enough, it appeared to be directed straight at the largest and most powerful of the dragons. ¡°Calm down,¡± Ace said slowly. ¡°It¡¯s still too early for you to be looking for revenge.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Kannal replied as he took a slow, calming breath, allowing for his blistering killing intent to gradually recede. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything foolish.¡± Still, despite saying that, Kannal¡¯s young but piercing eyes never left the face of the titanic black dragon covering the skies. The dragon¡¯s eyes fell on Kannal momentarily. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day it saw a mortal daring to glare at it so brazenly. Still, it didn¡¯t recognise the youth, nor did it think much of him. Especially not when there were two figures he couldn¡¯t forget, even if he tried, among the group. Though Mathias was the one who beat him to within an inch of his life, it was these two that kept him from sleeping soundly at night. The threat they posed to not only his, but the future of the entire Dragon¡¯s Pitt was terrifying. ¡°Wukong, Ace¡­¡± Yasha growled, a menacing light flickering in his dark, callous eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Book 6: Chapter 10 – Kill Them All ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± Yasha growled as he stared intensely at the two mortals standing on the air before him. ¡°Not long enough,¡± Wukong lazily replied with seemingly little interest. Wukong¡¯s casual and disinterested response seemed to gain the ire of each of the dragons present. Still, before any of them could say or do anything rash, Yasha¡¯s deep and thunderous voice rang in the ears of all those present. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to come if it wasn¡¯t for one of our saints sending out a distress signal,¡± Yasha replied coldly, having already seen Harelk¡¯s still-warm corpse. ¡°After everything that happened last time, it was agreed that you wouldn¡¯t do anything to harm any of my fellow dragons.¡± ¡°That was only on the condition that none of your dragons did anything to harm any of our people,¡± Ace snorted. ¡°But since your little lizard was so intent on breaking your part agreement, why should we care about ours?¡± ¡°Who do you think you are to interject in a conversation between saints,¡± snapped Waxley ¨C the Rocky Cave Dragon, as he glared at the dark-haired teen. ¡°Be a good boy and let the¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, an enormous flame-shaped palm appeared above his head, causing not only his but also the eyes of each of the dragons present to constrict into pinholes. ¡°[Divine Descent]!¡± Ace calmly voiced. As the palm made contact with the top of the rocky-scaled dragon, the sound of a pained grunt could be heard through the explosion. ¡°I¡¯ve already killed one dragon today,¡± Ace said as the smoke cleared, revealing the slightly dishevelled appearance of the immortal dragon. ¡°Unless you want to be the second, I suggest you curb your arrogance in front of me!¡± Though a few of Waxley¡¯s grey rocky scales had been destroyed, the damage done was minimal at best. Still, the shock he was feeling at that moment couldn¡¯t be put into words, and it wasn¡¯t just him; ironically, all of the dragons were staring at Ace as though they had seen a monster. ¡°You¡­ Your comprehension,¡± Waxley stammered. ¡°It¡¯s reached the deity realm!¡± Yasha said, finishing his junior¡¯s sentence as its giant marble-like eyes narrowed. He always knew Ace would be a threat in the future, potentially even more than Wukong, but he never would¡¯ve imagined that he would¡¯ve already reached such a level at such a young age. He was seriously considering doing everything in his power to kill the boy now; the only problem was that even if he were successful, if anyone escaped and let the rest of their organisation know¡­ If Ignus, the dragon king, was right about that mysterious master, the Dragon¡¯s Pitt would be forced to face potential extinction. The worst part was that, even after his breakthrough to the peak of the saint realm, he had no confidence in keeping up with Wukong if he was determined to leave. His speed back when they last met was too incredible, and he didn¡¯t doubt for even one second that his speed had improved significantly since then. ¡°And what of it?¡± Ace asked indifferently. ¡°And there he goes again,¡± Amira rolled her eyes. ¡°Our little son of heaven, showing off once again.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Ace voiced helplessly. ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for that.¡± ¡°Yes, I can,¡± Amira pouted. ¡°And I will!¡± Joel and the others looked at Amira as if they were looking at their idol. She was the only one who could control Ace so easily. Ace may be the strongest, but Amira was definitely the one in charge. Still, before Ace and his group could get too distracted talking amongst themselves, Yasha¡¯s cold and thunderous growl brought them back to reality. ¡°Why?¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Why what?¡± Ace asked, his face returning to its previous indifference as he addressed the dragon hovering above him. ¡°Harelk¡¯s a senior member of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt; he knows better than to provoke any human unnecessarily for fear of them being related to your organisation,¡± Yasha explained slowly. ¡°So him doing so unprovoked makes no sense. We may have agreed not to harm you or your people, but unless you can give us a good enough response¡­ All of you can forget about leaving here with your lives!¡± ¡°Is that a threat?!¡± Wukong snapped as he summoned his crystalline bo-staff, lightning flickering in the depths of his excited eyes. ¡°This king has already shown mercy by not hunting you overgrown li¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, though, Ace placed a palm on his shoulder to stop him. ¡°Lance, pass me your spear for a moment,¡± Ace said with a calm confidence that prevented all those behind him from feeling fear. ¡°That Harelk attacked a member of my family because of this,¡± Ace explained calmly as he lifted the spear for each of them to see. Clearly, no further explanation was needed. The moment each of the dragons saw the crystal white shaft and azure blade and, more importantly, sensed the esoteric aura it emanated, each of their eyes lit up with shock, which quickly turned into disbelief and unwillingness, and finally, rage! ¡°That spear¡­¡± Siltor, one of the two mid-staged saints ¨C a golden dragon ¨C voiced as he forcibly restrained his simmering wrath. ¡°Where did you get it?¡± ¡°I got one of my seniors to turn the corpse of a dragon that I killed into this spear,¡± Ace explained calmly, paying no attention to the growing tension. ¡°You killed my¡­¡± ¡°MY SON¡­¡± Vana, the other of the two mid-staged saint-level dragons, roared hysterically as she glared at Ace with bloodshot eyes. ¡°YOU KILLED MY SON? I¡¯LL KI¡­¡± Vana had only flapped her wings once, allowing her to cover half the distance, when she was struck on the crown of the head by a human-sized bolt of lightning. ¡°You overgrown lizards never learn,¡± Wukong voiced, his body covered in flickering bolts of lightning as he casually held his staff over his shoulder, standing on the unconscious body of the cyan-coloured Aquatic Dragon. ¡°None of you can even think of harming these brats with this king here.¡± Once again, the dragons were rendered speechless! Whether it was speed or power, that last strike had surpassed anything most of them were capable of. Still, the most unbelievable part was that they could sense that the strike held an element of a soul attack. It was at that moment that Yasha finally understood why Wukong and his group all seemed so at ease. They were genuinely confident in their ability to face his group. Even more, now that Vana had been dispatched. After a strike like that, though she was still alive, there was no chance she¡¯d be able to get up any time soon! ¡°Yasha,¡± Siltor growled menacingly. ¡°You better not even think about running away after finding the son of a bitch who murdered my son and attacked my wife.¡± Yasha¡¯s eyes flickered when he heard that. Truth be told, that was what he was thinking. After all, he no longer held his previous confidence about facing Wukong. But he knew there was no way Siltor would be able to obey that order. The last eight or so years had been pure torture for Siltor and his wife, Vana. Not only had they had their first and only baby kidnapped before it had hatched. They were then forced to watch as their supreme leader was forced to call off their search prematurely after finding out that the kidnappers had been the Cult of Darkness. Though there was no expert among the cult¡¯s ranks that could even hope to oppose Ignus, all the senior members of the Dragon Pitt knew that whether it was the Cult or the Church, the power of those forces couldn¡¯t be measured by the power of their individual experts. As long as they were found and cornered outside of their HQ, they were more than capable of killing just about any member of the Cult ¨C including the Empress of Darkness herself ¨C but even if they were to lead every high-ranking member of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt to attack the Cult¡¯s HQ, it would only end in complete termination. Still, as the parents, how could Siltor and Vana be content with letting things go just like that? Yasha knew that had it not been for Ignus¡¯ promise that should they receive any news of the unhatched Divine Dragon¡¯s location or any of the experts of the cult; they would unhesitantly strike with the full power of the Dragon¡¯s Pitt, both Siltor and Vana would¡¯ve long since gone off on their own to search for their offspring ¨C even if it meant death. So the actions and mood of the parents came as no surprise after hearing about their child¡¯s death, especially as the one responsible was standing directly in front of them. The smart thing to do in such a precarious situation was to take a step back and let the others in the Pitt know what happened before coming up with a plan moving forward, but if he was to do that, Siltor would never follow them back, plus, his fellow dragons would more than likely look down on him for his cowardice. They wouldn¡¯t care for his excuses ¨C the pride of a dragon was never to be infringed upon. ¡°Not a single human leaves here with their lives,¡± Yasha commanded as he steeled himself for what would undoubtedly be a bloody battle. ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡± Book 6: Chapter 11 – Cesar’s Godrealm ¡°WAIT!¡± A young but determined voice bellowed through the battlefield. Of all those present, only Ace and Amira raised a brow, seemingly recognising the speaker. Still, what Ace was more surprised about was that despite having his [Observation] spread out, he hadn¡¯t sensed the youth¡¯s presence till the moment he shouted. Ace wasn¡¯t the only one taken aback by the presence of the newcomer; all the dragons were, but as soon as their cold, draconian eyes fell on the youth in question, that shock quickly turned into shock, followed by instinctual awe and respect. Despite having a humanoid build, those glistening azure scales, giant azure wings, and glistening white horns were all too familiar, especially when looking into those calm, draconic eyes ¨C he was clearly a Dragonblood warrior! Still, each of the saint-level dragons had been alive for several centuries at the very least. Yasha, in particular, had been alive back when the Baruch clan was at the peak of their power ¨C how could they put the average Dragonblood warrior in their eyes? No, what truly caused their emotions to stir in such an uncontrollable manner was the aura the young Baruch expert was exuding. It was the aura one would only expect to see when in the face of a dragon with the purest of bloodlines ¨C a pure-blooded Divine Dragon! ¡°You¡­¡± Yasha stammered desperately, fighting to ignore the innate suppression his blood was under. ¡°Who¡­ Who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Linley, Linley Baruch!¡± The proud dragon warrior announced calmly. ¡°Current head of the Baruch Clan.¡± ¡°I was wondering where you ran off to!¡± Ace said suddenly, pleasantly surprised when his eyes fell not on Linley but on the young silver-haired beauty standing among the group of ten accompanying Linley. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Ace,¡± Alissa replied, smiling warmly as she began to walk on the air as though it were solid ground. ¡°I see you haven¡¯t been wasting time either this last year,¡± Ace smiled, immediately understanding that the young assassin had also comprehended impose. ¡°How could I when our class leader is such a freak of nature?¡± Alissa shrugged as she calmly stopped with a teasing smile, not from Ace but before Killian. ¡°Did you miss me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Killian replied matter-of-factly, without so much as a moment¡¯s hesitation. The dark-skinned youth¡¯s straightforward response caught Alissa off guard as a furious blush began to creep up her neck, but before she could respond, the frustrated voice of another member of her group beat her to it. ¡°Did no one ever teach you brats how to respect your elders,¡± Cesar snorted as he slowly began to float into the air, clearly not too pleased by Killian¡¯s interaction with Alissa. Linley couldn¡¯t help but sigh helplessly as he watched Ace and his group all but completely disregard his presence. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s the same prideful child from Wushan Town,¡± A middle-aged man with dark brown hair, who looked very similar to Linley in his human form, muttered from beside Linley. ¡°You were right not to offend him any further, son.¡± It wasn¡¯t just them; each of Linley¡¯s group was studying Ace intently. Over the last year, there was likely no one who hadn¡¯t heard of the fearless Son of Heaven ¨C Gol D. Ace, but this was the first time most of them had seen him in the flesh. As for the dragons, they had been all but forgotten by this point, not that any of them were complaining. Initially, they were just in a state of shock and instinctual reverence from Linley¡¯s suppression, but the moment they noticed the rest of the group, namely the dark-robed middle-aged man, their hearts couldn¡¯t help but race. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Though they didn¡¯t know all the saints of the human race, nor were they interested, they did know of each of the human prime saints. If Wukong¡¯s power had made them slightly cautious and apprehensive, Cesar¡¯s mere presence had them all deeply scared. Though their leader was said to be the strongest of the prime saints, the others were all at a level that the rest of the Dragon Pitt couldn¡¯t afford to offend easily. Well, that was the case for most of the dragons. The only exception to that was Siltor ¨C the Golden Dragon. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Siltor roared, his rage allowing him to ignore the suppression his body was under. ¡°Where did you get your blood from, boy?!¡± Though he asked, Siltor was already over 90% sure he knew the answer. It had to be understood that the formation of the Dragon Pitt was a direct response to the actions of the Baruch Clan from thousands of years ago. If the purity of a Baruch Clan descendant¡¯s bloodline didn¡¯t meet the requirements for a natural awakening, the only way they could awaken it was with genuine dragon blood. Back when the Baruch Clan were at their peak, they had several powerful saint-level elders, any of whom could casually go and hunt a dragon for their blood, and with the dragons back then predominantly acting independently, it was simplicity in and of itself. It was only when Ignus, the current dragon king and powerful peak-stage dragon at the time, gathered his fellow dragons and convinced them all to follow him to the forest of darkness that they managed to force the Baruch clan to think twice before attempting to hunt their own. Between that and the fact that the powerful ancestors of their Baruch Clan began to ascend into the higher realms, the Baruch Clan¡¯s fall became an unstoppable eventuality. ¡°I absorbed the blood of your child,¡± Linley calmly replied as he fearlessly met the threatening gaze of the golden dragon, clearly having heard the earlier conversation between Ace and the dragons. ¡°MY SON!¡± Siltor released a heart-wrenching roar filled with both unquenchable wrath and heartbreaking pain. ¡°MY SOONNNN!¡± His son had been kidnapped, then killed, before his body parts had been divided and spread between these filthy humans as though he were some sort of treasure. Siltor¡¯s eyes reddened as a single tear of blood fell from the corner of his eyes. His current emotions were too much to bear. In that moment, he didn¡¯t care that his actions could very well cause the death of not only himself but also his wife and the other dragons present ¨C all he wanted was to tear every living human on the continent limb from limb. ¡°All of you, DIIEEE!¡± Siltor roared, preparing to attack. ¡°CALM DOWN!¡± A regal and imposing voice roared as a giant crimson tail suddenly seemingly appeared from nowhere, slapping Siltor into the ground and pressing the crazed golden dragon into the crater it created. Most of the humans that made up the Gol City Army were already numb by that point ¨C never in their lives had the majority run into a single saint, let alone this many at once. Still, when they saw the colossal crimson dragon that seemed to tower over each of the giant dragons present, several of the weaker-willed soldiers collapsed directly. Those from the pavilion, on the other hand, other than a moment of surprise, having not sensed the sudden appearance of another dragon, were completely calm. In fact, most of them had already put their weapons away. Each of them knew that other than Arianna, as long as you were below the deity realm, no one was a match for the current king of killers ¨C that also went for Ignus, the King of the Dragons. ¡°You humans have gone too far this time!¡± Ignus growled as the temperature in the surrounding area began to rise to near-unbearable levels. ¡°Too far?¡± Wukong snorted fearlessly. ¡°It¡¯s you lizards that keep attacking us!¡± ¡°I would watch what you say, boy!¡± Ignus growled as his ferocious reptilian eyes fell on Wukong! ¡°Don¡¯t believe that I won¡¯t kill you if you cross my bottom line, master or no master!¡± ¡°Boy? Your mom¡¯s a boy!¡± Wukong snapped back, the grip around his staff tightening as though he was prepared to fight it out with Ignus right there and then. ¡°This king¡¯s your granddaddy!¡± Ignus didn¡¯t bother to dignify Wukong with a response since he was so intent on courting death that he would grant him his wish. Ignus¡¯ mountain-sized claw tore through the air with unbridled fury, causing faint and almost unnoticeable ripples in space as it moved, aiming to tear the ape-like young man to pieces. ¡°Come!¡± Wukong snorted as he stepped forward, seemingly preparing to meet Ignus¡¯ strike head-on. ¡°This king has long since had enough of you overgrown liz¡­¡± Before he could finish his torrent of insults, the eyes of Wukong and Ignus constricted as both were forced to a sudden halt, as though space and time had constricted around them. ¡°Go¡­ Godrealm!¡± Ignus muttered as his eyes ¨C the only part of his body still able to move ¨C fell on the dark-robed assassin lazily floating at the rear of the group. It wasn¡¯t that Ignus hadn¡¯t noticed Cesar¡¯s presence; it was just that he didn¡¯t care about him in the slightest. His title of the strongest prime saint wasn¡¯t just for show. Cesar was scariest when he was attacking from the shadows, but since he dared to stand in front of him, as strong as he was, if they really fought, Cesar would struggle to last more than a couple of exchanges ¨C or at least that would¡¯ve been the case for the Cesar from several years ago. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough fun for one day,¡± Cesar said teasingly as he met the frightened gaze of the dragon king with a playful grin. ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Book 6: Chapter 12 – Linley’s Proposal To The Dragon’s Pitt Of all those present, aside from the group Cesar arrived with, Ace was the only one who didn¡¯t seem surprised by this development. After waking up, Ace¡¯s soul had gone from that of a peak saint to that of a prime saint. Unless he entered the shadows, there was no way Cesar could escape Ace¡¯s [Observation], and yet, somehow, not only Cesar but their whole group had managed to get so close without his realising. The only thing that made sense was that Cesar had hidden all of their presences within his Godrealm. Still, now that Cesar was no longer actively hiding his aura, even Ace could only marvel. The energy he radiated was so overwhelming, it was frightening. ¡°Goddam shitty old fart!¡± Wukong cursed, his insults cleanly cutting through the rising tension as though a warm knife through butter. ¡°You broke through before this king was ready!¡± ¡°I told you, you¡¯re way too young to even think about catching up with this old man,¡± Cesar smirked as he glanced at Wukong before turning his attention to Ignus. ¡°Now, where were we?¡± ¡°Ce¡­ No, Lord Cesar,¡± Ignus voiced, his tone becoming extremely humble all of a sudden. ¡°You and I have never had any problems in the past¡­¡± ¡°True,¡± Cesar nodded before leaking a hint of his dreadful killing intent. ¡°But as annoying as the little ape is, you just tried to kill one of my fellow sect members in front of me. That¡¯s no small slight.¡± ¡°No, wait, you can¡¯t!¡± Ignus frantically replied. ¡°You know Lord Beirut¡¯s rules, no deity can kill a saint or mortal unless they were directly offended. I admit that my ignoring you was rude on my part, but I never meant to offend you, nor did I know that you had joined the same faction as Miss Arianna.¡± Cesar¡¯s eyes faltered slightly at the mere mention of the mysterious king of the forest of darkness ¨C the level of influence Beirut had on the various powerhouses of the continent could be seen clear as day. ¡°Lord Cesar,¡± Linley said respectfully. ¡°If I may¡­¡± ¡°Aah right, I almost forgot,¡± Cesar palmed his face. ¡°You said you wanted to speak to the dragons about something. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Cesar,¡± Linley replied, bowing his head slightly before turning to face the current king of the dragons. ¡°King Ignus, I presume. My name¡¯s Linley Baruch, the current head of the Baruch Clan. The reason why I wanted to talk to you was to propose an alliance between your Dragon Pitt and my Baruch Clan.¡± ¡°Alliance?¡± Ignus snorted disdainfully. ¡°Your clan is the reason my fellow dragons were forced to retreat into the depths of the forest of darkness all those years ago. Why would we dragons ever agree to such a foolish proposal? Don¡¯t think because you have a deity backing you up that, you can force us to submit to you; we may not be as strong as you humans, but we Dragons still have our pride!¡± The more he spoke, the more enraged Ignus became. Upon hearing Linley¡¯s brazen proposal, he became so incensed that he no longer paid attention to Cesar¡¯s presence. He had a bottom line, and if they were determined to cross it, he would go all out with them, even if it meant death. He could still vividly remember the time when his own father was killed by Baruch himself. At the time, he didn¡¯t have the power to help him, but now that he did, he vowed he would never let it happen again. Linley wasn¡¯t surprised by the reaction of Ignus; before Hogg had relinquished his seat as head of the clan to his eldest son, he had explained everything about the Clan¡¯s history. As such, he knew that the chances of this succeeding were slim to none, especially not without the power to back it up. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Still, an opportunity like this didn¡¯t come around often, and if he were going to stand any chance at taking down the church, he would need all the help he could get. ¡°First of all, I need you to understand that the dragon whose blood I ingested to awaken my bloodline wasn¡¯t one we hunted down but chose to target all of us. If it wasn¡¯t for Ace and my familiar teaming up to take it down, all of us would¡¯ve been killed instead.¡± Linley explained, calmly keeping his composure, even in the face of such a powerful magical beast. ¡°And second, I understand how this must sound, but I don¡¯t mean for you to submit to us; I meant that this would be a partnership of equals.¡± ¡°Equals, everyone knows your Baruch Clan is nothing but a shell of your former selves. What could you possibly bring to the table?¡± Ignus sarcastically asked, unable to hide his disdain. ¡°Myself!¡± Linley replied straightforwardly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I compare to my ancestors, but of all the dragons I¡¯ve met so far, the current purity of my bloodline far surpasses each of them ¨C including yours. I won¡¯t deny that you would bring more to the table initially, but in the future, when I reach maturity and bring back my Clan¡¯s glory days, you and all the dragons from the Dragon¡¯s Pitt will only benefit. I¡¯m not being arrogant, I understand that I can¡¯t stand here and guarantee that I¡¯ll become a deity in the future, but you know just as well as I do that all direct descendants with an awakened bloodline of my Baruch Clan will inevitably reach the peak of the Saint Realm. In my human form, I¡¯m only at the seventh rank as a warrior, but upon transforming, I¡¯m able to jump straight to the early stages of the saint realm. When I reach the peak of the saint realm in my human form, I won¡¯t stand here and say that I¡¯ll definitely be able to defeat a genuine deity, but at the very least, I¡¯ll be invincible amongst saints.¡± As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Linley couldn¡¯t help but glance at Ace and Wukong and smile bitterly as he was forced to correct himself. ¡°Well, almost invincible.¡± Ignus wasn¡¯t in a hurry to respond immediately. He had to admit that everything Linley said was right, and as much as he hated it, there was virtually nothing he could do to stop the next rising of the Baruch Clan, especially with him having a seemingly good relationship with Cesar. Even though Linley didn¡¯t say it, he was no fool; he knew that with the purity of Linley¡¯s bloodline, upon reaching the peak of the saint realm, he would undoubtedly have the power to go head-to-head with a deity as though he himself were one, and that didn¡¯t take into account the fact that even the most ordinairy of Divine Beasts would become Demi-Gods upon reaching maturity. He didn¡¯t know if the fact that Linley had absorbed the blood of a Divine Beast instead of being born with it meant that it had somewhat diluted, but it didn¡¯t matter; it was all but guaranteed that unless he suffered an accident and was killed early, he would definitely surpass him at some point. And that said nothing of the little rat-type beast standing on his shoulders. With his senses and wealth of experience, how could he not sense that the rat was a Divine Beast, something exceedingly shocking to him, especially with there apparently being two present ¨C the other being Leo. He understood that even if Linley really was unable to become a demi-god in the future and, like him, was stuck as a saint for what felt like an eternity, his familiar would, without question, become a deity, at which point, their Baruch Clan would have at least two beings that were far superior to him. Still, his pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to submit so easily, especially not to someone he didn¡¯t believe was worthy. Following the line of sight of the young Baruch Clan patriarch, looking at Ace, a thought came to mind. ¡°As it stands,¡± Ignus began. ¡°Have you gained insight into any of the profound laws?¡± Linley¡¯s brows furrowed, not understanding why he was asking that, but he decided to answer honestly as he hadn¡¯t been outright rejected. ¡°No, not yet.¡± ¡°In that case, you are unworthy of leading us dragons,¡± Ignus declared matter-of-factly. ¡°Eek eek eeeek!¡± Bebe screeched passionately from atop Linley¡¯s shoulder, clearly not pleased with the Dragon King¡¯s decision. As a fellow magical beast, Ignus was able to understand that the little rat was telling him that he would regret it and that his boss would surpass him soon, and then he would be begging for his forgiveness. Still, Ignus didn¡¯t take offence, especially knowing its potential. Ignus merely cleared his throat before continuing. ¡°But I¡¯ll give you a chance to earn our support in the future. If, before you break through to the saint realm, you¡¯re able to not only begin comprehending a profound law but also raise your comprehension to match that of a peak saint, I will agree to your terms. But if you agree to the conditions of our bet and fail to meet the standards, you must agree to join the Dragon Pitt as my subordinate in the future, and that includes both your Clan and familiar.¡± Book 6: Chapter 13 – Chance At Revenge As soon as Ignus¡¯ words left his mouth, it caused an uproar among Linley¡¯s followers, all of whom believed Linley was being treated unfairly. Speaking of Linley¡¯s followers, although he didn¡¯t make it obvious, Ace couldn¡¯t help but take a second look at each of them. First was the frail-looking elderly man with long white eyebrows that surprisingly stretched down all the way to his chest. Still, what caught Ace¡¯s attention, was that, like Killian and his mother, he too had an affinity to one of the four edicts, but unlike them, his appeared to be to the laws of death. Add that to the fact that he was an arch-mage of the ninth rank; it was clear that he was incredibly powerful amongst mortals. It was incredible that Ace could sense that without the old man making a move, but Ace¡¯s current [Observation] allowed him to peer into the very depths of one¡¯s soul without their knowing, providing their soul hadn¡¯t reached the saint level. Still, other than a moment of surprise, he didn¡¯t feel much else. Though he hadn¡¯t met anyone previously with that specific affinity, it was unable to inspire more than a cursory second glance. The other five, on the other hand, were different. Whilst the old man caught Ace¡¯s attention because of his affinity, these five caught his attention because of their overwhelming physiques. Each of the five, who, judging by their similarities, appeared to be brothers and warriors of the eighth rank. On its own, that wasn¡¯t very noteworthy, but when Ace realised that none of them had begun cultivating their battle-qi, how could he not be shocked? As far as he knew, there were only two ways for one to become a warrior of the seventh rank or above without cultivating battle qi. The first was to use his master¡¯s self-created technique [Imposing Devourment]. And the other was to be a descendant of the four supreme warriors. Since it was all but impossible for these five unknown brothers to get their hands on his master¡¯s technique, Ace knew it had to be the latter. The only thing he couldn¡¯t confirm was which of the four supreme warriors they descended from. ¡°Boss, you can¡¯t agree to such unfair terms.¡± The largest of the five brothers blurted out. ¡°We don¡¯t need their help to destroy the church.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± The decrepit old man said coldly. ¡°We can carry on with our plans and take things slowly. We don¡¯t need them!¡± Linley didn¡¯t respond immediately; instead, he turned to his father for his opinion. ¡°I trust you, son,¡± Hogg nodded calmly. ¡°As the patriarch, you will have to make many difficult decisions in the future, but whatever you decide, as your father, I will always stand by your side.¡± ¡°Same for me, boss,¡± Bebe voiced via their link. ¡°Whatever you decide, I will always be by your side.¡± ¡°Your father¡¯s right, Linley,¡± the gentle and calming voice of Doehring Cowart sounded in his mind. ¡°As the leader of the group, this decision is yours to make. But remember this, even though your decision effectively affects everyone in the group and a mistake could mean the enslaving of you and your family, you must also know when to bet on yourself.¡± Hearing that, Linley¡¯s eyes flashed with resolve. Still, he didn¡¯t hurry to announce his decision as there was still one more person he needed to ask. ¡°Why¡¯re you looking at me?¡± Ace asked as Linley¡¯s piercing, azure-coloured, reptilian eyes fell on him. ¡°This decision is yours to make; I don¡¯t care one way or the other.¡± It must be remembered that Linley had already vowed to give his life to Ace after taking down the church. Still, as blunt as Ace¡¯s words may have come across, a smile of appreciation suffused Linley¡¯s mouth as he gave a slight nod before refocusing on the sky-covering crimson dragon. ¡°You have a deal!¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Linley¡¯s words came as a shock to most present, especially to those from the pavilion who understood precisely how high the mountain Linley aspired to climb really was. It had to be remembered that this was the prerequisite Arianna had set for each of her disciples to break through to the saint realm as well, but unlike Linley, each and every one of them had already started gaining insights into the profundities of the natural laws before breaking through to the seventh-rank, and yet, Linley, who was already at the middle stages of the seventh-rank was yet to gain even the slightest insight into any of them ¨C to them, Linley¡¯s decision was insane! Ace and Mira, on the other hand, had already guessed Linley would make such a choice. Like them, Linley was a genius with unwavering confidence in himself and his abilities. If he didn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have promised to destroy the church within 30 years. ¡°HAHAHA, GOOD! VERY GOOD!¡± Ignus¡¯ voice boomed as he laughed before anyone could give voice to their true thoughts. ¡°At least, if nothing else, you have the courage of a true dragon.¡± Before any of Linley¡¯s followers could give voice to their growing displeasure of Ignus¡¯ condescending remarks, they watched in shock as the crimson-scaled king of the dragons made a cut on his arm using his sword-like claws before using his spiritual essence to have the man-sized drop of blood, float over to Linley. ¡°As a reward, I¡¯ll give you a drop of my blood for your father,¡± Ignus explained, having long since smelt their familial relationship. ¡°I can sense his bloodline hasn¡¯t awakened.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Linley sincerely replied as he removed the empty gourd he had previously kept precisely for this occasion. The gourd he was using utilised similar runes to that of an interspatial ring allowing the user to store far more liquid than what should be possible for a gourd of that size. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you,¡± Ignus snorted. ¡°I did it so that he would be able to better support you, my investment, whilst struggling futilely to accomplish your goal. I don¡¯t want you dying before you live up to your side of the agreement.¡± As he said that, Ignus removed his tail from the body of the Golden Dragon ¨C Siltor ¨C before wrapping it around Vana, the still unconscious Aquatic Dragon, before addressing the rest of his subordinates. ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Each of the dragons stopped to take a final look at Linley before rising up behind their king. Well, all except one. ¡°Siltor,¡± Ignus growled threateningly. ¡°We¡¯re leaving now!¡± ¡°NO!¡± Siltor bellowed unhesitantly. ¡°They killed my son, and now you want to have me submit to them?! Impossible! I don¡¯t care if there is a God on their side. Either they die, or I do!¡± ¡°Do you dare disobey me, Ignus?!¡± The dragon king growled as he glared at the Golden Dragon glaring at Ace. ¡°Who do¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to get your revenge,¡± Ace suddenly said calmly, cutting Ignus off mid-sentence. ¡°In the future, after breaking through to the saint realm, my junior brother ¨C Kannal ¨C will be coming to find that black lizard to kill him for having his sister killed.¡± As he said that, everyone¡¯s heads turned to Kannal, who was still silently glaring at Yasha, before Ace calmly continued. ¡°I will come with him,¡± Ace stated indifferently. ¡°At that point, if you still want revenge, you and your wife can challenge me together.¡± As he said that, he looked up at the dragon king before continuing. ¡°But if they do, your Lizard Pitt needs to agree to leave me alone. If not, I will slaughter my way through the Dragon Pitt myself, making your little bet with Linley void.¡± ¡°Is that a threat?¡± Ignus growled, his temper rising quickly for a mere mortal to dare speak to him in such a way. ¡°Yes!¡± Ace nodded indifferently. To him, whose goal was to kill O¡¯Brien, a genuine deity, whether it was the Cult of Darkness or the Dragon¡¯s Pitt, he didn¡¯t put either of them in his eyes. They may be stronger than him now, but surpassing them was only a matter of time! Ignus¡¯ killing intent suddenly spiked as though he was preparing to take action when Cesar suddenly cleared his throat. It was only gentle, but it was more than enough to remind the crimson dragon of his place. ¡°How do I know you won¡¯t just run and hide after we leave here today?¡± Siltor questioned coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t overestimate yourself,¡± Ace snorted, unable to hide his disdain. ¡°No lizard is capable of making me hide!¡± Ace¡¯s body suddenly flickered as his voice faded, his afterimage vanishing into the wind as he casually made his way back to the city¡¯s insides, having lost interest in talking any further. Without a second thought, Amira, Killian, and Leo all followed, leading Joel and the others. Kannal was the last to leave, as he struggled to move his hate-filled eyes from the creature that caused his beloved older sister¡¯s death. Still, Ace had already spoken, giving him his chance at revenge in the future; as such, he too left, not bothering with the saint-level dragons glaring at Ace¡¯s disappearing back furiously. ¡°This king suggests you hurry back to begin training,¡± Wukong said casually as he leisurely picked at the contents of his ear. ¡°This king has no idea what level that brat will be at when he makes his way to find you in the future, but this king can promise you that the current you won¡¯t be worth a fart in front of him at that point.¡± Book 6: Chapter 14 – Ace’s Brutal Honesty ¡°Ace,¡± Faye called out as soon as the group made it past the city walls, ensuring she was out of earshot of the dragons. ¡°You were too brash this time.¡± ¡°Ooh,¡± Ace smirked as he playfully glanced back at his classmate. ¡°You worried I¡¯ll actually lose?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s worried about a freak like you?¡± Faye snorted. ¡°It¡¯s Kannal I¡¯m worried about; you singlehandedly made a decision for him to challenge a peak saint-level beast the moment he breaks through to the saint realm. And the fact that the opponent in question is a black dragon only makes it ten times more difficult ¨C not everyone¡¯s as much of a freak as you!¡± ¡°Faye¡¯s right,¡± Joel nodded with obvious displeasure. ¡°You didn¡¯t even ask Kannal¡¯s opinion about it; you just made the decision on his behalf.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you all feel that way,¡± Ace asked as he stopped to scan his classmates. As he looked at each of their faces, the only one who didn¡¯t seem to hold the same opinion was Killian, who had always held unwavering faith in Ace and his decisions. Even Amira appeared confused by his decision. Though she didn¡¯t seem to blame him, she didn¡¯t seem too keen on his seemingly impulsive decision. ¡°Why not ask Kannal what he thinks?¡± Ace sighed as he glanced at their youngest classmate, who remained the picture of total indifference, despite there no longer being a dragon in sight. ¡°It¡¯s all the same to me,¡± Kannal said simply when he felt all of his classmate¡¯s eyes fall on him. ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s all the same to you?¡± Faye snapped. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re Ace or Amira, or even Killian? Do you really believe you¡¯ll be able to defeat a peak saint the moment you break through to the saint realm?¡± After eight years together, the bond each of their class had with one another was no different than if they were family; still, there were those that were slightly closer. Despite having never met each other before joining the Pavilion, the moment they got to know one another, the two of them became almost inseparable. With Kannal having just lost his elder sister not long before, his latching onto a female who acted like an older sister was understandable, even if said female acted nothing like his actual older sister. With that being said, her reaction was to be expected. She couldn¡¯t understand his indifference to what may as well be a suicide mission. ¡°I know I¡¯m not as talented as Ace or Mira,¡± Kannal explained. ¡°But I won¡¯t lose! I can¡¯t lose! Not to him! Not to the beast that caused my sister¡¯s death!¡± ¡°You idiot!¡± Faye shouted as she glared at Kannal. ¡°I know how much revenge means to you, but killing yourself won¡¯t bring your sister back! I won¡¯t let you do this! I won¡¯t let you go through with Ace¡¯s stupidity!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Ace barked as his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] flared wildly, catching everyone by surprise. Each of them knew of Ace¡¯s ability, but this was the first time most of them had felt it firsthand. ¡°Ace,¡± Faye argued, still refusing to back down, tears starting to form in her eyes as the thought of losing the closest thing to a brother she had ever had broke her heart. ¡°I know you¡¯re more powerful than all of us, but I won¡¯t allow you to send Kannal to his death!¡± ¡°Faye¡­¡± Kannal said hesitantly as he grabbed her hand. He didn¡¯t know what to say or do in that situation. Till now, he had always followed Faye like an adorable little puppy, allowing her to often make decisions for the both of them, but this time was different. This was too important to him! This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Ace could feel precisely how Faye felt, and scanning the rest of their group, he could see that, whilst not as strong, most of the others felt the same. Still, he didn¡¯t retract his aura; in fact, his expression turned indifferent. ¡°You compared Kannal to Mira, Kil, and I, but in my eyes, there¡¯s no difference between us and him. In fact, the real difference is between the four of us and the rest of you,¡± Ace said coldly, not caring for the furrowing brows of the rest of his classmates as he continued. ¡°Whether it¡¯s Mira, Kan, or Kil, no matter how strong I¡¯ve gotten, each of them has continued chasing after me. Whereas the rest of you have completely given up! You see me as some freak of nature, so you no longer compare yourselves to me or bother hoping to one day catch up to me. You could argue that Amira has a right to chase after me as her talent isn¡¯t much inferior to mine, but what about Killian? Maybe you could argue that after eating that Earth Root Fruit, his talent has increased to a level where it¡¯s no longer insane to chase after me, but if you were to argue that, then what¡¯s your excuse, Alissa?¡± Alissa couldn¡¯t help but feel taken aback, hurt, and, quite frankly, inferior as she lowered her eyes, unable to meet Ace¡¯s cold, expressionless gaze. ¡°Besides myself and Amira, after the awakening of your bloodline, your talent is probably the highest of our class; you¡¯re even being personally trained by a man who has now become a deity; you have no excuse for not wanting to chase after myself or Mira,¡± Ace said, his words piercing the fragile heart of the young silver-haired Tigerstriped warrior, before looking at the rest of the group, all of whom were now being overwhelmed with feelings of shame and inferiority. ¡°But let¡¯s forget, Mira and Kil, for a second, shall we,¡± Ace continued as though he couldn¡¯t sense the turbulent and unstable emotions of his now fragile classmates. ¡°Look at Kannal, the youngest of all of us. He has no special bloodline to rely on; nor did he eat a magical treasure which suddenly increased his talent, nor is he as naturally talented as fatty, or more talented than any of you, and yet, although he has never come out and said it, I can clearly see and feel that he has never stopped using me as a target to one day catch up to. The difference between the four of us and the rest of you isn¡¯t talent or potential but our mindset! It may be easy to say with my level of talent, but I¡¯m going to say it anyway. I can categorically assure you that it wouldn¡¯t matter if we were in our current bodies or the body of someone with regular or even inferior talent; we would still strive to be the best.¡± As he said that, Alissa, Faye, Joel, Yulana, and Osiris couldn¡¯t help but take a long hard look at themselves. Unfortunately, it seemed Ace wasn¡¯t done. ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m disappointed,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°Each of you are some of the most talented experts of our generation, disciples of the best institute for aspiring mages and warriors, have access to the teachings of the most powerful experts on the continent, and yet, you¡¯re satisfied with settling for what may as well be mediocrity. I expected better from each of you! I don¡¯t know what¡¯ll happen next, but unless you¡¯re ready to change your attitudes, I suggest you stay away from me because the level of opponents I¡¯ll undoubtedly attract is only going to increase drastically. Unless you learn to truly believe in yourself, you will only end up losing your lives. And as disappointed as I am, I still love each of you ¨C I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of losing any of you!¡± Ace took another look at each of them as he said that before shaking his head with a gentle sigh and taking his leave. ¡°That son of yours really doesn¡¯t mince his words, does he?¡± Wukong asked with an amused smile as he looked down at the five youths subjected to Ace¡¯s rant, each of whom could only stand absentmindedly in front of the gates. ¡°What is it with that boy and pushing people to their breaking points?¡± Milianna sighed as she thought back to when he and her master used a similar tactic on her a little over a year ago. ¡°It could be considered a little reckless,¡± Cesar sighed as he looked at his adoptive granddaughter with a hint of worry in his usually playful eyes. ¡°But you¡¯re living proof of how effective that tactic can be when done right.¡± ¡°This king¡¯s surprised you haven¡¯t gone and roughed that little brat up for daring to talk to your precious little granddaughter like that,¡± Wukong teased. Cesar didn¡¯t appear to be in the mood to joke around as he watched one of the few people alive he considered family going through what may be one of the hardest inner battles of their life. ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything wrong,¡± Cesar said absentmindedly. ¡°She has needed to hear this for a while; I just never had the heart to say it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe someone so young can be so wise,¡± Doehring Cowart sighed in Linley¡¯s mind as their group also witnessed Ace¡¯s harsh and brutal rant from within Cesar¡¯s Godrealm. ¡°Linley, though he wasn¡¯t talking to you, you should take it as though he was. I don¡¯t know what the future holds for any of you youngsters, but with your level of talent, there is no reason that you shouldn¡¯t be aiming to catch up with and even surpass Ace in the future. Your only limits in life are imposed by you yourself. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I understand, Grandpa Doehring.¡± Linley mentally replied as he watched the only man he considered a rival calmly walk away. Book 6: Chapter 15 – Race To The Peak It had been several hours since the beast tide officially came to an end, and Ace let loose with his harsh truths. At that time, Faye and the others had silently returned to their own private quarters, not in the mood to speak to or see anyone. Though not as dispirited as Faye and the others who had been on the receiving end of Ace¡¯s rant, Kannal had also returned to his accommodation, deciding to get back to training, leaving Ace to go exploring the city with Mira, Killian, and Leo. Though neither of them said anything, Ace could sense that both Mira and Killian felt that he had been a little harsh with his words. Still, Ace didn¡¯t regret his decision. He understood that after everything that had happened over the last year or so, his classmates had come to a crossroads. They had already achieved more than most teens could ever dream of in their entire lives. Each and every one of them had the strength of experts near the apex of the mortal world. Each of them went to the most outstanding school on the continent. Each of them had singlehandedly challenged and defeated the students of some of the best schools for warriors and mages this continent had to offer. No matter what happened in the future, they had already done enough to go down in history as peerless geniuses. If they chose to go down the easier of the paths available to them, Ace didn¡¯t doubt that each of them would go on to become prime saints at the very least, probably even Demi-Gods, but if nothing changed, that would be it. For most, that would be a dream come true. I mean, they would have the power to stand at the apex of their continent as it currently was, but Ace wanted more for them. To most, Ace¡¯s goals in life started and stopped with the killing of O¡¯Brien, but they had no idea how wrong they were. It was true that Ace wanted that, but if he was being honest, as much as he hated O¡¯Brien and wanted him dead, he didn¡¯t actually think that much of him. It had to be remembered that Ace¡¯s comprehension had already long since surpassed O¡¯Brien¡¯s, and the chances of O¡¯Brien achieving another breakthrough, especially in a barren continent like theirs, were virtually nil. Between his incredible comprehension and even more impressive bloodline, it was only a matter of time before he caught up with and surpassed the vile creature that was his biological father. After coming to that realisation, Ace subconsciously began thinking about his future after that. The challenges and adventures he would face when he begins his journey to stand at the peak of not their continent but the universe. Whenever such thoughts would pop into his head, those standing by his side weren¡¯t limited to Mira, Leo, and Killian. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted each and every one of his classmates by his side as they journeyed through the various higher planes. But they couldn¡¯t stay by his side if they were willing to settle for what, in the grand scheme of things, was a life of mediocrity. They needed to be willing to demand the best from themselves to overcome what was destined to be a life of tribulations. Still, ultimately, he knew it had to be their choice. So, if after everything he said, they decided to distance themselves from him, as unwilling as he would be, he would respect their decision. Still, that was a problem for the future. For right now, Ace and his group were exploring the small city of Gol that Cirulus had spent the last year developing, and as they did, Ace had to admit, he was surprised. Though there was a hint of fear in the air from the overbearing auras from not too long ago, Ace could also see that most in the city appeared to be fairly happy and content. Something that one wouldn¡¯t expect to see in the northern part of the Anarchic Lands. He already knew from his time in Silverlight City that whilst the whole of the Anarchic Lands was extremely chaotic and violent in nature, that was especially so for the northern areas which bordered the forest of darkness. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The constant beast tides meant that those who decided to take up residence here were all very militant and sturdy, and unless you were lucky enough to find yourself a powerful yet benevolent leader like Kimika¡¯s husband, Venerin, you would likely find yourself under the thumb of a powerful tyrant. Most felt they were constantly walking a tightrope where they could lose their lives at any moment. The stress and anxiety caused by such a life was more than understandable. But here, despite having been less than a year, the city seemed extremely stable. Though, when remembering that Cirulus was a warrior at the middle stages of the ninth rank and Lance, who had apparently been by his side this whole time, who was a warrior at the eighth rank and a fifth rank mage, it made sense. Having seen everything he needed to see, Ace and the others had just returned to the City Lord¡¯s residence. A large estate in the centre of the city that was big enough to home dozens of families, when he saw a face he hadn¡¯t expected, at least not this soon. ¡°Osiris¡­¡± Amira hollered, pleasantly surprised, but before she could say anything else, she was stopped by the rise of Ace¡¯s palm. Like each of them, Osiris¡¯s strength had improved by leaps and bounds over the last year, having broken through to the sixth rank as both a mage and a warrior, and from what he saw just before arriving to save Killian from being killed by the dragon, Osiris had also fused both states of wielding into his arrows. His current strength, and considering he was a deadly archer, made him a threat to even experts in the ninth rank, a shocking feat for someone barely even 16. Still, after Ace¡¯s words, any pride Osiris felt had been doused. Osiris had always been the calm and silent type, and though still silent, right now, he was anything but calm. Although he wasn¡¯t one to speak much, he had always held Ace in the highest regard. Whether it was his talent or his drive, he had nothing but respect for this classmate. It was why Ace¡¯s disappointment stung so badly. As Osiris¡¯s hesitant eyes fell on him, Ace could sense his turbulent emotions. Still, he didn¡¯t do anything to make the situation less awkward. Osiris has to want it enough to really enough to make the change. ¡°Ace,¡± Osiris began. ¡°Do you really think that it¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°What¡¯s possible?¡± Ace asked back indifferently. ¡°When you said that we could catch up to you one day with enough hard work¡­¡± Osiris explained slowly as he raised his hopeful eyes to meet the indifferent gaze of his ¡®friend¡¯. ¡°Do you really think that?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ace replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Ace!¡± Mira shouted, unable to bear Ace¡¯s verbal beatdown of their friends any longer. She could literally see Osiris¡¯ heartbreak from his listless eyes. Still, Ace wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Whether it¡¯s Kannal, Killian, Mira, or even Leo, I don¡¯t think anyone can catch up with me,¡± Ace replied honestly, his words shocking even Killian, who never knew his sworn older brother to feel like this. ¡°In my eyes, I am and will always be without peer. As far as I¡¯m concerned, those stronger than me now are only so because they were born before me. In time I will surpass each and every one of them until I stand at the peak of this world.¡± As Ace spoke the words he had hidden in the depths of his heart. Both Killian and Amira shuddered, feeling like Ace was looking down on them. The only one who understood Ace perfectly was Leo via their link. He had known this was how Ace had felt for quite some time. The way each of them was feeling now was how he had felt a year ago. It was because he had so much time to find his own answers that he was able to remain completely calm right now. In that moment, Ace¡¯s pride and arrogance soared to the heavens, becoming almost tangible, to the point where it was almost suffocating for those around him, but Ace continued as though he couldn¡¯t feel their emotions. ¡°But that¡¯s not to say I look down on any of you,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°It just means I believe in myself. Just like I believe that you all will be, the ones ranked second, third, fourth and so on.¡± ¡°Rooarrr!¡± Leo growled with an almost human look of disdain. ¡°You think you¡¯ll be the one to become the universe¡¯s number one expert?¡± Ace smirked mockingly as he glanced at his familiar. ¡°Consider it a race!¡± ¡°You can count me in on that race!¡± Amira snorted, a competitive fire having been lit inside her. ¡°Me too!¡± Killian added. Ace¡¯s words had definitely rocked both Mira and Killian down to their cores, but Leo¡¯s roar had come at the perfect time. Before they lost themselves in the same dark abyss that the rest of their classmates had, it reminded them that, ultimately, it wasn¡¯t Ace¡¯s job to believe in them; it was theirs. If they couldn¡¯t believe in themselves, why should anyone else? Looking at the group of four bickering among themselves from the outside looking in was an eye-opening experience for Osiris. If he wanted to achieve his dreams of killing his sister and destroying the Cult, this would be the mindset he needed in order to achieve his dreams. ¡°Thank you,¡± Osiris said suddenly, his words catching Mira and the others by surprise. ¡°Hmm,¡± Ace looked up at the young archer. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s not important,¡± Osiris shook his head. ¡°But you can count me in for the race.¡± Although he couldn¡¯t say to be where Ace and the others were with regards to believing in himself so wholeheartedly, he was finally facing the right path. Now it was just up to him to continue down this path. He understood that there was no quick fix and that it was going to take a lot of hard work and long hours on his part, but the good thing was that he could use the light of Ace¡¯s fire to light the path. Book 6: Chapter 16 – I Trust Them After his talk with Osiris, Ace led Killian and the others through the estate into a large hall where he had sensed Cirulus talking with his mother, Wukong and the others. As soon as he entered the hall, the eyes of Linley and the others immediately fell on him. ¡°Ace,¡± Linley stood up, a complicated light flashing within his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°You look well,¡± Ace nodded, giving the rest of his group another cursory glance. ¡°What are you guys doing here anyway?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Linley sighed as he scratched the side of his head. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°They went and provoked the church to save the Armand brothers, not knowing they were being guarded by a peak saint,¡± Cesar shrugged casually from the sofa he was lying on. Linley could only glance at Cesar helplessly. He hadn¡¯t wanted to tell Ace what happened as it was embarrassing. He saw Ace as his biggest rival, yet unlike his rival, who by now had already defeated two genuine saints, he and his group have needed to be saved by Cesar twice now. Still, there was nothing he could say or do. Cesar hadn¡¯t lied, and even if he had, Cesar was a Demi-god. Forget deities; Linley could barely fight against the weakest of saints. ¡°Armand Clan, huh¡­¡± Ace nodded as he looked at the five tyrannical-looking brothers. ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Cesar lazily rolled to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m going to head back to Saber HQ. I should still have a copy of your clan¡¯s [Secret Undying Manual] somewhere over there. I¡¯ll be back by morning.¡± ¡°Lord Cesar,¡± Barker and his brothers all hurriedly stood respectfully. ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± They now knew from Cesar that he, the legendary king of killers, had been sworn brothers with their Ancestor, the original undying warrior. It was the reason he had agreed to save their lives as well as Linley¡¯s. Regardless of the reason, all five of the Armand brothers were incredibly grateful. If not for Cesar, their lives would¡¯ve been all but over. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Cesar waved his hand dismissively. ¡°I just hope that in the future, you five brothers will restore the glory of your family¡¯s Undying Clan.¡± ¡°We will,¡± Barker, the eldest of the five brothers, nodded resolutely. ¡°As for Alissa,¡± Cesar said as he glanced at Ace before sighing and turning to face Killian. ¡°Tell her I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Even though he knew that granddaughter of his needed to hear Ace¡¯s harsh truths, he still didn¡¯t like the fact that he hurt her. Killian didn¡¯t reply verbally, all Cesar got was a simple nod, but as much as he hated to admit it, he knew Killian was reliable. With Cesar gone, many of the weaker experts present subconsciously relaxed. The anxiety caused by the presence of such a powerful expert was a lot for most mortals to bear. ¡°Young master,¡± Cirulus exclaimed as he hurriedly stood to his feet when he saw Ace taking a seat across from him beside Milianna and Lance. ¡°After everything we¡¯ve been through, please don¡¯t stand on ceremony around me,¡± Ace smiled. ¡°Ace is fine.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Cirulus beamed when he heard that. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you on your feet, Ace.¡± ¡°You too,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°I had been worried about you until Mira told me you were alive and well.¡± ¡°I appreciate your concern, youn¡­¡± Cirulus quickly corrected himself. ¡°I mean, Ace.¡± ¡°I was also told about your work creating this city on my behalf,¡± Ace continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you thought I¡¯d want to rule over a city, but I have to admit, you¡¯ve done one hell of a job.¡± ¡°I did it for your future war against the O¡¯Brien Empire,¡± Cirulus replied. ¡°I appreciate that,¡± Ace said sincerely. ¡°But I no longer have any desire to take down the Empire as a whole; my problem starts and stops with O¡¯Brien.¡± ¡°I understand that, but you need to understand that the respect and awe the residents of the O¡¯Brien Empire have in O¡¯Brien is near fanatical. The awe, respect, and belief they have in him are ingrained into every fibre of their very beings.¡± Cirulus explained. ¡°I assure you that now that you have shown your hostility to their patron god, each and every one of them will see you as a mortal enemy ¨C even with your complicated relation to him.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ace could sense the hesitation in Cirulus¡¯ voice as he mentioned their relations, but before he could say anything, Cirulus continued. ¡°Even if they¡¯re still hesitant about acting against you for fear of the Pavilion¡¯s retaliation, they won¡¯t hesitate to attack if they get the chance. If you really want to get to O¡¯Brien in the future, you¡¯ll likely need to get through them.¡± ¡°Cirulus is right,¡± Milianna said as she stroked her son¡¯s long dark hair. ¡°Plus, it¡¯s not just you. You have people you care about. Even if they can¡¯t get to you, your enemies won¡¯t hesitate to target your loved ones to get to you. I don¡¯t care what happens to me, but if my weakness is the cause of something bad happening to you, I would never be able to live with myself.¡± If he had been on the fence after Cirulus¡¯ explanation, he had definitively made up his mind after hearing his mother¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t allow anything bad to happen to her or any of his loved ones. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t be in more than one place at a time, so unless he took each of them with him everywhere he went ¨C which he knew was impossible ¨C this was undoubtedly the best option. ¡°What did you have in mind moving forward?¡± Ace asked, knowing that the City of Gol, as it currently stands, was far from enough. An excited grin suffused Cirulus¡¯ lips as he prepared to answer. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you already know about the chaotic nature of the Anarchic Lands. It¡¯s the largest and wealthiest of the uncontrolled lands on our continent. As such, aside from your Yin-Yang Pavilion, just about every major force on the continent has their hands in this pie, slyly making moves to expand their current territories. But the two with the most influence here are actually the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness. But because everyone knows that everyone else is interested, no force has used their saint-level experts to make a move ¨C at least not outwardly, anyway. Using the influence your name now holds, as well as the power you personally hold, which has incredibly reached the saint realm, we can quickly take over the surrounding cities and form a small duchy before attempting to continue expanding and forming our own empire in your name.¡± Hearing that, an odd light flickered in Ace¡¯s eyes as a plan of action began to form in his head. ¡°Whether it¡¯s myself, Amira, or Leo, none of us will be taking part in any of the battles unless our enemies decide to send saint-level experts out!¡± Cirulus¡¯ brows furrowed slightly when he heard that. As far as he was concerned, the fastest and most effective way was for Ace to personally lead the charge with his invincible Divine Beast so that they could hurry to create their own force, but now Ace was saying that none of the city¡¯s current strongest experts would be able to take part ¨C he just couldn¡¯t understand what Ace was planning. ¡°Siris,¡± Ace called out, turning to the dark-haired archer. ¡°Can you get Kannal and the others for a moment?¡± Osiris¡¯ eyes lit up with understanding as he hurriedly left the room. It wasn¡¯t just him; everyone present seemed to understand what Ace was planning to do. But just because they understood, it didn¡¯t mean they all agreed. ¡°Ace¡­¡± Cirulus said. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea to have your friends lead the army on this campaign?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t think they¡¯re strong enough,¡± Cirulus answered. ¡°After this beast tide, I have a good understanding of each of their strengths, and I acknowledge that not even I¡¯m a match for a couple of them.¡± As he said that, Cirulus subconsciously looked up at Killian before turning back to his young master. ¡°But you need to understand that there¡¯s a lot more to leading an army into battle than just strength. On a campaign as important as this, especially at the beginning when we¡¯re still effectively creating a name for ourselves, we should be trying to win as impressively as possible so that later down the line, our name, along with our previous records in battle instils fear into our enemies.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± Ace nodded, causing Cirulus¡¯ eyes to light up, thinking he had gotten through to him. ¡°Even more of a reason to go through with it this way.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Cirulus hesitated. ¡°But what?¡± Ace asked calmly. ¡°Cirulus, I value your opinion, so please speak freely.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Cirulus nodded before taking a deep breath. ¡°The truth is, it has nothing to do with their strength. Even the weakest of them have the strength to take over a small and weaker town or city in the Anarchic Lands. The real reason behind my hesitation is their current state of mind. If this were yesterday, I wouldn¡¯t disagree with your idea at all, but today, after your conversation with them, it¡¯s clear that most of their heads aren¡¯t where they need to be, not for a task like this. If they go into war with such a mind state, it could prove fatal, not only for them but also for their subordinates. If such a thing does happen, finding soldiers willing to follow you into battle will become several times harder, and even if they do, they¡¯re not likely to give their all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Ace sighed. ¡°But Cirulus, you made one mistake.¡± ¡°I did?¡± Cirulus asked. ¡°You did,¡± Ace nodded thoughtfully. ¡°You used ordinary standards to judge them. I¡¯ll tell you right now, each and every one of them is anything but ordinary. They, on their worst days, are still better than the average genius on their best days. What I said before may have sounded harsh, but that¡¯s only because I know they¡¯re capable of so much more than what they¡¯re currently giving. The fact remains, I trust each and every one of them with my life, and by extension, the lives of our soldiers. So if you trust me, you trust them!¡± At the same time, just outside the hall, Osiris had just returned with Kannal and the others. With their incredible senses, it would be all but impossible for them not to hear what was being discussed inside the hall. When they heard Cirulus¡¯ concerns, each of them was frustrated, but ultimately, they knew they couldn¡¯t say anything as he wasn¡¯t wrong. After Ace¡¯s rant, aside from Kannal, each of them felt lower than any of them could ever remember feeling in their past, which was why they were so shocked to hear Ace¡¯s words. They knew there was no chance Ace hadn¡¯t sensed their presence, but they also knew that Ace wouldn¡¯t lie just to make them feel better. The fact that it came out of his mouth meant he meant every word. Without even realising it, a tiny seed had taken root in each of them. They had no idea, but in the future, those seeds would grow into trees that would one day tower over all other experts in their coiling dragon universe. Book 6: Chapter 17 – Mysterious Six-Month Plan ¡°Are you guys gonna hang around and wait out there all day?¡± Ace hollered, turning his head to the door. Within seconds, Osiris led Kannal and the others in. No one said anything about what had just been said, but it was clear to everyone, even those who hadn¡¯t sensed them outside, that they had overheard the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna beat around the bush,¡± Ace asked as he scanned his classmates. ¡°Like I said earlier, if you don¡¯t feel up to the task, I won¡¯t try and stop you, but I need to hear it from you. Are you guys willing to lead our army in this upcoming campaign?¡± The silence after Ace posed his question was deafening. Still, no one hurried to answer. At that moment, their anxiety levels had hit an all-time high. With everyone else in the room staring at them, patiently waiting for their answer, a part of them wished the floor would open up and swallow them whole. It wasn¡¯t that they were shy; after all, just one year ago, each of them had effectively stepped onto the world stage to suppress all the other young experts from their generation, but this was different. The emotional rollercoaster they had been put on had made them more fragile than ever before. Just because they knew that Ace genuinely believed in them, it didn¡¯t automatically mean they were able to believe in themselves just like that. In fact, it was partly because of Ace¡¯s faith in them that they were struggling so much now. They desperately wanted to say yes, but they were too scared about further disappointing him. Even though, technically, he was a part of the group in question, Kannal knew that the question wasn¡¯t aimed at him. As such, he silently waited beside Faye, silently praying that his family would find the strength to carry on moving forward. Knowing it had nothing to do with them, Linley and his group also watched silently from the side. Though, they too believed that it was too much for them to bounce back from, especially at that speed, which was why, when they saw Osiris step forward, they couldn¡¯t help being taken aback. ¡°I¡¯m willing!¡± Osiris stated directly. Like her son, Milianna¡¯s [Observation] had progressed to the stage where she could feel the emotions of those around her. As such, she could clearly sense the chaotic mix of emotions the usually silent archer was feeling, but it was because of them that she was so impressed. The fact that he was under so much stress and pressure, yet he was still willing to keep on moving forward, was what made him courageous. Seeing one of his juniors step forward first, Joel took a deep breath to forcibly suppress his turbulent emotions before forcing himself to meet Ace¡¯s gaze with his head high. ¡°Me too!¡± Like that, one by one, each of them agreed to take on this responsibility. Well, all except one¡­ ¡°Alissa,¡± Ace voiced calmly. ¡°What about you? Are you willing?¡± Just like that, the pressure seemed to multiply for the young silver-haired assassin. Where before, they all shared the pressure together, now Alissa was forced to face the expectant gazes of everyone on her own, and as much as she wanted to agree, she couldn¡¯t. Whether it was her time before or after joining the Pavilion, she had always been hailed as a genius by her peers. And although she had faced more than her fair share of trials, none had ever been in relation to her talent and potential ¨C it was the one thing she had always been confident about. Even after meeting the likes of Ace and Amira. Like Ace said, she had just simply stopped comparing herself to them, being content with always being inferior to them. But hearing from Ace that whether it was Killian or Kannal, they both strived to chase and one day catch up with a freak like Ace, everything was put into perspective for her ¨C for the first time in her life, she was forced to take a long hard look at herself, and she didn¡¯t like what she saw. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Her body trembled as she felt like she was being devoured by the darkness in her heart. If things continued, she really would break under the pressure. Ace and Milianna¡¯s brows furrowed when they sensed how close she was to breaking. Thankfully, before she crossed that line of no return, Killian stepped up. Alissa¡¯s eyes snapped open as she felt a large rough hand gently wrap itself around her dainty little palm. He didn¡¯t say anything, but his actions spoke over a thousand words in an instant. Looking at the side of his face, Alissa had never felt so safe. Gradually, her heart began to slow back to its resting heart rate as the fog surrounding her began to slowly recede. ¡®I really am inferior to you,¡¯ Alissa thought to herself as she continued to stare at Kil¡¯s side profile. She couldn¡¯t help but think back to the day they first met. Back then, she had been substantially stronger than him, and yet he didn¡¯t emit an ounce of fear as he recklessly swung his axe over and over again with absolutely no technique. She had been so impressed with his mental resilience and incredible willpower that she allowed herself to lose what should¡¯ve been a sure win. ¡®That was the day I fell in love with you, you brute.¡¯ Alissa smiled sweetly as inner demons that, moments ago, had threatened to devour her began to dissipate. ¡®With you by my side, there¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do.¡¯ Ace watched with a raised brow as he sensed Alissa¡¯s mood completely stabilise. It had to be remembered that although Osiris had been the first to step forward and also the one who had made the most progress with his inner battle, he was far from out of the shadows, but merely because of Killian¡¯s presence, Alissa seemed to have completely gotten over them. ¡°Sorry,¡± Alissa smiled calmly. ¡°I showed you quite the disgusting sight, but my answer¡¯s yes ¨C I¡¯m in too!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Ace smiled dismissively. ¡°We can¡¯t all be the child of heaven!¡± Ace¡¯s comment generated frustrated and disdainful glares from several of the youngsters in the room, including Linley, but the silver-haired assassin was the first to respond. ¡°Arrogant bastard,¡± Alissa snorted. ¡°Just wait a few years till I surpass you. We¡¯ll see who the real child of heaven is!¡± A genuinely happy grin suffused Ace¡¯s face as he met Alissa¡¯s glare. ¡°I¡¯m waiting!¡± ¡®Ace was right,¡¯ Cirulus smiled silently as he studied each of his Young Master¡¯s classmates. He had already been beyond impressed with them before today, but he suddenly found himself reevaluating them, realising he had still been underestimating them. ¡®They really are all freaks!¡¯ Linley¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t too dissimilar from Cirulus¡¯s, the only difference being the fire in his eyes. Part of him was jealous of his rival for having such trustworthy companions standing beside him, but when he remembered the calibre of his new followers, the jealousy dissipated substantially, leaving an intense desire to have his group compete with Ace¡¯s, and judging by the competitive fire radiating from each of them, it was clear they felt the same way. Ace, though didn¡¯t care for any of that. With that out the way, he looked to Cirulus with a grin filled with anticipation. ¡°You mentioned that our first task was conquering enough cities to form a small duchy. How many is that exactly?¡± ¡°On average, a duchy in the Anarchic Lands is made up of ten-plus cities, depending on the size of the city,¡± Cirulus explained. ¡°I see,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°And how many cities are surrounding us at the moment?¡± ¡°Not including the small, make-shift villages, there are four possible options for us to target,¡± Cirulus answered calmly. ¡°But, if I had to choose one to start with, I¡¯d choose Helmraven City, just north of us. They¡¯re the strongest of the four, with a ninth-rank warrior ruling over them and an army a little bigger than our own, but with the strength of Killian and the others, it shouldn¡¯t pose too much of a threat.¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll do it like this then. We¡¯ll split into four divisions: Kannal and Osiris will head up division one. Division Two will be led by Killian and Alissa. Joel and Yulana will command the third division. Leaving Lance and Faye to be in charge of division four.¡± Ace¡¯s words came as a shock to everyone, including his mother, who hardly seemed shocked by anything anymore. ¡°Ace, that¡¯s insane!¡± Milianna exclaimed. ¡°Cirulus just said that they have a ninth-rank warrior leading them, and the size of their army is already slightly bigger than ours, and yet you want to send a force a quarter of the size to face them. I won¡¯t let you send those poor men and women to their deaths.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Ace sighed helplessly when he saw the adamant expression on his mother¡¯s face. ¡°I mean, yes, I do intend to go ahead with that plan, but I won¡¯t be sending them to their deaths!¡± ¡°How is that plan anything but suicidal?¡± Amira asked, clearly siding with Milianna. ¡°Because we won¡¯t be making our move for at least another six months,¡± ¡°I understand that for geniuses like you and your friends, six months is enough to see a qualitative increase in strength,¡± Cirulus sighed, having guessed Ace¡¯s intentions. ¡°But for regular people, six months is nothing. The changes to the overall strength of our army will be negligible at best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± Ace smiled mysteriously. ¡°Six months is enough time to completely transform our army into a force that will inspire fear in our enemies¡­¡± Book 6: Chapter 18 – Empress & Emperor After hearing the rest of Ace¡¯s plan, the eyes of everyone lit up in understanding. Although it wasn¡¯t simple, it was still feasible. Still, his classmates understood that the majority of it hinged on them and the amount of progress they¡¯d be able to make between now and then. Knowing they had no time to waste, Killian led Alissa and the others away so each of them could begin their training immediately. ¡°Unless there¡¯s anything else, I think I¡¯ll head out too,¡± Cirulus said respectfully as he got up to make his way out of the hall. ¡°I¡¯ll work on a plan for training the regular soldiers in our army. If you really intend to turn them into a small elite force in the future, I¡¯ll have my work cut out for me.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s all from me,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°Ooh and Cirulus, thanks again for all your hard work, but don¡¯t forget to focus on your own training as well.¡± ¡°I will, don¡¯t worry,¡± Cirulus nodded as he took his leave. ¡°What about the rest of us?¡± Wukong asked. ¡°Do we really have to sit around waiting until a saint-level expert pops out before we get to have some fun?¡± ¡°I thought none of the seniors from the Pavilion were allowed to get involved with my extracurricular activities?¡± Ace asked. ¡°They¡¯re not because they¡¯re active members of the sect,¡± Wukong explained. ¡°But because this king¡¯s an acolyte as well, I¡¯m free to do as I please.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Before you ask, no, this king didn¡¯t choose this path for you,¡± Wukong snorted as he rolled his eyes when he saw the expression on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°This king would just get too bored being cooped up in the Pavilion all the time, and being with you is likely to bring this king the most excitement.¡± Ace had known Wukong for over half of his second life; between that and his [Observation], how could he not understand that that was just an excuse ¨C for the most part? Although he had been too preoccupied with trying to support his mother and control his emotions last year whilst running away from O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples to really take in what was happening around him, he still remembers the intense emotions Wukong radiated when he saw them. It was the first time he had ever seen Wukong truly angry, and the fact that it was on his behalf only went to show just how much Wukong cared for him. Even now, as much as he tried to hide it, he could feel Wukong¡¯s concern for his safety. How could he feel anything but warmth? There were no words that he could use to truly show his appreciation for this older brother-like figure. Still, he internally wrote it down and promised to one day repay it however possible in the future. ¡°Do you wanna have a taste of this king¡¯s stick?¡± Wukong glared threateningly when he saw the expression on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°Haha, my bad,¡± Ace shook his head hurriedly. ¡°In answer to your question, yeah, for now, all we can do is wait for our enemies to start sending their saints, but something tells me it won¡¯t be long before you have more than your fair share of action. Until then, though, between me, you, Mira, and Leo, we have four experts whose strength has reached the saint level, so each of us can follow one division in case a saint really does decide to take action.¡± ¡°How boring,¡± Wukong sighed as he stood up. ¡°This king might as well take the third division. That Dawson brat needs some training ¨C I refuse to let him continue making our element look so weak!¡± ¡°Ooh, before I forget,¡± Wukong added as he approached the door. ¡°If they¡¯re serious about supporting you, Killian and the others will need to apply to forfeit their positions as Core Disciples and become Acolytes as well. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. If not, it¡¯ll make things tricky for the Pavilion in the future.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to them.¡± ¡°Leave it for now. Wait till the six months are up and see how everyone feels then. If they all still want to continue, I¡¯ll take them back, and we can all apply together,¡± Mira said. ¡°As for my division, I¡¯ll lead Division Four. I don¡¯t trust you to take care of Faye; you¡¯ve hurt her enough already.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Ace smiled wryly. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll take Kannal and Osiris, leaving Killian and Alissa with you, Leo.¡± ¡°Leave it to me, boss!¡± Leo said via their connection. ¡°What about you, Linley?¡± Ace asked, turning his head to their guests. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to join our army as well.¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± Linley shook his head decisively. ¡°We were just going to wait here until Lord Cesar returns with the Undying Secret Manual for Barker and his brothers.¡± ¡°Your loss,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°What do you intend on doing next anyway?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve already collected all the ingredients for the cure for my mother¡¯s tainted soul,¡± Linley revealed. ¡°After finishing up here, I¡¯ll head to the O¡¯Brien Empire to see my mom and brother and hopefully convince them to return with us.¡± ¡°Return?¡± Ace asked with a teasing smile. ¡°So you really do intend on sponging off me?¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± Linley responded as he fearlessly met Ace¡¯s gaze, the corners of his lips creeping up to form a provocative smile. ¡°I intend to return to the Anarchic lands to begin restoring my Baruch Clan¡¯s former glory, rebuilding the Baruch Empire¡­ I hope you don¡¯t mind a little competition!¡± Hearing that, a blank expression appeared on Ace¡¯s face before he erupted in laughter. ¡°Haha, of course not! Just make sure not to go down too early; I wanna be the one to crush your little lizard clan.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Linley sneered. ¡°I have no intention of losing again, not to the church and not to you!¡± ¡°You tell him, boss!¡± Gates ¨C the youngest of the five Armand brothers ¨C cheered. Hearing that and seeing the unwavering confidence in Linley¡¯s eyes, the blood coursing through Ace¡¯s veins thrummed with excitement. He couldn¡¯t help but feel thankful. He hoped Linley would eventually become an expert qualified to be his rival, and although there was still a bit of a gap between the two teens, it genuinely appeared to be shaping up in that way. ¡°Ooh, and before you go,¡± Ace said as he retrieved a small book from his storage ring. ¡°This might be of some help to you for the future.¡± Linley didn¡¯t read the book there; he had already overstayed his welcome. He calmly stood up and led his group out of the hall. ¡°What happened to your promise to surrender your life to Ace after destroying the church?¡± Hogg asked, a smile forming on his lips as he looked proudly at his maturing son. Hogg had already been told of his deal with Ace. And like any father in his position, he had been outraged. He refused to let his eldest son, his pride and joy, their clan¡¯s only hope of making a comeback, give his life to another man, even if that other man had effectively saved his son and wife. It was back then that Doehring Cowart revealed himself to Hogg for the first time and explained his take on the situation. ¡°Master was right,¡± Linley said with a smile. ¡°Ace has no interest in killing me or making me his subordinate. If I want to repay him, I need to grow into an expert who could become a worthy rival for him. That being said. When we get to our rooms, I¡¯ll be your guardian while you ingest Ignus¡¯ blood. It¡¯s about time you also awaken your bloodline.¡± Back in the hall, Milianna was smiling as she looked at her only son. ¡°Have I got something on my face?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Haha, no, I just don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you this happy,¡± Milianna revealed. ¡°I guess I am,¡± Ace smiled as he thought back fondly of memories from his last life. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love everyone at the Pavilion, and I appreciate everything they¡¯ve done for us, but the idea of starting a new adventure with my friends and family by my side, not being tied down by anyone or anything¡­ This is much more my style!¡± ¡°I can tell,¡± Milianna smiled as she stroked Ace¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Just be careful; the lives of the residents of this city are now your responsibility. Try not to be too reckless.¡± ¡°My responsibility?¡± Ace asked curiously. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean ours? If this is to be the Gol Empire, as my mother, wouldn¡¯t that make you the Empress and me just a prince¡­¡± Most would probably be jumping for joy at such an opportunity, but Milianna merely raised an eyebrow as she easily saw through her son¡¯s intention. ¡°You think I don¡¯t know you?¡± Milianna rolled her eyes. ¡°We both know you¡¯re just trying to avoid any of the ¡®boring¡¯ work.¡± Ace didn¡¯t respond, but the devious grin on his face spoke volumes. ¡°You really are hopeless!¡± Lance sighed. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a bit since you were a kid!¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing this for your sake, too,¡± Ace explained ¡®sincerely¡¯. ¡°When the time comes, you¡¯ll be an Emperor!¡± ¡°Me?¡± Lance voiced, unable to hide his shock. ¡°Emperor?!¡± ¡°Ace is right!¡± Milianna nodded as she took his hand with a smile, slowly leading him out of the room. ¡°As the future husband of Empress Gol D. Milianna, that would, of course, make you Emperor Lance Gol!¡± Book 6: Chapter 19 – A Natural Born Leader That night Linley¡¯s father finally achieved his lifelong dream and successfully awakened his bloodline, following in the footsteps of his sons and becoming a legendary Dragonblood Warrior. After congratulating his father, Linley returned to his room and took out the book Ace gave to him. As soon as he opened it, he became captivated as he read its contents. In fact, it wasn¡¯t just him. Even his master, Doehring Cowart, peered over his disciple¡¯s shoulder to read. In the room, only Bebe was unable to read, but seeing the concentration on both men¡¯s faces, he did nothing to disturb them. ¡°Grandpa Cowart,¡± Linley called out after he finished reading. ¡°Are the contents of the book true?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Linley,¡± Cowart replied with a sigh, recalling his days as a saint before he died. ¡°But I feel like they should be. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the profound mystery I had focused on as a saint was the essence of earth. It should be what allowed me to manipulate each of my spells with such ease and freedom. Thinking back, using this book as a reference, I can practically name each of the profound mysteries of each of my fellow saints, be they friends or enemies.¡± Thinking to there, Cowart could let out another sigh of helplessness. ¡°I wish I had this book back then; it would¡¯ve helped me improve far faster. Linley, you owe young Ace yet another debt of gratitude!¡± ¡°I know, Grandpa,¡± Linley nodded helplessly. ¡°What I don¡¯t know is how I¡¯m going to pay them all back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Cowart smiled. ¡°Hurry up and grow into an expert worthy of being a rival for him. Something tells me that was the main reason he gave you the book in the first place.¡± ¡°Knowing him, you¡¯re probably right,¡± Linley smiled. The following day, Cesar finally returned from his organisation¡¯s HQ with the Armand Clan¡¯s Undying Secret Manual, causing no small amount of excitement amongst Barker and his brothers. Still, with that finally in their possession, Linley and his group no longer had any reason to stay; they had too much to do if Linley truly wished to compete with Ace. After seeing Linley off, Ace and his group went to work, and by work, I mean getting their heads down and focusing on their training. And they weren¡¯t the only ones; Cirulus started each of the city¡¯s soldiers on a gruelling six-month training cycle. It was the hardest six months of their life, but it was timed perfectly. Cirulus had set up the city in Ace¡¯s name, and at first, many flocked to the city hoping to rub shoulders with the son of heaven, but after six months of the legendary child of heaven never making so much as a fleeting appearance, many became sceptical. Thankfully, Cirulus and Lance had the strength to ensure no one threatened their leadership. Then, with Killian and the other disciples of the Yin-Yang Pavilion taking centre stage during the beast tide, once again showing off the might of a true genius, casually slaughtering beasts well above their individual levels and even teaming up and holding their own against a saint level dragon, any doubts they may have previously had, all but disappeared. But that was nothing compared to the impact of watching Ace singlehandedly kill said saint-level dragon and then fearlessly confront almost a dozen more ¨C with the rest of his group. Add all that to the appearance of a deity who seemed to be on the side of Ace and the Yin-Yang Pavilion; how could the soldiers be anything but motivated, especially when Cirulus explained that Ace wanted to turn each of them into his elite army? For the world-famous son of heaven to have so much faith in them, their willingness to endure Cirulus¡¯ hellish training was more than understandable. At the same time, all the major forces operating in the Anarchic Lands were paying close attention to the movements of the city of Gol, with many having sent spies to infiltrate the city. It had to be remembered that after the incident in the O¡¯Brien Empire, Ace seemed to have disappeared, and because the Pavilion never explained why, everyone was left to draw their own conclusions, many of whom correctly guessed that Ace was left severely injured by the drawbacks of the mystical technique he used to defeat Olivier. Unfortunately, whilst many had prayed that Ace had died, all were shocked to hear that not only did Ace make an appearance with no signs of injury whatsoever, but he even defeated a genuine dragon at the early stages of the saint realm, on his own, without relying on that mystical technique. And that was just the start of their shock, as they later learnt that Cesar had apparently broken through to the deity realm, forcing the dragon king himself to retreat. Information that they all welcomed, wanting to take advantage of it to strongarm the Pavilion into revealing some of its secrets. After all, as an Acolyte, Ace wasn¡¯t allowed to be supported by the Pavilion anymore. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The only problem with attempting to strong-arm the Pavilion was that one needed a certain level of strength, and of all those with such intentions, only the O¡¯Brien and Yulan Empire had such power, or at least they did prior to Cesar¡¯s breakthrough. Unfortunately, with Cesar¡¯s breakthrough, the Pavilion had effectively become the continent¡¯s third strongest power, only behind the forest of darkness and the mountain range of magical beasts, both of which had deities who had at the very least surpassed the Demi-God realm sat at their helms. Because the Pavilion had two experts with the power of a deity, they officially became the strongest human power on the continent, making everyone think twice about even asking for an explanation. If they now decided to go back on their word and protect Ace, there wasn¡¯t anyone capable of stopping them. Thankfully for them, Cesar, via Saber¡¯s channels, released a statement saying neither he nor the Pavilion has any intention of going back on their word. The Pavilion will not actively protect any of their Acolytes; what happened with the dragons wasn¡¯t to protect Ace, but the five Armand brothers who now follow Linley. Many were still sceptical, but for those who knew of Cesar¡¯s past and how close he was to Armand ¨C the original Undying Warrior ¨C they knew he was likely telling the truth, or at least in part. Plus, the fact that he, a deity, released a statement in the first place was enough for most to understand that, at the very least, Ace wasn¡¯t being protected. Otherwise, they could¡¯ve simply said nothing and ended it there. After all, no one, not even the War God or the High Priest, would dare provoke them. Many wondered why the Pavilion would actually leave their most talented disciple out to dry in such a way. Most would protect such a gem at all costs. The truth was, having predicted things progressing like that, before Cesar left, Ace was the one who went out of his way to ask the newly ascended Demi-God to make the statement. It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that Ace, being the battle-hungry maniac that he was, wanted to use his enemies as a whetstone for him and those around him. A fact that made Mathias and the rest of the experts at the Pavilion shake their heads helplessly. Not that they did anything to try and change his mind. Ace and his cohort were probably the only ones both willing and able to act in such a manner. Still, whatever the reason, all of those who saw Ace as an enemy and or a threat were just happy that they hadn¡¯t gone back on their previous decision, but that was where their good news stopped. Within a month of that incident, all the spies of the various other forces on the continent in the city of Gol had mysteriously been found and forcefully kicked out. They didn¡¯t understand how the city of Gol had managed to act with such frightening accuracy. To this day, although they correctly guessed that many of Ace¡¯s unique abilities had originated from a new and unique bloodline, they still didn¡¯t understand all the abilities of said bloodline, nor that Milianna had also awakened it, and was now able to use it with more skill and finesse than Ace himself. After agreeing to take the role of leader of their territory, Milianna knew she couldn¡¯t afford to be half-hearted with her approach. As such, she had Cirulus comprise a list of everyone who could potentially be a spy sent by their rivals and enemies. Cirulus was no fool; he too understood that each of the various major factions of their continent would obviously use spies to keep track of their movements, but unlike Ace and Milianna, he had no way of knowing with any kind of certainty who was and wasn¡¯t a spy. As such, all he could do was live with the fact that there were enemy spies around and act accordingly. Still, he gave Milianna the list of almost 10,000 names for her to organise that each of them is individually interviewed by herself ¡®as a way to get to know her new constituents.¡¯ And though it took a long time, she was able to easily find each of the spies. But even after finding out who the spies were, she didn¡¯t hurry to kick them out. Instead, she waited until her position in the eyes of the city residents was solidified ¨C something that, with her otherworldly looks, angelic persona, her status as mother of the child of heaven, and her having set up a free medical clinic, didn¡¯t take long ¨C before making her move. When she felt the time was right, Milianna used their connection to Saber and the Dawson Conglomerate to pretend it was them who gave them the information about who was and wasn¡¯t a spy before releasing it to the public. At which point, all the innocent civilians who had all but fallen in love with their pure and angelic leader turned their anger and indignation toward the traitors, forcing them to pack up and leave in a hurry. The higher-ups of the major organisations all knew with absolute certainty that there was no way even the likes of the Dawson Conglomerate and Saber would be able to know so much about who was and wasn¡¯t a spy, but they had no way of finding out the truth, especially not now with their spies purged. Just like that, not only had the problem of spies been dealt with, but all the residents had quickly come to love and respect their new leader. Milianna¡¯s tactics wouldn¡¯t have yielded such results had this been anywhere but the Anarchic Lands, but because of the chaotic and turbulent nature of the region, all the ordinary civilians didn¡¯t care about her supposed past; they only cared that Milianna seemed to genuinely care about each of them, to the point where she made a command that all residents of their city, which would go on to be the capital would be exempt from taxes. Something like that wouldn¡¯t be possible for most, even if they were benevolent enough to want to do such a thing, but because of them facing somewhat regular beast tides, they had a constant source of incredible income. Plus, Ace and Killian had accumulated an incredible amount of wealth after raiding various branches of Saber, and seeing as neither had much they needed to spend money on whilst in the Pavilion, all that money just sat in their storage rings gathering dust until now. Milianna¡¯s incredible achievements in such a short space of time made Amira and the others sigh in amazement. It genuinely seemed that after curing her tainted souls, there was nothing she couldn¡¯t do. Ace merely smiled, seeing how naturally gifted his mother was as a leader. Not only was she incredibly good at it, she genuinely enjoyed it. The love and affection the residents of their city felt from her were 100% genuine. She loved every minute of being able to improve the living conditions for their civilians. Book 6: Chapter 20 – Start of a New Legend The next five or so months flew by for the city of Gol. Forget the Anarchic Lands; during that period, the City of Gol may well have been the most peaceful place on the continent. Fortunately or unfortunately, all things come to an end at some point, and the City of Gol¡¯s period of undisturbed peace was due to come to an end. ¡°Ace,¡± A tall and exceedingly handsome young man who may as well have been the poster boy for the Aryan race called out as he approached a clearing not far from the city. Sat peacefully in the middle of the grassy clearing were Ace, Amira, and Leo. After everything in the city had been taken care of and his presence was no longer necessary, the trio retired to a little cabin in the forest a couple of miles outside of the city where they could practice in peace. In fact, other than Milianna and Lance, and occasionally Killian, they hadn¡¯t seen anyone in months. Upon hearing Joel¡¯s voice, Ace¡¯s eyes snapped open as he looked towards the white-robed young man beside the elegant, dark-haired Yulana. The last time he saw them, they still appeared tentative and somewhat cautious in his presence. Understandably so; after all, it was always going to take longer than a few weeks to get over the emotional trauma caused by Ace, but now¡­ ¡°You look¡­ clear-headed,¡± Ace smiled as his eyes passed over the pair. ¡°Teacher Kong beat some sense into us,¡± Joel smiled wryly as Yulana fought to suppress her body¡¯s involuntary tremble at the mere mention of Wukong. Ace smiled appreciatively. He could sense that neither of them wanted to speak much about it, and he respected that. He was just happy that their state of minds no longer seemed as fragile as it had not too long ago. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯m guessing the delivery has arrived,¡± Ace said lightly as he slowly stood to his feet. ¡°Mmh,¡± Joel nodded. ¡°My family just delivered your order not too long ago. I handed it over to Cirulus before making my way over here. ¡°Good,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°What about the others? Are the others ready?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Joel nodded. ¡°After getting back from the Pavilion last week, everyone has been focused on mastering the spells Grand Elder Arianna created for us.¡± ¡°I was the last to master it,¡± Yulana added with a wry smile. ¡°But I finally managed to master it yesterday.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s about time we head out,¡± Ace grinned. ¡°We¡¯ve kept the rest of the Anarchic Lands in suspense for long enough already.¡± The five youngsters made their way through the skies when they saw a welcoming standing in the air, seemingly waiting for them, and formed up beneath them was the City of Gol¡¯s Army. As Ace locked eyes with each of his classmates, he could sense how far they¡¯d come in these last six months and not just in terms of strength. Although each of them had made at least one breakthrough in their cultivation, Ace was more focused on their headspace. Although none aside from Alissa ¨C who was leisurely locking arms with Killian ¨C could say they had completely gotten past Ace¡¯s comments from six months ago, they were well on their way. Ace could sense the unwavering conviction to carry on along the path that they had set off on, and for Ace, it was a sight for sore eyes. But he didn¡¯t say anything to any of them, knowing that any more words at this point would merely be superfluous. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°About time you showed up and did some work,¡± Milianna chided as she stroked her son¡¯s hair. ¡°I thought since today¡¯s the day we set off on our first official campaign, our brave soldiers deserved their first formal speech of the famous child of heaven.¡± ¡°Not you, too,¡± Ace sighed at his mother¡¯s teasing of the epithet he was given. ¡°Haha, the rest of the world can call you whatever they want, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, in this life, you¡¯re my one and only my son!¡± Milianna voiced before nudging him. ¡°Now go, don¡¯t have the soldiers waiting too long.¡± As soon as she said that, aside from Amira, Leo, Wukong, and Milianna, the bodies of Killian and the other now Acolytes of the Pavilion all flickered, appearing in front of their respective divisions, readily awaiting Ace¡¯s speech. As Ace scanned the sea of soldiers below, he couldn¡¯t help but be slightly impressed. Each of them was dressed in an awe-inspiring golden armour. These armours were the real reason behind Ace¡¯s confidence in splitting his army into four, sending each division out to face armies which were all several times bigger than any singular division. Thinking about his army and comparing it to the respective armies of the O¡¯Brien and Rohault Empire, aside from strict, militant training, the most significant difference was in their equipment. As a result, he decided to gift each of these soldiers top-tier weapons and armours. Using the beast core of Harelk ¨C the saint-level rainbow dragon he killed ¨C, he paid the Dawson Conglomerate for 10,000 sets. Though it sounded like a lot, because of the rarity of a beast core of that level and the fact that Ace and Joel were friends and classmates, the Conglomerate were happy to help. And though it was a lot of money to spend in one go, looking at the 10,000 soldiers below, Ace knew it was worth every penny. It had to be understood that each armour was fitted with anti-magic runes allowing them to withstand the spells of all mages at and below the sixth rank and warriors at and below the seventh. When remembering that they would be going up against ordinairy soldiers from the Anarchic Lands, equipment of this calibre would make all the difference. ¡°As you should all already know by now, my aim is to one day create the greatest empire this continent has ever seen and behind every great empire is an even greater military. My hope is that each and every one of you will be the core of that great military.¡± Ace said as he projected his voice using haki so everyone could hear him. ¡°The name of that core is the Gold Force! There will come a day in the not-too-distant future when the world quakes in fear at the mere mention of the Gold Force, and as integral members of said force, I don¡¯t see the point in wishing you all good luck ¨C you don¡¯t need it!¡± The blood of each soldier boiled with excitement and anticipation. As Ace spoke, each soldier felt as though he was speaking directly to them, and the fact that their continent¡¯s number-one genius held such faith in each of them left them with an overwhelming feeling of pride. Subconsciously, each of them held their chins up that little bit higher, puffed their chests out that little bit further, and stood that little bit taller. The thought of becoming a legend was a legacy that every person who walked the martial path dreamt of, and now they were given that opportunity, they refused to let it slip through their fingers. ¡°Instead,¡± Ace continued. ¡°I¡¯m going to leave you with three simple words, go get ¡®em!¡± It wasn¡¯t just the soldiers; even Kannal and the other Pavilion Acolytes felt their blood boil. Aside from Killian, this was the first time any of them was participating in a battle of this magnitude, and the morale was infectious. They were dying to step foot on the battlefield already. ¡°Always the show-off!¡± Wukong snorted as he suppressed his rising battle intent watching each division begin their marches. As the four divisions set off, the four ¡®saint-level¡¯ experts prepared to set off too. ¡°Take care of our people out there,¡± Milianna said before Ace and the others took off. ¡°What about me?¡± Ace pouted. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to tell me to take care of myself?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy if you don¡¯t cause another international incident!¡± Milianna rolled her eyes, knowing her son¡¯s propensity for provoking people. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aunty,¡± Amira said sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure nothing bad happens.¡± ¡°I know you will, sweetie,¡± Milianna replied appreciatively. ¡°By the way, what do you wanna do about the scouts ¡®hiding¡¯ outside the city,¡± Wukong asked, his spirit having long since locked onto various hidden individuals who had tried to get as close to the city as possible without getting caught, a devilish grin suffusing his ape-like face. ¡°Want me to get rid of them?¡± ¡°No, leave them,¡± Ace smiled. ¡°Since they want to spy on us so badly, let them watch as a new legend is born.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Wukong shrugged, disappointed he was once again denied the chance to take action. ¡°Hopefully, someone sends out a saint to keep me entertained.¡± ¡°You two are truly hopeless,¡± Milianna sighed helplessly at the antics of her son and senior martial brother. ¡°Can neither of you go five minutes without feeling the need to stir up some sort of trouble?¡± Book 6: Chapter 21 – Faye’s Realisation ¡°It looks like Cirulus was right,¡± Faye sneered as she looked at the army standing outside of Helmraven City. ¡°They really did know we were coming.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lance voiced as he raised his fist to signal his fourth division to come to a halt. ¡°The plan remains the same.¡± ¡°Are you sure you wanna do this?¡± Faye asked as she saw Lance preparing to step into no man¡¯s land on his own (the area between both forces). ¡°If we fight together, we¡¯ll still be able to suppress them with a little time ¨C you don¡¯t need to put yourself at risk like this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but this is the best way to do it so our troops are put in the least amount of danger,¡± Lance said solemnly as he looked at the imposing figure on top of the city walls before turning back to Faye with a hint of a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I may not be a genius like the rest of you, but I haven¡¯t been slacking with my training ¨C I¡¯ll be fine!¡± With that said, Lance willed his cyan-coloured battle-qi to cover his body as he decisively stepped into no man¡¯s land. At the same time, the imposing, stocky, middle-aged figure towering over the various archers and mages around him looked down at the army ahead of him with a hint of disdain colouring his features. ¡®When the delegates from the Cult of Darkness told us that there was a force from the city of Gol heading our way, I assumed it was their full force.¡¯ Zaleck thought to himself as he silently watched the 10,000-man army settle into place just outside of their firing range. ¡®But for them to send such a small force to try and conquer my Helmraven City and not even come himself, that Ace boy really is letting his fame get to his head!¡¯ ¡°Get ready, men,¡± Zaleck commanded. ¡°When they make their move, I want you all to blow them and their showy armours to kingdo¡­¡± ¡°ZALECK,¡± Lance roared, using his battle-qi to project his voice so the whole of Helmraven City could hear. ¡°I, LANCE, FOURTH DIVISION COMMANDER OF THE CITY OF GOL¡¯S GOLD FORCE, CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL. IF YOU WIN, MY CITY OF GOL WILL AGREE TO NEVER TOUCH YOUR HELMRAVEN CITY FOR AS LONG AS WE REMAIN.¡± ¡°AND IF YOU WIN?¡± Zaleck sneered. ¡°IF I WIN, YOU AGREE TO SURRENDER TO US,¡± Lance announced. ¡°IF YOUR SO-CALLED SON OF HEAVEN DARED TO COME HIMSELF, I MAY HAVE CONSIDERED IT, BUT YOU¡­¡± Zaleck snorted as he silently considered his options. ¡®He probably expects me to just roll over because of their association with the yin-yang pavilion, and I probably would have, had the Cult of Darkness not agreed to support me if the pavilion goes back on their words and send any saints, but seeing how Ace didn¡¯t even dare to show his face, it means the Cult were right in their assessment. Ace is scared of the various powers he¡¯s already provoked and is hoping to rely on his prestige to suppress his targets.¡¯ Thinking to that point, Zaleck focused on the blonde-haired spearman who dared to challenge him. Lance couldn¡¯t hide his cultivation in front of Zaleck¡¯s keen eyes; the ninth-rank city lord was clear, Lance was merely at the middle stages of the eighth rank. Even if Ace and the other teens from the Pavilion were elite-level geniuses, he refused to believe that this unknown man was too. ¡°SINCE YOU¡¯RE SO INTENT ON DELIVERING ME THIS GIFT, WHO AM I TO KICK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!¡± Zaleck sneered as he channelled his fiery earthen battle-qi into his legs and launched himself over his 100,000+ man army, creating a small man-sized crater in the ground as he landed mere meters in front of Lance, who remained composed. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Before the dust was able to clear, a large figure shot out of the crater like a cannonball speeding towards its target. Still, Lance didn¡¯t panic as he calmly sidestepped the large saw-tooth sabre before replying in kind with an attack of his own. A flicker of surprise flashed across Zaleck¡¯s eyes as he watched the azure blade of the spear surge forth like an unyielding tide. ¡®I don¡¯t care if you¡¯ve comprehended wielding light as though it were heavy,¡¯ the city lord snorted as his surprise quickly turned to disdain as he raised his qi-coated sabre to block the incoming blow. ¡®The difference between an eighth and ninth rank warrior isn¡¯t what you can even im¡­¡¯ Before he could finish his thought, Zaleck found himself skidding back along the floor from the strength of the blow. Zaleck hadn¡¯t been wrong in believing that even with the added power of one state of wielding, even the average peak eighth-rank warrior would be hard-pressed to close the gap in power between them and experts of the ninth rank, but his mistake was believing Lance was the same as other warriors at his level, or rather the spear in his hands was the same as other ordinary weapons. Lance¡¯s ¡®Azure Dragon Spear¡¯ was a weapon forged from the corpse of an apex-level divine beast. Aside from increasing his affinity to the laws of water when holding it, it also could increase the power of the user¡¯s water-element battle-qi. Lance may have only been in the middle stages of the eighth rank, but when using his spear, he was more like a half-step warrior of the ninth rank. When you add that to the fact that he had also comprehended both states of wielding, Lance¡¯s strength rivalled that of the average ninth-rank warrior ¨C a fact Zaleck was forced to come to terms with the hard way. In fact, by the looks of things, Lance was slightly superior. The way he danced around his opponent whilst casually switching between both states of wielding with such fluidity that it made it look like the most natural thing in the world made it all but impossible for Zaleck to find his rhythm. Even Faye, a genius who had not only comprehended both states of wielding but even fused them, could only sigh in amazement. Even though her comprehension was undoubtedly above his, she had to admit, his weapon handling was actually above hers. Although she had never actively looked down on the warrior, in fact, she and the rest of her classmates all admired his work ethic; still, they all assumed that he was inferior to them in every way aside from their warrior cultivation. ¡°Ace was right,¡± Faye muttered to herself. ¡°I had actually allowed my arrogance and laziness to get in my own way.¡± ¡°He was wrong about one thing though,¡± Faye muttered as she continued to watch Lance¡¯s beautiful performance. ¡°I don¡¯t need to chase after him or anyone else. I just need to push myself to be the best possible version of myself.¡± As she came to that realisation, she subconsciously released a deep breath, and just like that, the weight she had been carrying since the verbal beat down she had received from Ace automatically dispersed. Lance had no idea that his performance had helped Faye rid herself of her heart demon; he was far too focused. This was the first time in as long as he could remember that he found himself enjoying himself in combat. Before he met Ace and Milianna, he had just been an ordinairy guard for the Baruch Clan and warrior of the third rank. Back then, he aspired to reach the fifth rank before dying; even the sixth rank would¡¯ve been a dream come true. The thought of becoming a high-ranking warrior of the seventh rank seemed impossible to him, and yet, here he was, holding his own against a warrior of the ninth rank. A warrior who, back then, was more like the stuff of legend to him. How could he not be thrilled? As the fight continued, the pure-hearted smile that hung on his face widened, and without even realising, the speed and power of each of his strikes began to steadily rise. Within seconds, Zaleck went from barely holding on to finding himself firmly suppressed, and before he knew it, fresh wounds started accumulating on his body, causing him to weaken slowly, but still, his pride wouldn¡¯t let him give in. In fact, the sudden burst of adrenaline-fuelled by his shame and anger, allowed him to somewhat close the gap. Unfortunately, Lance hadn¡¯t finished improving. ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s it. It¡¯s like that!¡± Lance suddenly burst out laughing as his spear suddenly came to life. ¡°[Soaring Dragon]!¡± A faint dragon¡¯s roar could be heard as Lance¡¯s spear broke the sound barrier, shattering Zaleck¡¯s battle armour and piercing straight through his shoulder. The pride of finally fusing both states of wielding threatened to overwhelm Lance. It was only when he heard the pain-filled grunts of the City Lord that he snapped back to reality just in time to catch Zaleck¡¯s words. ¡°I give up,¡± Zaleck grunted as he looked up at the blonde spearman towering over him. ¡°You win!¡± The silence of the battlefield was deafening, but before Lance could respond, the sound of awe and respect-filled cheers erupted behind him. Realising that the cheers were for him, Lance¡¯s pride and joy soared through the skies. ¡°Nicely done, Lance,¡± Amira smiled proudly from her place hidden in the clouds. Book 13: Part 11 – Successive Breakthroughs The situations appeared to be similar across the board, even if not in execution, but definitely in the end result. Each division of the Gol City Army achieved an overwhelming win. Similar to Lance, Joel also chose to go down the route of challenging and defeating the enemy¡¯s commander and forcing them to submit. Unfortunately, his opponent, a warrior at the late stages of the eighth rank, was anything but honourable. Upon realising he couldn¡¯t win, he tried to escape whilst commanding his own army to attack, believing that he could still reverse the situation with his numerical advantage. Unfortunately for him, with Joel and Yulana leading the arrow formation that was Division Three of the Gold Force, his dishonourable attempt proved futile. Excluding Joel and Yulana for a moment, just the 2500 ¡®ordinairy¡¯ members of the Third Division showed how important having good equipment was. Even the weakest of them ¨C warriors at the fourth rank ¨C were able to tank the blows of seventh-rank warriors, leaving them free to focus purely on offence. At first, the division was still a little hesitant because of their numerical disadvantage, but that quickly changed when they realised how easy they were finding it to ignore their opponent¡¯s attacks. Still, the most incredible performances went to Joel and Yulana. It was in that fight that they showed the world the new spells each member of their class had spent the last week mastering ¨C [Force Armour]. Though it was said to be created by Arianna, technically, it was created by Ace. Put simply, Arianna took Ace¡¯s Pseudo battle-qi technique and turned it into a true spell only useable by mages at or above the sixth rank. Of course, it was nowhere near as powerful as Ace¡¯s as he was infusing his insights of the profound mystery of the laws of fire into it. Still, it allowed each of the disciples to cover up for their only actual weakness ¨C their lack of battle qi. As peak-level geniuses, each of their class was yet to cultivate their battle qi, making them physically superior to the average warriors of their level, a fact that was especially true for Killian and Joel, who had both already gone through their first round of [Imposing Devourment]. As it stood, Killian and Joel were closer to magical beasts regarding physical ability than humans. And now, with their ability to utilise [Force Armour], each of their strengths saw a significant jump. Joel and Yulana slaughtered their way through their opposing force with such ease that their enemy¡¯s desire to battle quickly waned within minutes. Ultimately, Rasiar, the former Lord of Oaque City, was forced to escape with his tail between his legs, allowing Joel and Yulana to assume command of the city. Killian and Alissa, on the other hand, decided to go with a more direct approach. After commanding their army to wait, the duo went on to slaughter a path through the 10,000+ man army of Green Lake City. During his fight against the rainbow dragon, Harelk, Killian¡¯s comprehension finally touched upon the profound level. It was in that arduous battle that Killian comprehended a trace amount of the profound mystery of the throbbing pulse of the world. And after six months, although his comprehension hadn¡¯t increased by much, he had become a lot more accustomed to using it. Between that and his new spell [Force Armour], a technique he had, incredibly, mastered for all three of his affinities, Killian¡¯s strength had reached the upper levels of the various generals of each nation. With his feet bare feet touching the cold hard ground of mother nature, Killian allowed his heart to beat in tune with the pulse of the earth, which not only seemed to allow him to attack with the power of the world behind him, it also allowed him to channel vibrations into each of his strikes to ravage the insides of those who dared stand in his way. Among the various warrior-based generals on the continent, in terms of pure offence, if he said he was second, no one else would dare claim to be first. His strikes were fast approaching that of a weaker saint. If not for his unfortunate lack of speed and the lack of energy to maintain such a state, he would be no weaker than the likes of Olivier and Duke Kaymin before their respective breakthroughs. Still, considering that there were no experts on the battlefield who had anywhere near that sort of speed, Killian may as well have been a saint to each of them. Every time he swung his twin-sided battle axe, dozens of warriors would lose their lives! Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. And Alissa was no less deadly. She was a wind mage of the sixth rank and Tigerstriped warrior at the early stages of the seventh rank pre-transformation; after transforming, she was a warrior of the eighth rank whose speed was naturally at the ninth. When adding that to her [Force Armour] and the various speed-increasing spells of wind, her speed touched upon ridiculous levels. Purely in terms of speed, she was no slower than Olivier during his fight with Ace. The two of them swept through the army of Green Lake City with an unstoppable momentum. They were literally like a force of nature that wouldn¡¯t stop until all their enemies were dead. Thankfully, Osarna, the city lord of Green Lake City, a water mage of the eighth rank, was more of a benevolent leader than many of the other tyrants in the Anarchic Lands. As soon as she saw the calibre of the two monsters before her, she directly gave up and surrendered her life to them for the safety of her people, causing Killian and Alissa to stop. Finally, there was the victory achieved by Kannal, Osiris, and the First Division. Kannal had tried to challenge Nimark, the city lord of Cloudfree City, but Nimark was the shrewd type. He and his two younger brothers had grown up in the Anarchic Lands and fought desperately until they finally achieved their current standings. None of them were willing to give up unless absolutely necessary. Still, they weren¡¯t fools. They had heard the rumours of the unrivalled talents of each of the Pavilion¡¯s disciples, and though they didn¡¯t necessarily believe that Kannal, a young expert whom he could sense was already at the middle of the sixth rank as both a mage and warrior, could defeat Nimark, a warrior at the peak of the eighth stage, he wasn¡¯t willing to take the risk, not when he had such an overwhelming numerical advantage. As such, Kannal and Osiris were forced to lead the members of the first division into battle. And similar to Joel and Yulana¡¯s Third Division, with their incredible equipment, the soldiers of the First Division quickly found their footing. That was where the similarities between the First and Divisions came to an end. Kannal wasn¡¯t as much of a one-man army as Killian, Joel, and Alissa, and Osiris was an archer better suited for long-range support and assassinations. As such, they decided that Osiris would hang back and support those who needed it with his incredible archery. As soon as any of the soldiers found themselves in a compromising position, an arrow would find itself between the brows of the enemy soldier who threatened their lives. At the same time, whilst he admittedly wasn¡¯t as strong as Kil, Joel, and Alissa, Kannal could still be considered a force of nature to the regular soldiers. As soon as Nimark realised the threat Kannal posed, he decisively led his two younger brothers, each of which were warriors of the eighth rank as well, to encircle the young genius. Osiris quickly turned his focus to the trio who threatened his junior classmate¡¯s safety, but before he could release the arrow he had nocked, Kannal ordered him to stand down. He wanted to fight this battle on his own. Osiris had instinctively wanted to ignore him. As talented as he was, Osiris knew Kannal¡¯s strength well. Forget fighting all three; he would struggle enough in a fair battle against Nimark. But just as he was about to release his arrow, he subconsciously remembered Ace¡¯s words ¨C how Kannal was one of the very few of them to have an unwavering belief in himself. Eventually, Osiris lowered his bow, choosing to put his faith in his junior brother. As Osiris predicted, Kannal instantly found himself suppressed, but whenever Osiris found himself tempted to support him, one look in his eyes told him that Kannal hadn¡¯t given up. Though he knew Ace wouldn¡¯t lie to him, subconsciously, Osiris struggled to completely believe his words. It was far easier to never give up when you had talent on that level, but seeing Kannal, a teen younger than him, not much stronger than him, and definitely no more talented than him, fight so desperately, his faith in himself never once wavering, despite the overwhelming disadvantage he was facing, how could Osiris not be moved. Still, the difference between them was simply too big. Kannal, whose body was now littered with wounds, found that he was too slow to react to the silent but deadly slash of Nimark¡¯s short sword. Ace, who was watching intently from his position up in the clouds, along with Cirulus, couldn¡¯t stand still any longer. His calf tensed as he prepared to act before his junior brother lost his head when he stopped himself, a proud smile taking shape on his face. Sometimes, belief in oneself wasn¡¯t enough, but sometimes, there was nothing more powerful. At that moment, as he stared death in the face, Kannal¡¯s talent and self-confidence fused seamlessly together to create a miracle. Kannal¡¯s eyes glazed over as his body seemed to merge with Mother Nature herself. Nimark, who just had a wild grin on his face, as he could almost feel the invigorating feeling of his sword slashing through his opponent¡¯s neck, suddenly felt as though he was wading through quicksand as space seemed to compress around him. His grin quickly turned into shock before transforming into fear as he found their positions reversed. Kannal exploded with speed that should¡¯ve been impossible for someone at his level, easily and gracefully sliding under the cold, sharp blade of Nimark¡¯s sword before replying in kind. His Liuyedao sword drew a perfect arc in the air as it sped towards the neck of the city lord. Nimark¡¯s two younger brothers exploded in a fit of rage as they watched their older brother¡¯s head fall to the floor, but before either could move, Kannal¡¯s body flickered out of existence as he slashed the bodies of both brothers in two before either could understand what happened. After such a demanding battle, Kannal¡¯s body had long since gone past its limits. A second after his eyes regained clarity, they quickly shut as his consciousness faded. Osiris, who had been paying constant attention, leapt to catch his junior brother in his arms before he could collapse to the floor. ¡°You really are amazing,¡± Osiris smiled proudly as he looked at Kannal peacefully sleeping in his arms, the remnants of the heart demon created by Ace¡¯s words finally disappearing. ¡°From now on, I¡¯m going to make you my target to chase after.¡± At the same time, Ace watched with the widest of grins before turning to face the still-shocked Cirulus. ¡°See,¡± Ace said. ¡°I told you, they¡¯re anything but ordinairy!¡± Book 6: Chapter 23 – Grand Marshall’s Plans Right in the centre of the Anarchic Lands, floating leisurely above what appeared to be a newly constructed campus of sorts, was Fain, Byrius, and their junior brother ¨C Lanke. ¡°I see,¡± Fain nodded as he listened to Lanke¡¯s update. ¡°So Ace didn¡¯t take to the battlefield personally?¡± ¡°No, apparently not,¡± Lanke shook his head. ¡°According to our scouts, neither he nor his Divine Beast partner did. None of those who took part in the battles had strength surpassing that of a mortal.¡± ¡°So he really does appear to be abiding by the unwritten laws of our continent,¡± Fain said contemplatively. ¡°Even though he¡¯s technically not a saint yet, his strength has clearly reached that level. Had he taken part, we would¡¯ve had a reason to send saints of our own, but as things are now¡­ Difficult, very difficult!¡± Though he hadn¡¯t said it in so many words, Byrius and Lanke understood what he was referring to. Although their empire easily had hundreds of warriors of the ninth rank and even a few dozen general-level warriors, if they were to send their top mortal powerhouses to attack Ace¡¯s infantile force and stop them from expanding, it would make them look bad, and if they didn¡¯t, they doubted whether their limited force currently stationed in the Anarchic Lands would be able to stop Ace¡¯s so-called ¡®Gold Force¡¯. With each division being personally led by the young geniuses of the pavilion, they were a pretty unstoppable force here in the Anarchic Lands. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯re being such a pansy,¡± Byrius snorted. ¡°The experts in the Yin-Yang Pavilion have already said they don¡¯t intend on involving themselves in Ace¡¯s business. We should just go and grab him now. He may be strong, but he¡¯s not strong enough to oppose any of us!¡± Fain glanced back at this seventh brother of his before sighing. Ever since the incident a year ago, where he was the lone survivor in the team that went to capture Ace and his mother, Byrius¡¯ personality had seen a drastic change. He had always been arrogant and overbearing, but now, whereas before, he had always thought first before taking action, now, it was like he was determined to act on each and every one of his impulses, especially the ones concerning Ace. It was like Ace had become his greatest heart demon, even more than his former rival ¨C Aiden Rohault. It was the reason his master had sent him to oversee the construction of the new school instead of simply entrusting it to Byrius. Fain was a prime saint, meaning he was only one extremely small step away from becoming a deity. Even though this was a bottleneck that prevented the vast majority of saints from becoming deities, he should still be focusing on his training, and yet because of Byrius¡¯ change in demeanour, he was forced to take charge. Still, instead of simply ignoring what could be considered a foolish question, Fain still took the time to answer. ¡°Firstly, although the Pavilion has come out and said it, it doesn¡¯t mean we can trust them at their word. It¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯re lying, but just in case they are, and they¡¯re just waiting for us to attack so they can catch us off guard, it¡¯s better that we take the slow approach. But most importantly, we need to make sure that the moment we take action, we¡¯re able to kill Ace and all of his group, including Wukong, his Divine Beast, and all of his classmates. The fact that all of them were willing to become Acolytes to support Ace speaks volumes about the strength of their bond, and although not on the level of Ace, all of them are geniuses. Even the worst of them appears to be a level above even you. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. If we kill Ace today, and any of them escape and then go into hiding until they become a deity, aside from Master, all of us will have to spend the rest of our days simply waiting for death.¡± Byrius snorted but ultimately said nothing. He had heard the same reports detailing the power of Ace¡¯s classmates. Yulana appeared to be the weakest, and even though she was only a teenager, she had already broken through to the sixth rank as a mage and a warrior, fused both states of wielding and was able to insta-cast all water-based spells up to the sixth rank. Had they grown up in the same era, Byrius knew he would only be abused by such a talent, even more than he was against Aiden. For most geniuses, Byrius included, becoming a deity was a dream that they spent every day aspiring to make a reality, but ultimately understanding there was a better-than-good chance it would never happen. But to those in the pavilion, it genuinely seemed like they were looking far past the Demi-God realm. Whether it was Mathias, or his master Arianna, both had comprehension of a deity, but for some reason, both appeared happy to stay as saints for as long as possible. They didn¡¯t understand why, but it had become fair to assume that somehow, the Pavilion had found a way to assure that each of their own would one day become deities. Seeing that Byrius no longer had anything to say, Fain turned his attention back to Lanke. ¡°For now, don¡¯t do anything to actively target Ace and his group. Focus on providing better equipment to the more powerful cities surrounding Ace. It won¡¯t halt their expansion, but it will slow them down and weaken their force.¡± . . . At the same time, back in the city lord¡¯s residence in the City of Gol, a meeting was taking place between Ace and all the higher-ups of their city. ¡°The first stage of Operation Duchy was a resounding success,¡± Cirulus beamed. Not only had they won all four battles with lightning speed, they had miraculously not suffered a single casualty. It was a feat he never would¡¯ve imagined previously. He could only look to his young but miracle-creating leader, waiting to hear what he had in store next. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°I¡¯m only good at fighting; you¡¯re our grand Marshall ¨C you tell me!¡± ¡°Grand Marshall?¡± Cirulus asked back in amazement. It was a position Ace came up with on the spot, but it didn¡¯t make it any less fitting. Cirulus had gone above and beyond, proving his loyalty and capabilities. He was the only person Ace trusted to take up the role of overseeing their military. Ace seemed unphased by what he said, but Cirulus knew the youngster well enough by now to understand that he wouldn¡¯t say something like that lightly. Since it came out of his mouth, he meant it. Having someone like Ace hold so much faith in him was like a double-edged sword. It felt incredible, but he also understood the weight of his decisions. Still, he refused to succumb to the pressure. Cirulus closed his eyes as he focused on sifting through all the information he had at his disposal, slowly formulating a plan of attack. Ace and the others didn¡¯t say anything to disturb the Marshall; they all just waited patiently. ¡°With our recent success, all our enemies will likely expect us to take advantage and make a move immediately and strike whilst the iron¡¯s hot, but the smartest thing to do right now is to take a beat and stabilise our foundations before making our next move,¡± Cirulus explained slowly. ¡°That means slowly getting rid of any spies that may be in our ranks and reshuffling our armies.¡± As he said that, everyone subconsciously turned to Killian and Alissa. After their battle, the army of the city they conquered had been all but decimated. They were the ones in desperate need of reinforcements. ¡°Aside from that, I would also like to make sure that each division goes through a training cycle where they¡¯re taught battlefield tactics and both standard and special operating procedures,¡± Cirulus continued. ¡°How long will that take?¡± Wukong yawned lazily. ¡°At least six months, potentially a year,¡± Cirulus estimated. ¡°But we can¡¯t afford to take our enemies lightly anymore. If I were them, after seeing our incredible results, I would start arming the forces of the cities surrounding us to slow us down and also weaken our forces. If we want to stay ahead, we must ensure that we¡¯re superior tactically.¡± ¡°Nine months,¡± Ace voiced suddenly. ¡°Can you get it done in nine months?¡± Cirulus hesitated. He knew how important this next phase was; as such, he wanted to take his time and make sure he did a thorough job. But when he looked into Ace¡¯s calm but confident eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but be infected. ¡°I¡¯ll get it done!¡± ¡°Do you need Killian and the others in that time?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Not really,¡± Cirulus shook his head. ¡°Although they¡¯re technically the commanders of each division, they don¡¯t really fall into the ranks of the regular army. Trying to involve them in tactics to be implemented by the rest of the army will only affect their battlefield effectiveness.¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± Ace nodded as he turned back to Killian and the others. ¡°You have nine months to train as you see fit.¡± ¡°As for you,¡± Ace looked back to Cirulus. ¡°Whenever you have free time during these nine months, I want you to come and find me. If you¡¯re going to be our Grand Marshall, we need to hurry up and make you a saint!" Book 6: Chapter 24 – Princess Maria Over the next nine months, everyone who was anyone had their eyes focused on Ace, or rather, the territory of the Gol Family. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. Whilst everyone had expected and even hoped that Ace would capitalise on his recent success to continue his expansion, Ace and his group did the opposite. Choosing to implement their Grand Marshall¡¯s plans, the Gol territory focused on stabilising its current foundations. But it was in that time that something else happened, catching everyone by surprise. On the opposite side of the Anarchic Lands, a new and unignorable city took form ¨C the Baruch City. After arriving in the O¡¯Brien Empire, Linley and his group quickly found Wharton and Lina, where they gave her the finished potion, finally allowing her to restore the sanctity of her soul ¨C minus her innate talent. The moment it happened, Lina almost had a breakdown after remembering all the horrible acts she had committed over the years. From her treatment of Ace and his family to the way she treated her beloved husband, and worse yet, her attempted pollution of her dear son¡¯s mind. Linley and Hogg both explained that it wasn¡¯t her fault, that she wasn¡¯t in her right mind, and she knew it was true, but it didn¡¯t make it any easier to swallow. Oddly, the one who managed to get through to her in the end wasn¡¯t her husband, nor was it either her children. Instead, it was the words of her eldest son¡¯s master, Doehring Cowart. He reminded her that she couldn¡¯t change the past; all she could do was control her actions from this point on; Lina decided to spend the rest of her life atoning for her sins by being the best mother and wife she could be. Aside from Lina herself, the most shocked by the sudden revelation of her condition was undoubtedly Wharton. The young Dragonblood warrior was now and had always been a mother¡¯s boy. As such, how could he be any less than enraged by the actions of the Radiant Church? Similar to Linley, he too had a heart that desired nothing but vengeance. Unfortunately, he was nowhere near strong enough, and after watching Ace¡¯s performance last year at the War God¡¯s College, he found his drive to get stronger waning. A feeling which was only made worse when he found that his older brother had also awakened their family¡¯s bloodline, and the purity of which was far beyond his, to the point where it wasn¡¯t even comparable. It should be noted that Wharton had always loved and greatly respected his brother; even now, after all these years apart, that hadn¡¯t changed. But subconsciously, as the only one of his Clan to awaken the Dragonwarrior bloodline, he always felt that he would be the one to lead their Clan into prosperity, or at the very least, he thought he would be their Clan¡¯s greatest warrior of this generation, but now¡­ First Ace, then Killian, now his own brother. It felt like he was destined to be continuously surpassed by everyone. Even his father had awakened their family¡¯s bloodline. Still, when he heard his brother¡¯s plans for their family¡¯s future, he couldn¡¯t help but feel his blood start to boil in excitement. The thought of their family competing with Ace¡¯s Gol family, a feat which, after seeing Ace¡¯s strength a year ago, seemed all but impossible, now became a genuine possibility with Linley¡¯s current strength. The thought of he and his older brother standing side by side, overcoming one tribulation after the next to slowly climb to the peak of their continent, competing against Ace and his group¡­ As demoralised as he had been, Wharton was still a Dragonblood warrior at the end of the day. Each and every one of them had this burning desire to be number one; it was that drive which led them to be the number one clan for such a long period of time. From that moment on, Linley now led a group with one necromancer, three Dragonblood warriors, and five Undying warriors, all of whom had strength at or above the seventh rank, with the strongest ¨C Linley ¨C having the strength of a weaker saint. It was a terrifying force, so it should¡¯ve come as no surprise that they quickly took over a small city in the Anarchic Lands before quickly expanding to the point where, within a couple of months, they had completely caught up and even surpassed Ace¡¯s territory, being the first of the two to form their own Duchy, and yet the rest of the continent couldn¡¯t have been any more surprised had they tried. It had been almost eight months since Ace¡¯s group began their reconsolidation project, and in that time, they hadn¡¯t paid any attention to the happenings of the rest of the world, or at least Ace and the rest of his classmates hadn¡¯t. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°So you mean to tell me that Linley has gone from forming a city to forming the Baruch Duchy in these last eight months?¡± Ace asked, a competitive light flickering within the depths of his eyes as Cirulus lay on the floor fighting to catch his breath, unable to move his body freely after the hellish training session he was forced to endure. ¡°Yeah,¡± Cirulus voiced between breaths as he shakily sat up. ¡°The Baruch Duchy was officially formed as of last night.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace said before pausing momentarily. ¡°That lizard may have formed a Duchy before us, but I refuse to let him be the first to create an empire as well. Are we¡­¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Cirulus answered before Ace could finish his question. ¡°We¡¯re ready to begin our next phase as well.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Ace grinned. ¡°Have Killian and the others prepare to set off; we move out tomorrow.¡± Just like that, Killian and the other ¡®generals¡¯ led their forces on round two of Operation Gol Duchy, and as Cirulus predicted, the other major forces had secretly armed each of their targets with top-quality equipment and resources. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough! Not only were Lance and Ace¡¯s classmates just as invincible as ever, sweeping through their respective battlefields with incredible momentum, but with the incredible tactics Cirulus taught the rest of the army, the Gol Army showed incredible prowess, destroying their enemies with minimal losses, but that was just the beginning. ¡°Are we going to have to wait another nine months to consolidate these forces?¡± Ace asked Cirulus as he watched Kannal and Osiris successfully conquer their second City. ¡°No, not this time,¡± Cirulus replied. ¡°With the strength of our foundation, we can march straight on to the next city as soon as you give the word. We¡¯ll stop to consolidate after the formation of our Duchy.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Ace grinned. ¡°You tell Osiris and Kannal, I¡¯ll go and let the other divisions know ¨C we move out in a week!¡± Just like that, Ace stepped off against the compressed space beneath his feet, causing an explosive sonic boom as he shot off into the distance like a bullet. ¡°Is it just me, or has he gotten faster?¡± Cirulus muttered to himself as he stared in awe at Ace¡¯s speed. Over the last nine months, he had spent most nights training with this young master of his. Although, it was probably more accurate to call it a beating rather than training. That being said, because of the difference in strength between the two, Cirulus had no idea how much Ace had improved, if at all. Still, he had seen Ace go all out in the past, and even though Ace had always looked like nothing more than a blur in those moments, he could always barely follow him with his senses, but in that moment, as Ace moved, in Cirulus¡¯ eyes, it was genuinely as though Ace had teleported. It didn¡¯t take more than a few hours for Ace to reach each of his territory¡¯s four divisions and pass on word of the plans moving forward, and without fail, everyone was excited about their new orders, including each division¡¯s new additions. After getting to experience the infamous Gol Army¡¯s power first-hand, most, if not all, were excited about fighting alongside this incredible army. Unfortunately, because Ace¡¯s side didn¡¯t plan on making time to properly stabilise their force, a few spies finally made it into their ranks; as such, word of Ace¡¯s plans got back to several of their enemies. . . . A few days later, near the centre of the Anarchic Lands, a team of six extremely powerful experts could be seen sitting around a table, one of whom was an enchanting beauty who looked like an almost identical version of the Dark Empress, Shelia, only younger. Maria was the only child of Gediah, the commander of the Demoniacs, and his wife Shelia, the reigning Empress of the Dark Alliance and leader of the infamous Cult of Darkness. The same young woman Shelia offered to Ace to join her side all those years ago. Like Olivier, Silas, and Wukong, she too was one of the peak geniuses of the previous generation, and judging by the powerful, yet somewhat unstable energy she was radiating, she had entered the saint realm not too long ago. ¡°Princess, this is the first time we have received word of that boy Ace¡¯s plans in advance,¡± a little giant who was clearly over seven feet tall when standing, dressed in obsidian armour, voiced with respect as he looked at the dark-haired young woman sat beside him. ¡°We would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity.¡± Had Ace been here, he would have recognised the tyrannical man speaking. It was Sulturn, an Archbishop of the Cult. The same man who called Ace insolent for turning down his Empress¡¯s offer of an arranged marriage. At the time, the man was no different to the Shelia today, a newly promoted saint, but now, his aura was far more stable and more powerful than it had been back then, and judging by the cold glint in his eyes and unrestrained killing intent, it was clear he hadn¡¯t forgotten or forgiven Ace for his previous rudeness back then. ¡°Her Highness already said not to take action against Ace lightly,¡± A handsome middle-aged man with four long jet-black wings extending from his back retorted. ¡°Not unless we¡¯re 100% sure to take down Ace.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a pussy, Dendrel! This is the first and only time we¡¯ve been able to be one step ahead of him. This is our chance to take him down once and for all; who knows if and when we¡¯ll get another chance like this,¡± Sulturn snorted before turning back to the princess. ¡°Our side has a dozen two-winged fallen angels with the power of ninth-rank warriors, and aside from you and I, we even have four saint-level fallen angels, one of whom is a six-winged angel with the power of a mid-staged saint.¡± ¡°You wish for us to be the first side to break the unwritten rule and send saints to take part in the wars of mortals?¡± Maria asked lightly, her opinion virtually impossible to read from her almost emotionless face. ¡°Yes, princess,¡± Sulturn nodded solemnly. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know which battlefield Ace is likely to appear on, we would have to split the six of us evenly among the four battlefields, but if done correctly, one of our groups will undoubtedly run into Ace; at that point, we can easily kill him! After all is said and done, who will dare say anything about our tactics, especially with Ace and his group provoking so many of the other major forces?¡± Maria didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, she looked at the old woman with black wings sitting with her eyes closed beside her, radiating a power far surpassing the other saints in the room. ¡°What do you think, Granny Harriet?¡± The old woman didn¡¯t even open her eyes as she indifferently replied. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me one way or the other; my only job is keeping you safe.¡± Maria didn¡¯t take the old woman¡¯s blunt words to heart, clearly used to this old woman¡¯s chilling indifference. Instead, she closed her eyes to ponder the options. ¡°Fine,¡± Princess Maria said after thinking things through properly. ¡°We¡¯ll do it your way, Sulturn!¡± Book 6: Chapter 25 – Ace Vs. The Cult For the ordinairy soldiers, the morale was high as each division began their march to their next target, but for higher-ups, their moods were anything but light. The ordinairy soldiers had no idea, but Killian and the other generals were all aware that if their enemies were planning anything, this would be the best time. As they hadn¡¯t done anything to get rid of the spies, their enemies would more than likely be well aware of their plans and routes. Still, as cautious as they were, no fear could be seen in any of their eyes. If anything, there was a faint excitement. It was almost as if they were hoping they would make a move. ¡°What do you think?¡± Kannal asked Osiris from the front of the first division. ¡°Do you think the O¡¯Brien Empire will make a move today?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Osiris shrugged as his abyss-like eyes swept his surroundings. ¡°But I bet Senior Wukong is praying they do.¡± ¡°Ace, Mira, and Leo too, I¡¯d imagine,¡± Kannal smiled helplessly, knowing how antsy their ¡®saints¡¯ were getting. ¡°If not today, then soon,¡± Osiris replied. ¡°I can¡¯t see the O¡¯Brien Empire and the others remaining this patient if we keep on expanding at this rate.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you''re probably right,¡± Kannal said as he came to a stop, commanding the troops following them to do the same. ¡°Looks like they really were expecting us,¡± Osiris said lightly as he calmly scanned the army in front of them. ¡°As long as no enemy saints intervene, this was still the best-case scenario of Cirulus¡¯ predictions,¡± Kannal shrugged. Their first division had only made it around half the distance to their target city when they came across their fully prepared target force. Still, as they had expected as much, the rest of the soldiers weren¡¯t worried or surprised, more just anxious to begin. At the same time, floating leisurely in the clouds above, Ace and Cirulus were looking down calmly. ¡°What does that expression mean?¡± Cirulus asked as he glanced at the face of his young master. ¡°Can you sense an enemy saint?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ace grinned as he looked down at a large but surprisingly unassuming man hidden amongst the enemy¡¯s ranks. ¡°And it¡¯s an old friend from the Cult of Darkness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s the only one?¡± Cirulus asked, still unphased. ¡°Saint?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°Yeah, he is. But there are still five warriors of the ninth rank with him.¡± ¡°Five?¡± Cirulus asked with mild shock before noticing the weird expression that was forming on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°And what does that expression mean?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something weird about those five,¡± Ace frowned slightly. ¡°It¡¯s like they¡¯ve used a transformation of some sort, one that not even I can see through clearly.¡± Hearing that, Cirulus¡¯ relaxed expression all but disappeared, only to be replaced by a pensive frown. ¡°If I had to guess, I¡¯d bet that they¡¯re the Cult¡¯s two winged fallen angels.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± Ace nodded before disregarding their presence altogether. He¡¯d already heard of the Radiant Church¡¯s Angels and the Cult¡¯s Fallen Angels. He knew they were each strongest division, but unless they had the strength of at least a saint, they wouldn¡¯t be able to garner his attention. According to Arianna, experts from the higher realms weren¡¯t able to descend into lesser planes like theirs very easily. As such, the sovereigns of light and darkness came up with an ingenious method of sending their experts down to protect their faith in the lower realms by having some of the experts by their side enter the bodies of mortals from said lower worlds. Unfortunately, the requirements for said bodies were particularly strict. As everyone knows, the average talented mortal warrior could only cultivate up to the peak of the sixth rank before needing to cultivate battle-qi. Unfortunately, said mortals could only withstand the strength of a two-winged angel, which can only produce the strength of a ninth-rank expert. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Unless part of the Pavilion, only those with special physiques or bloodline could cultivate to the seventh rank without battle-qi. Such experts could withstand the power of a four-winged angel, which had the might of an early staged saint. Those who were able to reach the eighth rank were able to withstand the power of a six-winged angel who could produce the might of a mid-stage saint. As for those exceedingly rare experts who could rely purely on their fleshy bodies to cultivate to the ninth rank, they could withstand the might of an eight-winged angel, who in turn could wield the power of a peak-stage saint. As for those who could cultivate to the saint stage without battle-qi, apparently, the Yulan Plane had never produced such an expert, but according to legend, such an expert could withstand the might of the legendary ten-winged angel, an angel whose might matched that of a deity. All that is to say, in Ace¡¯s eyes, the only one he felt the need to pay attention to was Sulturn, the only saint hidden amongst the enemy¡¯s ranks. As the strongest expert of the First Division, Kannal was the one who stepped forward to address their enemies, but as he did, a cold glint flashed across the beady eyes of the giant. The young swordsman barely had time to react before a jet-black beam of battle-qi shot towards his head. The moment he sensed it, Kannal understood he didn¡¯t stand a chance at blocking it, even with all the improvements he¡¯d made over this last year or so. Still, his face didn¡¯t show an ounce of fear. Just as the attack neared its target, a barrier of flame suddenly enveloped the young swordsman causing the dark beam to incinerate. ¡°Damn!¡± The overbearing saint hidden among the foot soldiers grunted as the ordinairy mortals around him scurried away from him. ¡°I wanted to see the look on your face after I killed one of your little friends.¡± ¡°Trust you scum from the Cult of Darkness to act with such shamelessness,¡± Ace sighed casually as though he couldn¡¯t see the five fallen angels ¡®secretly¡¯ attempting to surround him. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Ace,¡± Sulturn snarled as he slowly floated up as though he was prepared to take Ace on. ¡°Or should I call you Luffy?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t address me at all,¡± Ace replied. ¡°Just the thought of sharing the same air as you makes me sick!¡± ¡°Sulturn!¡± Osiris muttered, his voice colder than ever before as he glared at the man in the sky. ¡°Osiris?¡± Ace asked upon feeling Osiris¡¯ killing intent. ¡°It was him,¡± Siris snarled as though he had seen his archnemesis. ¡°He¡¯s the reason my family were killed all those years ago!¡± ¡°Fancy seeing you here,¡± Sulturn said as he looked at Osiris with a sadistic light flickering in his eyes. ¡°Ever since hearing that you¡¯d joined the pavilion, you were the one I wanted to run into most after Ace.¡± Seeing the murderous light in Siris¡¯ eyes, the sadistic grin on Sulturn¡¯s face only widened. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask about your sister? She really misses you, you know.¡± Osiris¡¯ raging killing intent seemed to climb to all new heights at the mere mention of his traitorous excuse for a sister. Sulturn barely managed to open his mouth when an arrow whirred through the air aiming to pierce his skull. ¡°Hahaha, so much hostility,¡± Sulturn grinned as he casually caught the arrow between his index finger and thumb. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll deal with you shortly, but first, I¡¯ll deal with your little friend.¡± ¡°Ace,¡± Siris called. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him. I want to be the one to kill him in the future!¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Ace nodded indifferently, before turning back to Sulturn, his face now void of emotion. After finding out that it was he who caused his friend so much pain, Ace had lost any interest in menial chit-chat. ¡°Take your men and disappear, now!¡± ¡°You really haven¡¯t understood your situation yet, have you?¡± Sulturn smirked as he looked at the cold-faced teen. ¡°MOVE, NOW!¡± Suddenly, six eerie black auras shot into the sky, one from each cult member, before meeting in the centre, directly above Ace¡¯s position, creating a pitch-black sphere of energy trapping Ace. The might of which matched that of a mid-staged saint. ¡°HAHAHA, serves you right, you arrogant little bastard!¡± Sulturn roared with laughter. ¡°How do you like our [Fallen Angel Battle Formation]? Unless you have the strength of a strong mid-staged saint, you should forget about escaping and from in there, you can¡¯t attack us, but we can still attack you!¡± Sulturn was ecstatic. After killing Ace, the dark empress would undoubtedly reward him handsomely for killing the biggest threat to their organisation. But aside from him and the other angels who were focused on maintaining the formation, all the other spectators had odd expressions on their faces. Hell, they weren¡¯t even looking at him. Before he could figure out what they were staring at, a young but indifferent yet oh-so-familiar voice entered his ears, sending a shiver down his spine. ¡°You¡¯re facing the wrong way,¡± Ace voiced coldly from right behind the giant saint. Sulturn¡¯s eyes widened as his eyes constricted. He spun round whilst throwing his body out the way as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. He turned around just in time to see a seemingly unassuming crimson ball of fire in Ace¡¯s palm aiming for the centre of his stomach. As ordinairy as the ball of fire seemed at first glance, the fact that his instincts were screaming for him to escape was all Sulturn needed to know. He couldn¡¯t allow it to touch him. Unfortunately, Ace was simply too fast. All he could do was watch as the flame landed, and for a split second, when nothing happened, he believed he had just been overreacting, but that quickly changed when that seemingly simple ball of flame erupted, creating a heaven-shattering explosion. ¡°Pathetic!¡± Ace snorted as he watched Sulturn use the blast from the explosion to help him escape, not bothering to chase after him. Book 6: Chapter 26 – Wukong Takes Action Similar incidents were happening at the same time on all four battlefields; each of the cult¡¯s saints had stepped onto the battlefield, only to be intercepted by the ¡®saints¡¯ of the Gol territory. Unfortunately, aside from Wukong, the others weren¡¯t able to deal with it quite as easily. The moment the [Fallen Angel Battle Formation] was deployed on the battlefield of the second division, Killian, Leo, and Alissa found themselves in a precarious situation, where they were constantly bombarded by the attacks of the six fallen angels sent to this battlefield. And whilst five of them were only of the ninth rank and, as such, easily dealt with, there was still one saint among them. Even though said expert was only at the early stages of the saint rank, he was still a saint nonetheless. It required the combined effort of Leo and Killian to deal with each strike. Still, both man and lion understood that they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep this up for long. ¡°You told Ace already?¡± Alissa asked worriedly when she saw drops of blood escaping the corners of Killian¡¯s mouth as he blocked yet another blow to keep her safe. ¡°Roar,¡± Leo nodded as he constantly wielded his flames to attack the incoming strikes. ¡°How long will he¡­¡± Alissa didn¡¯t have time to finish her next question as she saw the cocoon of pure darkness enveloping them crack all of a sudden before dissipating and turning into motes of light. ¡°Ace,¡± Killian grinned as he saw the body of the saint-level fallen angel dead by his feet. ¡°You guys alright?¡± Ace asked back hurriedly as he scanned each of them, a sigh of relief escaping his lips when he failed to see any serious injuries. ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Killian nodded. ¡°Did they send saints to your battlefield as well?¡± Alissa asked sceptically as it hadn¡¯t been longer than about 15 minutes since the start of the battle, yet Ace had somehow travelled god knows how many miles to get to them. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ace frowned as he turned to look in the direction of Amira¡¯s battlefield. The moment Leo told him they were trapped via their bond, he immediately left Cirulus in charge of the first division so he could make it here on time. Now that he could see everyone here was safe, he couldn¡¯t help but be worried about Amira. Though she had the power of a saint, that was only reluctantly. She had gained insights into Wind¡¯s Profound Mystery of Velocity and Light¡¯s Profound Mystery of Lightspeed. In terms of raw speed, she would find it hard to find a match among saints at the early stage, but when it came to power and endurance¡­ The only saving grace was that whilst Division Two¡¯s battlefield was closest to Division One, Amira and those of Division Four were closest to Wukong. As long as Wukong was there, he doubted anything would happen to Amira, but still, until he personally laid eyes on her and made sure she was alright, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rest easy. ¡°Go,¡± Killian said, easily able to guess what had Ace so worried. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine now!¡± Ace nodded before stamping on the ground and basically teleporting as he shot off into the distance, leaving Killian and the others gaping as they looked down at the crater he had left. Over the last year or so, aside from the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire, which was complete, Ace¡¯s insights into the Profound Mysteries of Heat and Flamebody had deepened; his most significant improvement came from his recent insights into the Profound Mystery of Explosions. Although it was only still at its most infant stage, the additional power it provided him with was substantial. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. It was because of that insight that Ace¡¯s use of [Soru] had skyrocketed. By creating a small flame beneath his foot and detonating it the moment he was about to step off using [Soru], the sudden burst of acceleration made it seem like he was teleporting, and still, that was still the most basic application. Ace was greatly looking forward to the day he was able to fuse the profound mysteries of the essence of fire with explosions. At that point, he would be able to cause parts of his [Pseudo-battle-qi] to explode whilst maintaining the rest of it. Still, that was a matter for the future. Right now, all he could do was pray Amira and Wukong were safe as he sped through the skies breaking the sound barrier with each step. . . . As Ace predicted, Wukong quickly dealt with the fallen angels that appeared on his battlefield before speeding over to support Amira. Though he had to face two saint level fallen angels, both were merely at the early stages of the saint realm. His strength had just touched the peak of the saint realm before Ace entered his coma, as for now¡­ The six fallen angels didn¡¯t even have time to set up their battle formation before being smashed to a pulp by Wukong¡¯s crystalline staff. As for Amira, like Wukong and Ace, she was too fast to be trapped by the formation. Still, there were two saint level experts amongst those deployed on her battlefield, one of whom was ¡®Granny Harriet¡¯ the six-winged fallen angel at the middle stages of the saint level. ¡°You must be Amira, Princess of the Rohault Empire,¡± Maria said indifferently as she stared at the dual wielding swordsman in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re the reason that Ace rejected my mother¡¯s marriage proposal all those years ago.¡± Amira didn¡¯t respond; she simply stood in the air facing the team of fallen angels who had failed to capture her. Still, she knew exactly what Maria was referring to. Ace had long since told her about Empress Shelia¡¯s proposal for him to marry her daughter, effectively becoming the prince of the Dark Alliance, and she, of course, recognised Maria. Though they had never met in person, as the princess of one of the most powerful Empires on the continent, she knew of all the continent¡¯s top movers and shakers, and the princess of the Cult of Darkness was definitely one of those movers and shakers. Whether it was her background or her talent, she was almost without peer. Still, Amira wasn¡¯t bothered by that. If it weren¡¯t for the presence of the six-winged fallen angel, Harriet, Amira wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near as bothered by Princess Maria and the rest of her group. ¡°It¡¯s fine; I don¡¯t need you to respond,¡± Maria continued, not seeming to mind Amira¡¯s silence as she calmly summoned the purple-black treasured long sword from her interspatial ring. ¡°They say your generation is the golden generation for talents, far eclipsing that of even my own. As the number one woman of my generation, I just want to see how true that is by challenging the number one woman of your generation. What do you say?¡± A sadistic smirk formed on the beautiful face of the princess as she prepared to make a move when her eyes constricted suddenly. ¡°This king always knew you were trash, Maria,¡± Wukong snorted as he appeared between his junior sister and the group of fallen angels. ¡°Wukong¡­¡± Maria gritted her teeth, indignation and a hint of fear flickering in her big black eyes. ¡°Did this king give you permission to talk,¡± Wukong snorted disdainfully. ¡°Unless you want to eat this king¡¯s staff again, you should keep that hideous mouth of yours shut! And who do you think you are to challenge this king¡¯s seventh sister? Hmph! This king challenges you, your shitty mother, and your bastard father.¡± The moment Wukong appeared, a relaxed smile appeared on Amira¡¯s face; as much as he liked to cause trouble, she knew he was nothing if not reliable. On the opposite side, Maria and the others were all staring cautiously at Wukong. The general public didn¡¯t know much about Wukong, but all the higher-ups of the major forces did. Over the years, he had had run-ins with each of the peak geniuses of his generation, Maria included. But like Saber, the Cult of Darkness had kept it quiet. How could they volunteer the information of their number one genius and princess being ravaged by an unknown youth? His ridiculous strength made a lot more sense now; after all, with an expert like Arianna for a master, how could he be anything but a monster? It was also for that reason that despite the fact he had yet to break into the saint realm, none of the group from the Cult of Darkness dared to underestimate him. Whether it was Arianna, Ace, Aiden, or even Amira, which one of them wasn¡¯t a freak who could defeat those several realms above them? ¡°Maria,¡± Granny Harriet said coldly as she stared at Wukong, not daring to take her eyes off the ape-like man for even a second. ¡°You handle the girl and leave Wukong to me.¡± As soon as her words left her mouth, her six-black wings flapped gently once, propelling her frail body forth as she summoned a sabre from her storage ring. At the same time, Wukong stomped on the ground, causing his body to transform into a bolt of lightning as he shot forward. The collision of the two peak experts created an explosion that sent the soldiers of both armies stumbling back, unable to maintain their footing. When they looked up again, one figure was sent flying back, crashing into the ground in the distance, knocking over any trees that got in its way. ¡°A mere mid-staged saint isn¡¯t enough to whet the appetite of this king!¡± Book 6: Chapter 27 – Rohault Princess Vs Princess of Darkness (1) Everyone stared at Wukong in shock and awe. Even those whose senses weren¡¯t sharp enough to determine Harriet¡¯s exact level could see she was a saint, whilst he was just a mortal. But for Maria and the other fallen angels who understood the truth, their shock was several times more. If before they were looking at Wukong cautiously, now there was a definitive element of fear. They knew that even amongst saints of her level, Harriet ranked near the top, and yet, Wukong sent her flying with seemingly little to no effort. The only ones who weren¡¯t shocked by this outcome were Amira, Faye, and Lance. If anything, they would¡¯ve been more shocked had things ended up any different; after all, in terms of talent, Wukong was the only one, not including Amira and Leo, who could compete with Ace in the Pavilion. Harriet¡¯s shock was no less than Maria and the other Fallen Angels; in fact, it was even more. Wukong¡¯s last attack held a spiritual element to it, causing her to be temporarily disorientated. Still, she didn¡¯t have time to waste time thinking about what just happened, as she noticed that Wukong¡¯s attention had shifted from her to Maria, causing the young woman to subconsciously tremble in fear. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wukong voiced as his eyes turned back to the elderly sabre-wielding woman. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Upon realising that she wouldn¡¯t be a match for the young ape-like warrior in her current state, she undid the seal that was restraining her power in this body. It had to be remembered that each of the souls currently inhabiting the bodies of the fallen angels were experts from the higher plains. Unfortunately, the bodies they were placed in weren¡¯t capable of withstanding their full powers, causing them to seal it away. Though it was possible to undo the seal ¨C as Harriet had just done ¨C it came at a cost. Since the bodies of the mortals used weren¡¯t able to withstand such power, they would slowly wither away and die. Still, in a situation like this, Harriet unhesitantly undid her seal ¨C Wukong was simply too strong. ¡°Granny, you¡­¡± Maria¡¯s eyes became slightly watery as she looked at the cold and indifferent old woman who was essentially killing herself. Though Harriet was cold and indifferent, even in front of Maria, she had still been the one who basically raised her all these years. After all, as the rulers of one of the most powerful forces on the continent, whether it was her mother or her father, neither had the time to spend as much time with her as she would¡¯ve liked. Harriet didn¡¯t only raise her; she even trained her as both a mage and a warrior. She was a big part of the reason she had become as strong as she had, and now¡­ ¡°Leave the monkey to me,¡± Harriet indifferently commanded. ¡°You kill the girl and escape!¡± A fierce but firm look appeared in Maria¡¯s eyes as she coldly responded. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°You all continue to underestimate me too much,¡± Wukong grinned as he took an unhurried but measured step forward. ¡°Tribulation Stepper ¨C First Step!¡± As he said that, a giant purple bolt of lightning the width of a tree trunk descended, striking the heads of all of the fallen angels, instantly killing two and leaving two disorientated and severely injured as they fell to their knees, clutching their heads and screaming. The only ones who weren¡¯t phased by that strike were Harriet, who had easily sidestepped the attack, and Maria, who was apparently protected by some sort of magical amulet. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a one-time use as both the barrier and amulet immediately shattered. Wukong though, acted as though he couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about the damage he inflicted. Instead, he simply raised his foot in order to take another step. ¡°Seco¡­¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Harriet snarled as she shot forward like a bullet, appearing in front of Wukong in the blink of an eye, knowing she couldn¡¯t afford to allow Wukong another chance to strike. Though she had dodged it, she had still sensed the spiritual power infused in that last strike. It was the main reason why those two mortal fallen angels were still screaming in pain. And although Maria was a saint with a fairly powerful soul for her realm, it was clear she was still inferior to Wukong spiritually. Should the next strike be allowed to land, the damage done could very well be fatal. ¡°Stupid old hag,¡± Wukong cursed as he blocked the arcing sabre with his staff. ¡°Don¡¯t think this king won¡¯t kill you because you¡¯re old!¡± Maria, who had taken one final look at the clash between her Granny and Wukong to make sure she wasn¡¯t defeated so easily, was brought back to reality by the grunt of one of her family¡¯s fallen angels. Looking back over her shoulder, she noticed that one of the two still-living fallen angels who had survived Wukong¡¯s last attack had suddenly collapsed with his head rolling on the ground beside him, and just behind him was the fleeting afterimage of the young caramel-skinned dual-swordsman ¨C Amira Rohault. ¡°Since when don¡¯t I exist?!¡± Maria growled, still greatly agitated by the impending death of the woman who basically raised her. Amira frowned when she realised she wouldn¡¯t make it to kill the last mortal fallen angel before being intercepted. She wanted to kill both Fallen Angels before facing the enraged princess of darkness. Unfortunately, although she was slightly faster than the princess, she was further away. In the end, all she could do was focus on the biggest threat. ¡°Get up,¡± Maria barked at the kneeling black-winged angel. ¡°Hurry up and kill the rest of those mortals.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness,¡± the fallen angel respectfully replied as he stumbled to his feet, ignoring the roaring headache he was suffering. ¡°Lance, Faye,¡± Amira called out with a little worry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Faye shouted back as she leapt towards the peak ninth-rank fallen angel fearlessly. ¡°We¡¯ve got this!¡± Even though he was badly injured, Faye and Lance knew not to underestimate their opponent. After all, he was a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank. Still, they didn¡¯t have to defeat him; they just had to keep him busy until Wukong and or Amira were done with their fights. Something that, with their recent improvements, was very possible. Hearing their confidence, Amira sighed with relief as she turned back to face her opponent with a calm confidence. ¡°Do you really think that you stand a chance just because I don¡¯t have support?¡± Maria growled as she slashed her longsword at Amira¡¯s flawless neck. ¡°Ignorance!¡± It was at that moment that Amira did something that shocked her and all those watching. It had to be remembered that although they knew Amira was virtually peerless among her generation, she had never revealed her bloodline to the public¡­ Until now!¡± The moment Amira¡¯s spiritual projection appeared behind her, cultivation jumped straight from the peak of the sixth rank to the peak of the seventh as a golden battle-qi seemingly made of pure mage-force coated her body. If before she was only slightly faster than her opponent, now, the difference in speed was clear as day. And to make it worse, Amira¡¯s skill with the sword was clearly a level or two above Maria¡¯s. Both Amira¡¯s katanas danced around her opponent as though each had a mind of their own, slowly allowing Amira to suppress her opponent. Even as Maria leapt back to put some distance between them, Amira stayed glued to her like a shadow, each strike aimed at a vital point, causing the nerves of the princess of darkness to constantly stay taut. Whilst one of Amira¡¯s katana¡¯s flashed like a light seemingly flickering in and out of existence with incredible speed and precision, trying to pierce Maria¡¯s weak spots, her other katana moved with the wind flowing from one strike to the next with grace and a deadly elegance. Maria¡¯s only saving grace was that although Amira¡¯s speed had clearly reached and surpassed the average early saint, her raw power was very much that of a mortal, allowing her battle-qi to defend against the few strikes that made it past her sword. Still, if things carried on like this, it was only a matter of time before Amira¡¯s attacks found a way through her slowly weakening battle-qi. ¡°Is this the limit of the number one woman of your generation?¡± Amira smirked. ¡°DON¡¯T UNDERESTIMATE ME!¡± Maria roared as she ignored Amira¡¯s incoming slash, seemingly wanting to exchange injury for injury. Amira¡¯s eyes constricted as she saw that, not because of the power of the blow but because of the vicious nature of the attack. Amira saw Maria¡¯s jet-black battle-qi transmute into what appeared to be a viscous inky-black liquid that made her hair stand on edge. Even before she took the time to understand what had happened, she instinctively leapt back, unwilling to get touched by that. Unfortunately, for the first time in a long time, Amira was a little slow to completely avoid it. In the end, all she could do was raise her swords to block as she went on to use the impact of their clash to put some distance between them. A frown appeared on Amira¡¯s otherwise beautiful face as she studied the sticky black liquid that appeared to be eroding her light style [Force Armour]. ¡°Law of Darkness: Profound Mystery of Evil¡­¡± Book 6: Chapter 28 – Rohault Princess Vs Princess of Darkness (2) ¡®I can¡¯t allow myself to get touched by that,¡¯ Amira thought to herself as she studied the corrosive properties of the viscous black liquid. As a member of the Pavilion whose comprehension had stepped past the impose stage, Amira had obviously read the basic introduction to each of the profound mysteries of the seven laws; as such, she already knew that the Profound Mystery of Evil was one that could be used to form a number of different types of poisons, both material and spiritual. Although Maria¡¯s comprehension of said mystery was still very much in the embryonic stages, only able to affect the material body, it was exceedingly dangerous for someone like Amira. There were two factors that one had to take into account when talking about the strength when utilising a profound mystery. The first was the user¡¯s insights into said mystery. It went without saying that the deeper the insights, the more profound the effects. The second factor was the realm of the user, the higher the realm, the more potent the poisonous nature. The reason for Mira¡¯s worry was obviously the latter. Although Amira was able to fight against a saint of the early stages like Maria, her body was only at the sixth rank. The effect of said poison would be disastrous. Still, Amira didn¡¯t seem fearful. Cautious, maybe, but not scared. To her, it just meant she had to stay focused that little bit more. Maria, on the other hand, was still glaring venomously at her younger opponent. She had just broken through to the saint realm a little over a month ago and had been on cloud nine ever since, but today had brought her crashing down to earth. Not just because of the inevitable death of her Granny Harriet but also because she was now being forced to face reality. Not only was she inferior to two of the experts of her generation ¨C Olivier Akerlund and Wukong ¨C she was also inferior to two of the experts of the generation after hers. Ace she could accept, barely. After all, he was the definition of a freak of nature. There was simply no point comparing oneself to him. But now there was also Amira. It was beyond frustrating! Still, the insight she gained into the laws of darkness that allowed her to become a saint in the first place was her saving grace. Even though it wasn¡¯t one that allowed her to directly increase her power, it did increase her combat efficiency. ¡°Today,¡± Maria growled as the inky black liquid spread, merging with her battle-qi, causing the ground beneath her feet to erode and disintegrate. ¡°You will die today!¡± Amira didn¡¯t care much for her words; her eyes remained placid yet unwaveringly focused as she took a deep breath. Maria¡¯s eyes suddenly constricted as Amira moved at a speed that seemed to defy the laws of physics, suddenly appearing slightly to the left of the princess of darkness, the blade of her sword creating a faint whistling sound as it arced towards her neck. Still, Maria ignored the blow as she too swung her sword, aiming to trade injury for injury. Unfortunately, Amira was simply too fast. She moved like a spectre appearing and disappearing around her opponent, attacking before Maria could react and disappearing before her sword could near the hem of her clothes. In terms of raw battle prowess, the superior of the two was clear as day. Unfortunately, battle prowess was far from the be-all and end-all. Every time either of her swords made contact with the thick gooey black liquid-like battle-qi, Amira had to use even more of her mageforce to expunge the liquid before it made contact with either of her blades and even though when using her bloodline ability, her soul jumped to the seventh-rank and her soul to the ninth, because her opponent was a saint, the amount of mageforce she had to use was substantial. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Within a minute, she was breathing harder and faster than ever, but still, her eyes remained focused as though she couldn¡¯t feel the burning of her lungs with each breath from fatigue. And to be fair, she couldn¡¯t. During the fight, without her even realising, she had entered a miraculous state where her mind, body, and soul were all working in perfect harmony to deepen her connection with the laws of wind. Without even realising it, she had stopped using the Profound Mystery of Lightspeed all together, but as a result, her comprehension of the Law of Wind¡¯s Profound Mystery of Velocity deepened with every slash. By that point, even Maria could see her very visible improvements. It was to the point where she no longer dared to try and counter, focusing solely on defending. Amira¡¯s raw power may not have improved directly, but the faster her strikes became, the more power she was able to generate, and Maria could sense that her battle-qi wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand that onslaught on its own. Even if Amira was to stop improving, Maria wouldn¡¯t be able to last longer than another minute at most, but the most frustrating thing was that Amira continued to improve steadily, showing no signs of slowing anytime soon. Maria desperately wanted to scream in frustration, but Amira refused to give her the time to do that. ¡°JUST DIE ALREADY!¡± Maria screamed hysterically as she used her free hand to claw at Amira¡¯s eyes with her corrosive ¡®Evil¡¯ liquid coating her slender, claw-like fingers. The overwhelming threat of death from Maria¡¯s suicidal attack woke the little caramel-skinned Amazonian from her focused state just in time to jump out of the way. Unfortunately, as she awoke from her enlightened state, all the fatigue that had built up hit her at once. She managed to dodge Maria¡¯s poisoned claw, but with Amira¡¯s weakened state, Maria would have to be a fool not to capitalise on it. ¡°DIE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!¡± Maria screeched as she swung her sword, focusing little on technique and more on raw power. There was nothing she wanted more than to tear Amira apart limb from limb! Amira barely had time to raise her swords. Still, between her growing fatigue and her low realm, the fact that she wasn¡¯t sliced in two was a miracle in and of itself. A grunt escaped Mira¡¯s parched lips as she felt the webs of her hand split open as both swords were sent flying. ¡°MIRA!¡± Wukong roared as he wanted to go to her aid, but how could Harriet just let him leave? ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± The old woman snarled venomously as she wielded her sabre to bombard Wukong, preventing him from escaping. ¡°DAMMIT YOU OLD HAG!¡± Wukong roared as his eyes reddened with an unbridled rage. ¡°IF SEVENTH SISTER DIES, THIS KING SWEARS TO THE OVERGODS TO PERSONALLY SLAUGHTER EVERY MEMBER OF THE CULT!¡± Harriet¡¯s wrinkles wiggled around like snakes as she merely smirked, paying his threat no mind at all. Wukong wasn¡¯t the only one worried; both Faye and Lance desperately wanted to help, but not only were they too far away, but they were also in the middle of a brutal battle against the only remaining mortal fallen angel. With no weapon to hold, Amira could only beg her body to move as she unwillingly watched the blade of Maria¡¯s long sword pierce towards her heart. ¡°Ugh!¡± Mira grunted as she spat a mouthful of blood on the grass beneath her feet. Just before being stabbed, Mira had moved just enough to avoid her heart being skewered. Unfortunately, Maria¡¯s blade pierced right through her shoulder, exiting out the back, but the worst part was that the inky black liquid Mira had tried so hard to avoid had now seeped inside her and was ravaging her insides. The pain was excruciating. She felt as though each cell in her body was being burnt, and yet, other than the initial grunt, she refused to make another sound as she silently glared at Maria, who stood over her body, sword still piercing the young Rohault¡¯s shoulder. She refused to give Maria the satisfaction of knowing she hurt her. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that; I hate your eyes!¡± Maria spat venomously. ¡°DIDN¡¯T YOU HEAR ME?!¡± Maria screamed. ¡°STOP STARING AT ME!¡± The world seemed to come to a stop in that moment. Everyone watched as Maria¡¯s hand shot forward, her index and middle fingers and thumb coming together to make a pincer as though she wanted to rip Amira¡¯s eyes out of their sockets. A myriad of different emotions was being displayed, from helplessness to shame, to unwillingness, to envy-filled happiness, but just as Maria¡¯s talon-like hand was inches from Amira¡¯s still tranquil eyes, a new emotion appeared among the mix overshadowing all others. It was pure, unbridled wrath. ¡°DON¡¯T FUCKING TOUCH HER!¡± Ace roared from over a kilometre away as his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] exploded out, stunning the unexpecting Maria on the spot. It was only for the briefest of moments, but for the Ace of today, a brief moment was all it took. The sound of a deafening explosion sounded in the distance, but before the audience could even start to turn their heads, the dark-haired teen had already appeared beside Amira, his blackened fist slamming into the side of the face of the still-dazed princess of darkness, sending Maria flying across the air, her body easily breaking the sound barrier as it shot off. Book 6: Chapter 29 – The Fall of Another Fallen Angel ¡°Mira,¡± Ace whispered softly as he carefully lifted her into his arms. ¡°The sword,¡± Amira groaned. ¡°Take¡­ It out¡­¡± Ace didn¡¯t need to be told twice; without hesitation, he immediately withdrew it from Amira¡¯s shoulder and tossed it aside whilst suppressing his worry as he felt Amira¡¯s body tense from the pain. The more he studied Amira¡¯s condition, the more his worries intensified. Not only had her face turned deathly pale, but her veins had become deeply prominent whilst also taking on a sickly purple-black colour as they wriggled around like worms in her body. ¡°Are you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be¡­¡± Amira winced as a golden glow enveloped her body. ¡°Fine.¡± As Amira¡¯s light element healing spell receded, her condition seemed to improve ¨C albeit barely. The sword previously discarded by Ace suddenly levitated before shooting off into the distance, where Ace sent Maria flying. Ace¡¯s eyes went from gentle and loving to cold and murderous as he looked up to find Maria hovering in the distance. The killing intent he radiated as he stared at her was palpable to the point where many of the mortals present had to hold their breath as their bodies filled with sweat. Even Maria, a genuine saint, felt her black leather armour stick to her body as she became drenched in sweat. He didn¡¯t say anything; he merely took a simple step in her direction, but as his foot landed, his already potent killing intent seemed to multiply as he willed his fiery mageforce to coat both his and Amira¡¯s body, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to skyrocket. It was an odd sensation, to say the least. Despite the temperature reaching smouldering heights, their brains felt as though they had been dipped in a bucket of ice water. But Maria, who felt the brunt of his killing intent, felt like she was literally standing in front of the gates of hell, and Ace was the devil himself. She had already been in an emotionally unstable condition from everything else that happened, but as she stared into those emotionless pitch-black eyes, she felt like she was staring into an abyss that threatened to devour her whole. ¡°MARIA,¡± Harriet roared as she tried to fly to the young woman¡¯s side, only to have her path blocked by Wukong! ¡°Did this king say you can leave?¡± Wukong snorted, his staff descending like a bolt of lightning in an attempt to reduce the old woman¡¯s head to meat paste. ¡°Fuck off!¡± Harriet snarled as she met Wukong¡¯s staff head-on. As frustrated as Harriet was, how could her rage compare to Wukong¡¯s? Wukong was milliseconds away from being forced to watch his youngest martial sister¡¯s eyes being gouged out. Feelings of helplessness, anger, unwillingness, resentment, and a myriad of other negative emotions threatened to overwhelm him, but thankfully Ace arrived just in time. Even so, he was still left with a belly full of rage. Never in his life had he ever felt so helpless. Though he never said it, everyone knew that he chose to become an Acolyte so that he could be near Ace and the others and prevent an incident like the one that happened last year from happening again. And yet, the first time something like that happened, despite being so close, he was all but helpless. And now, the fallen angel who kept him from being able to save his junior sister wanted to simply go so she could help her so-called princess. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Fuelled by an unyielding wrath, Wukong¡¯s strikes suddenly increased in speed and power as his body began to swell slightly, almost doubling in size. ¡°DIE, DIE, DIE!!!¡± Wukong roared as his eyes reddened. Harriet¡¯s brows furrowed as she saw Wukong¡¯s enraged state. As someone who descended from an upper realm, she had seen and heard of a number of strange and impressive abilities, so seeing Wukong¡¯s state didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise. No. The reason behind her frown was because she knew that with Wukong like this, there was no way she would be able to help the little princess. All she could do was pray that Maria would be able to escape. The princess in question had no idea what her former babysitter was thinking; she was too busy fearing for her life. Her whole body started to subconsciously tremble as she willed herself to escape, but her body refused to listen to her. Ace was just about to take action and kill the woman who dared harm the woman he loved when Amira¡¯s weak yet surprisingly firm voice reached his ears. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ kill¡­ her¡­¡± Ace¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he heard Amira¡¯s strained words, but understanding came as she eventually finished her sentence. ¡°I¡­ want to¡­ do it,¡± Amira whispered, barely audible. As Ace looked into the eyes of the young woman in his arms, he saw nothing but resolve. ¡°Fine,¡± Ace acquiesced, his killing intent still not receding. ¡°But the rest of her people must die!¡± As he said that, his eyes fell on the dark-haired middle-aged man standing hesitantly beside Lance and Faye. As soon as Ace arrived, everyone paused whatever they were doing to watch what was going to happen next, but as soon as the mortal fallen angel felt Ace¡¯s eyes on him, he understood that if he wanted to live, he needed to escape. Without a second thought, he took to the skies as his long, black wings flapped frantically. Unfortunately, the person he wanted to escape from was Ace. Using his new and improved [Soru], Ace left a crater where he stood as he appeared above the head of the unsuspecting fallen angel. ¡°Die,¡± Ace muttered softly as a flame manifested beneath Ace¡¯s foot, landing on the crown of the man¡¯s head before exploding, creating an earth-shattering roar. As the flames disappeared, the onlookers watched in shock as they found not so much as a trace of the angel¡¯s remains. Just like that, an expert with strength at the peak of the ninth rank had been completely and utterly incinerated. Lance, Faye and all the soldiers watched in awe as Ace stood calmly in mid-air, looking down on the battlefield like a deity. For many, it was the first time they had seen Ace take action; as such, although they knew he had to be exceedingly talented, many subconsciously believed the rumours of his strength had been greatly exaggerated, but now, after seeing it first hand, everyone could only acknowledge that the title ¡®Son of Heaven¡¯ truly was fitting. ¡°Ugh,¡± Granny Harriet grunted as she coughed a mouthful of blood whilst sliding back across the ground after taking a ruthless staff to the gut. Still, Wukong refused to give her even a moment¡¯s breathing room as he chased after her once again, the whites in his eyes having all but disappeared, being replaced by a deep crimson colour making him look like a deranged ape. ¡®I won¡¯t last much longer at this rate.¡¯ Harriet thought to herself as she barely evaded another of Wukong¡¯s crazed swings before taking one final glance at the young woman she had basically raised, who was now paralysed with fear. ¡°MARIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE?! RUNN!¡± Hearing that, the princess of darkness finally regained some control over her body. Enough to turn her head in the direction of the familiar and comforting voice, but what she saw shocked her to her core. It had to be remembered that after partially undoing the seal on her strength, Harriet¡¯s strength returned to the peak of the saint realm, and yet, she was a battered, bruised, and bloody mess. Still, it was that same battered, bruised, and bloody mess that still had the mind to worry about her safety instead of focusing solely on the monster in front of her. Maria¡¯s eyes welled with tears as her eyes reddened; seeing a woman she loved in so much pain was unbearable. Still, she understood there was nothing she could do here, not with both Ace and Wukong present. She grit her teeth before taking one final look at Ace, who was indifferently staring straight back at her. His face was void of any emotions, but those who knew him well understood that this was the face he made when he was at his angriest. It was the face he made when he was forced to suppress all of his emotions because if he was to allow his emotions in, he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to control himself. Still, facing his indifference, Maria felt as though she was being looked down on. ¡°THIS ISN¡¯T OVER!¡± Maria grit her teeth before she shot into the air like a bullet. Ace did nothing to stop her; he merely watched her. But deep inside, he couldn¡¯t help but agree. This was far from over. Until the Cult of Darkness had been completely and utterly uprooted, this would never be over. Seeing Maria disappear into the distance with no one chasing her, a relieved sigh escaped the bloodied lips of the elderly fallen angel as she almost failed to dodge another of Wukong¡¯s brutal swings. ¡°Since I can¡¯t escape anyway,¡± Maria grinned sadistically as her body also began to swell with an alarming amount of pure energy. ¡°I might as well get rid of as many of the Cult¡¯s enemies as I can.¡± ¡°KONG, NOO!¡± Ace raised a hand, summoning as much mageforce as possible to surround the old woman, when he saw Wukong charge ¨C almost mindlessly ¨C straight at her as she prepared to blow up. ¡°BOOM!¡± Book 6: Chapter 30 – Amira’s Plan ¡°I just heard about Mira and Kong,¡± Killian said as he, Leo, and Alissa came barging through the doors of Milianna¡¯s clinic in the city of Gol. ¡°How are they?¡± ¡°Not good,¡± Faye said in a hushed tone, worried about disturbing the already frail Ace. ¡°They were in critical condition when we brought them back, but Aunt Milli is in with them now.¡± ¡°With Aunt Milli¡¯s abilities, they¡¯ll be fine, right?¡± Alissa asked, expecting Faye and Lance to nod in agreement, only to find them both looking hesitant and unsure. It had to be remembered that Milianna¡¯s comprehension of the Edict of Life had reached the profound stage. Aside from Arianna, whose insights into the laws of light had surpassed most deities, Milianna was the best healer any of them knew. For Lance and Faye to know that and still be so pensive, the severity of their conditions could be understood. ¡°Ace¡­¡± Killian said softly. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Ace smiled in an attempt to reassure this younger brother of his. ¡°Alissa and Kong will be fine!¡± Ace said that as though he was trying to convince himself rather than Killian, but whenever he thought back to the condition of both Alissa and Kong when he brought them back, his convincing himself was all he could do to keep himself from snapping. When Harriet blew herself up, Ace had been too far away to stop Wukong from charging in in his crazed state. Ultimately, all he could do was will his flames to envelope Harriet to contain the blast as much as possible. His actions had saved many of the mortals closer to the blast, but Wukong¡­ When the dust cleared, Wukong¡¯s condition was critical. His skin and flesh had been burnt off in most places on his body to the point where the whites of his bones were clearly on display. Calling his breathing shallow was a severe understatement. Ace knew he had to get him back to his mother¡¯s side as soon as possible, but he was scared about moving him in his condition in case he further aggravated his injuries. It was then, whilst Ace was deciding on how to proceed, that Amira took matters into her own hands. With Ace holding her whilst standing over Wukong¡¯s body, Amira took the chance to use the remnants of her fleeting energy to not only summon her bloodline but also use her strongest healing spell on Wukong. Ordinarily, that would¡¯ve been fine; if anything, she would¡¯ve merely lost consciousness from fatigue, but with the added strain of Maria¡¯s poisonous battle-qi still ravaging her insides, her condition went from severe to worse. She coughed a mouthful of inky black blood before directly losing consciousness as her normally healthy and flawless caramel skin turned deathly pale. It was then that Ace threw caution to the wind and took both Kong and Amira in his arms, and shot off at a speed that put his previous top speed to shame. His desire to get Mira and Kong to his mother was so strong that he, without even realising it, made a slight breakthrough, deepening his insights into the Profound Mystery of Explosions. Still, in that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was getting his loved ones to safety. Thankfully, when Amira and the others returned to the Pavilion to apply to become Acolytes, when they received the spell [Force Armour], he received the technique [Pseudo Godrealm]. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. With the spherical barrier of fire covering them, it prevented any unwanted air resistance from worsening their injuries. Still, there wasn¡¯t much he could do about the jerkiness of his movement technique, especially as he couldn¡¯t afford to slow down, as it would mean they would die before they arrived. His jerky movements definitely didn¡¯t help, but thankfully, Ace was able to bring them back to Milianna¡¯s clinic, where she spent most of her days, before either of them lost their lives. The moment Milianna saw their conditions, she urgently, yet still calmly, had Ace lie them both down before having the still frantic Ace wait outside to keep him from disturbing her. That was over two hours ago. And the only thing holding Ace together was the fact that despite being weak, both Amira and Wukong¡¯s auras were still very much alive. Suddenly, Ace jumped up as he looked towards the door, where his mother entered from. ¡°How are they? Will they be okay?¡± ¡°Wukong¡¯s stable,¡± Milianna nodded before a slightly hesitant expression appeared on her face. ¡°What about Mira?¡± Ace asked hurriedly upon noticing the expression on his mother¡¯s face. ¡°She¡¯s safe for now, but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± Ace asked frantically. ¡°But she, she¡¯s refusing further treatment,¡± Millianna explained. ¡°She says she wants to battle the poison on her own.¡± ¡°Why did you listen to her?!¡± Ace snapped. ¡°Go back in and heal her.¡± This was the first time Ace had ever raised his voice at his mother. His actions caught everyone by surprise, aside from the target of his outburst. A helpless sigh escaped Milianna¡¯s mouth before she calmly replied without answering his question. ¡°Go in and ask her yourself.¡± Ace¡¯s brows furrowed slightly, but he didn¡¯t say anything further; he simply marched past her and into the treatment room of his mother¡¯s clinic. Upon going inside, he saw Wukong, though unconscious and bandaged from head to toe, still stable, just as his mother said, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief, at least in part. But beside him was Amira. From the looks of it, her condition had barely improved. Her veins were still dark and wriggling inside her, causing unimaginable pain and discomfort, but a gentle smile hung on her face when she saw Ace¡¯s face ¨C despite his obvious worry. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Ace whispered sternly, scared his raised voice could worsen her condition. ¡°Why are you refusing treatment?¡± ¡°Look at you¡­ worrying about¡­ me,¡± Mira voiced between bated breaths with a weak but gentle smile as she ignored her pain to tease the dark-haired teen. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Ace replied, ignoring her teasing remarks. ¡°I¡¯m gonna call my mother back in, and you will be treated ¨C This isn¡¯t up for debate!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ it isn¡¯t,¡± Amira said, still retaining her angelic smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already decided¡­ I want to fight¡­ and beat this¡­ on my own.¡± ¡°Why, though?¡± Ace asked upon seeing the firm and resolute light in her eyes. ¡°You have nothing to prove!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about proving anything,¡± Amira explained. ¡°This is an opportunity for me¡­¡± Ace listened patiently as Amira explained that when she first used her healing spells, she noticed that she experienced some unexpected gains. She couldn¡¯t be sure, but she guessed it had something to do with light and darkness being opposite sides of the same coin. As such, she came up with the idea of using the poisonous dark energy inside her to refine her own healing magic and use it to comprehend the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mystery Of Purity. Ace knew it was risky, but when he looked into her firm eyes as she told him to trust her, he couldn¡¯t help but step back. First of all it wasn¡¯t his decision to make, and second, he knew exactly how talented she was. If anyone could turn this disaster into a blessing, it was her. As he came out of the room, everyone looked at him expectantly. They had heard Amira¡¯s reasoning from Milianna, so they knew what her plan was. Still, they thought it was madness, they could only hope that Ace was able to get through to her. But when he came out, instead of addressing Killian and the others, Ace turned to his mother with an apologetic expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for before, mom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, son,¡± Milianna smiled, waving her hand dismissively. ¡°I know how much little Mira means to you. But more importantly, were you able to get her to change her mind?¡± A wry smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he helplessly shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s already made her mind up; all I can do now is believe in her.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it?¡± Alissa asked in almost disbelief. ¡°We¡¯re just gonna let her sit around with poison in her body, slowly killing her?¡± ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± Ace asked back. ¡°You know how stubborn she is; once she¡¯s made her mind up, not even a sovereign would be able to change it.¡± Alissa didn¡¯t respond immediately. Although she wasn¡¯t as close to Amira as Ace, they were still good friends; as such, she understood her friend¡¯s disposition well. ¡°So what are we gonna do in the meantime?¡± Alissa asked, clearly not reconciled with leaving things as they are. ¡°Are we just gonna let those bastards from the Cult go after what they did?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Ace shook his head as a vicious glint flickered in his eyes. ¡°I intend to send a message to all of our enemies so they know the price of crossing our bottom line and are forced to think twice before doing so again in the future.¡± Book 6: Chapter 31 – Magicite Mine Over the next few days, the whole continent could only watch in disbelief as they received report after report of Ace and his Lion-type Divine Beast travelling around the whole of the Anarchic Lands, destroying each and every one of the Cult of Darkness¡¯s bases there. What was even more shocking was that the Cult seemed to have no intention of responding. They had all heard about the Cult¡¯s attempted attack on Ace and his forces, and even the fact that both Wukong and Amira were apparently severely wounded. And although many of them would outwardly take the side of the City of Gol, admonishing the Cult for sending saints to enter the battlefield of mortals, the vast majority were secretly cursing them for failing to take Ace out. ¡°Mother, Father,¡± Amira muttered weakly when she the worried expression on the faces of her ¡®parents¡¯. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to come all th¡­¡± ¡°Quiet,¡± Empress Sharanthia interrupted whilst holding one of two chubby-cheeked toddlers in her arms. ¡°What¡¯s this I hear of you refusing to be treated? That¡¯s enough of this nonscience; you will be treated now; I don¡¯t care if I have to hold you down my¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mother,¡± Amira forcibly raised her voice, ignoring the pain it put her in. ¡°Like I told Ace, I¡¯ve made my mind up already.¡± Looking into her niece¡¯s eyes, Sharanthia couldn¡¯t help but see the shadow of her beloved older brother. Despite knowing she was supposed to be the parent in this situation, seeing that firm glint in her eyes made her subconsciously back down almost immediately, something that made Emperor Jordon raise his eyes. ¡°Tell me why?¡± Sharanthia said back finally after having regained her bearings. ¡°Because if I can comprehend the profound mystery of purity now, it¡¯ll mean that in the future, I¡¯ll be able to better heal myself and those around me,¡± Amira explained calmly, her tone respectful yet still firm, showing she wasn¡¯t willing to back down. A helpless sigh escaped the Rohault Empress¡¯ lips when she heard that. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t fight you on this, on one condition!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Amira smiled sweetly, seeing her mother back down. ¡°We¡¯ll try it your way for three months,¡± Sharanthia said, her firmness matching her nieces. ¡°Ace¡¯s mother, Milianna, said that at this rate, you have at most three months before the poison in your body starts to do irreversible damage to your body. After three months, if you¡¯re still unable to comprehend the profound mystery of purity, you have to accept treatment from either Milianna or your master ¨C are we clear?¡± Amira smiled helplessly when she heard that, but she knew when to quit whilst she was ahead. ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Sharanthia snorted. ¡°Now, where¡¯s that boy Ace? I need to interrogate him on why he allowed my precious little girl to get injured under his watch.¡± ¡°Moom,¡± Amira complained. ¡°Where is he?¡± Sharanthia repeated, her voice becoming firmer as she ignored Mira¡¯s complaints. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him in a few days,¡± Amira explained, a warm feeling enveloping her chest. ¡°But I think he¡¯s still out attacking the Cult¡¯s bases.¡± ¡°He¡¯s what?¡± Jordon asked in shock. ¡°Is he crazy?¡± ¡°Very,¡± Amira nodded without hesitation as a sweet smile enveloped her face. ¡°But he wouldn¡¯t listen to reason on this matter.¡± She didn¡¯t need to say any more; both Jordon and Sharanthia, who knew the truth behind Ace and Amira¡¯s bond, understood that as angry as they were, Ace¡¯s rage was likely no less, if not more than theirs. ¡°Hmph!¡± Sharanthia snorted. ¡°At least he knows to get revenge for you.¡± . . . At the same time, deep within the central region of the Anarchic Lands, Ace had just destroyed the last known base of the Cult when he received word from Leo that he had destroyed all the bases on his list as well. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. A lot of the rage he¡¯d been holding on to had finally dispersed. A part of him wished the Cult had sent a few of their saints to greet him; in fact, he was surprised that neither they nor the O¡¯Brien Empire took the chance to intercept him. After all, it wasn¡¯t like he had hidden his presence. But what he didn¡¯t know was that both the O¡¯Brien Empire and the Cult somewhat believed Ace was trying to bait them into attacking him so he could catch them in a trap of some kind. After all, even though it wasn¡¯t quite the same, the Cult had been the first to break a rule ¨C albeit an unwritten one. In their opinion, if the Pavilion chose to act now, they could do it under the guise that one of them had been the first to break the rules. And to make matters worse, one of the people they had almost killed was Amira, the little princess of the Rohault Empire. Although the Rohault Empire was by no means stronger than the Cult, let alone the O¡¯Brien Empire, they still had more than enough power to put no small amount of pressure on either side. Still, Ace didn¡¯t care enough to ponder over these matters. If they were too scared to take advantage of his recent activities, then he¡¯d just carry on with his day. He was just making his way back to his territory when¡­ ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked down at the ground beneath him. ¡°Is that¡­¡± Not wanting to be caught off guard by any powerful enemies hoping to catch him in a trap, Ace constantly had his [Observation] spread to its limits, and he finally found something. Only, it wasn¡¯t an enemy. In fact, it wasn¡¯t even a person. His body flickered as he moved like a blur, appearing directly over the site he had locked on to. ¡®That energy,¡¯ Ace mused as he looked down at the seemingly ordinairy plains beneath him. ¡¯It feels like magicite gems. But how could there be so much in one place?¡¯ A curious expression hung on Ace¡¯s face as he calmly descended from the skies above what appeared to be an unexcavated magicite mine. If he was right, although it wouldn¡¯t mean much to him personally, he knew this would be a game changer for his budding territory. As there didn¡¯t appear to be anyone around for miles, he unhesitantly balled his fists and hammered down on the ground creating a large crater. The might of his punches now were absolutely monstrous, but instead of admiring the might of his blows, his eyes were fixed on the multi-coloured sparkling gems fixed into place. Lifting one from its place in the earth, Ace¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°This¡­ Are all of these high-ranking magicite gems?¡± Like cultivation, magicite gems could be broken down into nine ranks depending on its quality, and it went without saying that the higher the quality, the more the gem was worth. And just from a quick scan, the lowest quality gem he could sense was of the fifth rank. ¡°How did such a place form?¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but mutter. But before he could do that, he needed to take the necessary precautions to ensure his territory was the one to capitalize on this windfall. ¡°Looks like our plans will need to be altered again,¡± Ace mused as he quickly covered the crater up, making it look almost as good as new. Within a couple of hours, Ace had hurried back to the City of Gol to inform the others, but before he could, he was surprised to find two familiar auras in the confides of the palace by Amira¡¯s side. ¡°Aunty, Uncle,¡± Ace greeted as he entered the main hall where everyone was residing comfortably by the side of Amira and Wukong, who, though still injured, was able to walk about on his own. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Ace,¡± Jordon smiled amiably. ¡°I was worried about you after I heard what happened in the O¡¯Brien Empire, but I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing well.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern,¡± Ace smiled back. ¡°What about you, Aunty? How are you doing?¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Sharanthia snorted coldly. ¡°Maybe you should concern yourself less with me and focus more on the safety of my little girl.¡± ¡°Mom,¡± Amira called out hurriedly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Ace¡¯s fault!¡± ¡°No, Mira,¡± Ace voiced calmly. ¡°Your mother¡¯s right.¡± ¡°You trusted me to keep your daughter free from harm, and I failed,¡± Ace voiced sincerely as he bowed his head slightly towards the beautiful woman who sat by Mira¡¯s side. ¡°For that, I¡¯m sincerely sorry.¡± Seeing that, all those in the room who understood how prideful Ace was looked at the teen in shock. Still, they said nothing; they knew this was between Ace and his future in-laws. They weren¡¯t the only ones taken aback. Amira¡¯s biological aunt was also taken aback, not because of the actions in and of itself but more because of the overwhelming sincerity she could feel from him. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was already beating himself up about Amira¡¯s accident far more than she could. And having witnessed the bond of another pair of soulmates in the past, she could somewhat understand how he felt. ¡°Mom,¡± Amira urged softly, unable to bear seeing Ace like that. ¡°Hmph, whatever!¡± Empress Sharanthia snorted, not wanting to seem like she had forgiven him so easily. ¡°Just tell me one thing¡­ Did you make those bastards from the Cult suffer?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Ace nodded slowly. ¡°Leo and I destroyed every single known stronghold of the Cult of Darkness within the Anarchic Lands.¡± ¡°Did you not run into any of their saints?¡± Lance asked. ¡°None,¡± Ace voiced, a hint of regret in his tone. ¡°They probably worried it was a trap and recalled all their saint-level experts,¡± Cirulus guessed correctly based on the facts provided. ¡°Well, seeing as neither they nor the rest of our enemies are likely to send any more saints to intervene in the battle between mortals in the near future, what¡¯s our next plan of action, Mr Grand Marshall?¡± Alissa asked curiously. ¡°Ooh, right, that reminds me,¡± Ace suddenly voiced. ¡°When I was out, I found an undiscovered magicite mine filled with gems of at least the fifth rank.¡± Ace¡¯s words came as a shock to everyone, as the worth of such a mine was practically incalculable in terms of mortal wealth. They all understood that for a new force like theirs, such a goldmine was invaluable. ¡°Cirulus, whatever your plans were in the past, we need to change them so we can ensure that territory is under our control as soon as possible!¡± Book 6: Chapter 32 – Genius Tactician With Amira and Wukong injured, it was good that Emperor Jordon and his wife, Empress Sharanthia, came when they did. Especially as neither Emperor nor Empress were members of the Pavilion, they were free to get involved in the matter with no blowback on the Pavilion, something both were more than willing to do after Amira was attacked and almost killed. Still, instead of going out to watch over divisions three and four, like Amira and Wukong previously had, Sharanthia chose to stay behind with her daughter and two young children. Even though it didn¡¯t look like their enemies planned to send any more saints into battle, with the Cult of Darkness almost completely withdrawing from the Anarchic lands, it was better to be safe than sorry. At least if anyone did try to attack the city of Gol to finish what the Cult had started, there would be at least one uninjured saint to hold down the fort. On the other hand, Emperor Jordon remained by Ace¡¯s side, along with Leona. After telling Cirulus about his discovery, Ace watched silently as his Grand Marshall changed the plans he had already made so they could silently take advantage of their recent find. Instead of the four divisions splitting up and heading out to four battlefields, Cirulus had them act as one large battalion. To the rest of the continent, and even the lower-ranking soldiers, they did this to prevent an incident like the one with the cult from happening again. But the truth was, there were three reasons Cirulus had come up with to proceed in this manner. For one, Cirulus wanted to steamroll through each of the six cities standing between them and their target with as much speed as possible whilst losing as few of their soldiers as possible. And with Killian and the others fighting together, they precisely did that. Their opposing armies were all but obliterated with little to no help from the ordinairy soldiers. When all together, Lance and the students of the Pavilion were like a natural disaster in how they swept through their enemies, leaving a trail of blood and limbs in their wake. The second reason was that, with Killian and the other Acolytes of the Pavilion all in one place, it allowed him to allocate part of their forces ¨C those who were strong enough and he felt he could trust ¨C to remain in their newly conquered territories, to slowly work on assimilating them into the rest of their territories. The third and final reason was simply to prepare for the worst-case scenario. They were doing all of this to take control of such a high-quality magicite mine, one they couldn¡¯t afford to lose. They were hoping they could smoothly take over the territories around the mine without their enemies clocking on to their true intentions, but should those other factions learn the truth, they knew that their enemies would likely stop at nothing to get their hands on that particular windfall. Still, although they were changing their tactics, Cirulus knew that no one would think anything was strange about it. After the saint-level attacks on each division, they would likely just assume that Ace was choosing to proceed cautiously from then on. ¡°The Pavilion really cherry-picked the best of the best,¡± Jordon sighed in amazement as he watched Killian lead the charge in slaughtering their way through the fifth of the six territories between them and the complete control of the mine. ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace, who had been sitting in the air in meditation, opened his eyes to look at Amira¡¯s father curiously. ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Emperor Jordon shook his head with a wry smile as he watched Ace go back to his meditation. ¡®I now understand how he had such accomplishments at such a young age.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just Ace, Leona, on the other side of the young teen, also had her eyes closed as she focused on her comprehension. Although, with their mutated bond, Leona was essentially just absorbing Ace¡¯s comprehension to increase her own. Still, she was deeply engrossed in her training, not that Jordon knew about that unbelievable fact. Being so close to them and watching their diligence made him feel a deep sense of shame. Ace and Leona were both a fraction of his age, with comprehension of the natural laws either just shy of or far surpassing his, and yet, neither of them dared to slack off in the slightest. He couldn¡¯t help but feel as though he was being lazy. ¡®I can¡¯t believe my actions are now being influenced by these two little upstarts,¡¯ Jordon mused as he too sat down to focus on his comprehension. At the same time, within the O¡¯Brien Empire¡¯s sphere of influence in the region, a refined, scholarly-looking older man with a pair of beady eyes was pouring through the reports of Ace¡¯s recent activity with a slight frown. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°What doesn¡¯t?¡± Lanke ¨C O¡¯Brien¡¯s 22nd disciple asked with a laugh as he calmly entered the man¡¯s office. ¡°Lord Lanke,¡± the elderly gentleman hurriedly got up to bow respectfully towards the saint. ¡°It¡¯s fine, General Marnur,¡± Lanke waved his hand dismissively as he casually sat across from the black-robed scholar. ¡°There¡¯s no need to stand on ceremony when it¡¯s just the two of us. I was, after all, the one who requested your presence here in the Anarchic Lands.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. General Marnur had a very unique standing in the O¡¯Brien Empire. As an Empire that focused primarily on the ways of the warrior, Marnur had always been looked down on by his fellow countrymen for his choosing to pursue the path of a mage. Still, he never argued or fought back; he simply continued down his chosen path ¨C without a magic institute or teacher to guide him, no less. It was only when he reached the seventh rank, becoming a senior mage, that the empire understood the man¡¯s importance and chose to invest in his future. Since then, the now General¡¯s rise could only be described as meteoric. Not only had he reached the peak of the ninth rank ¨C only one step away from sainthood ¨C they also found that he had a particularly astute mind which allowed him to become the empire¡¯s leading tactician. There were two reasons for Lanke requesting the presence of this particular General, and neither of which had anything to do with his power. Though he was a powerhouse in his own right, the Gol Territory reason had five known experts who were either at or above the General¡¯s current level. No, the first reason behind his requested presence was his mind. Only a mind as sharp as Marnur¡¯s could weave its way through the minefield that surrounded Gol D. Ace and find the best path to take him down. And the second reason was one they only factored in after Lanke read the reports of Ace¡¯s forces¡¯ most recent wins, focusing not on the individual power of Killian and the other Acolytes of the Yin-Yang Pavilion but the subtle and surprisingly impressive tactics employed by the various divisions of the Gol Army. Unlike most of his fellow martial brothers and sisters, Lanke was one of the few of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples who hadn¡¯t been chosen from the War God¡¯s College. Instead, he had been cherry-picked by O¡¯Brien himself straight from the O¡¯Brien Army after choosing to head straight to the battlefield after graduating from the War God¡¯s Academy a few hundred years ago. Whilst in the army, not only did he shine due to his incredible prowess as a warrior. He also showed his ability as a talented leader. Still, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important here. What is important is that having spent so many years in the army on various battlefields, Lanke was at a very high level when it came to military tactics, and yet, even he had to marvel at the tactics used by Ace¡¯s force. Obviously, the focal point of the Gol Army¡¯s achievements had come from Killian and the others, but still, as a new force who hadn¡¯t trained together for very long, they should¡¯ve seen heavy losses, or at least heavier than what they had seen. Instead, each battle saw minimal losses, and Lanke could easily discern that it was because of their ingenious tactics. As hard as it was, Lanke could only admit his inferiority. And after looking into it, he found that the tactician at play was a former colonel from his Empire¡¯s army. Part of him wanted to go and give the current Empire and his eldest son a piece of his mind for chasing such a man away and into the arms of their enemy. Still, that would do nothing to help their current situation. As such, all he could do was request the presence of General Marnur. Still, Marnur had been here for a week already, but he was yet to make a move; all he could do was go over the reports of the last few days over and over again, seemingly making no progress. ¡°The reason I¡¯m here now is to ask if you were any closer to deciding on a path moving forward,¡± Lanke said calmly. ¡°Whatever happens, we can not allow Ace to form his own kingdom, let alone Empire. It¡¯ll be too big of a stain on my master¡¯s name.¡± ¡°I understand, Lor¡­ I mean Mr Lanke,¡± Marnur hurriedly corrected himself. ¡°But something¡¯s not adding up, and until I can make sense of the Gol Territory¡¯s recent actions, I¡¯m uncomfortable making any definitive decisions.¡± ¡°What¡¯s not making sense?¡± Lanke asked curiously. ¡°Well, before the incident with them and the Cult, the four divisions of the Gol Army had been acting independently, with incredible success, but now, they seem to have amalgamated.¡± Marnur frowned pensively. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand what has you so confused; you know that although the Gol Empire won in the end, two of their top experts were severely injured. It would be more strange if they chose to do nothing and carried on with their same tactics.¡± Lanke said back, wondering if the rumours of Marnur¡¯s tactical abilities were exaggerated. ¡°For normal people, that would be true, but Ace is anything but normal,¡± Marnur explained. ¡°On my journey up here, I went through all the intelligence reports we have on Ace, and if there¡¯s one thing I know, it¡¯s that he¡¯s extremely arrogant. Whether it¡¯s those from his generation or those older, it¡¯s clear he doesn¡¯t put many in his eyes, regardless of whether you¡¯re currently stronger than him.¡± Hearing that, Lanke¡¯s brows furrowed slightly as he thought back to the disrespect he showed his master and their Empire. Even if he is the biological child of his master, he wouldn¡¯t forgive him for showing such disrespect to the man he, Lanke, respects most in this life. Still, he knew everything Marnur said was true, so he didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°Many would argue that the injuries Amira and Wukong were too severe for them to get back to supervising one of the divisions forcing Ace and his familiar to watch over all of them together, but we both know that for an expert like Wukong¡¯s master, Arianna, injuries like that are quickly healed. Even though she said neither she nor the rest of the pavilion would get involved with their conflict with us, I very much doubt she would sit back and watch two of her disciples die.¡± ¡°What makes you think they didn¡¯t die from their injuries?¡± Lanke asked curiously. ¡°We can¡¯t get spies close in to figure out the true extent of their injuries. They very well could be dead, which would also make Ace¡¯s actions of destroying the various bases of the Cult in the region understandable.¡± ¡°No. They¡¯re definitely alive,¡± General Marnur replied categorically. ¡°All the reports on Ace¡¯s exploits, from his giving himself up to the cult to protect Amira, his familiar, and that Julius fellow, to his and Killian¡¯s repeated attack on Sabre to find and save their classmate Alissa, to everything that happened last year, they all suggest that Ace is the emotional type who would do anything if it¡¯s for those he cares about. If either Wukong or Amira had died, Ace¡¯s reaction would¡¯ve been much more aggressive, especially as all of the Cult¡¯s powerhouses had pulled out of the region. Not so much in fear of Ace, but probably out of fear of the Pavilion going back on their word. Plus, if Amira had really died, even if the Pavilion kept their word and did nothing, do you really believe that her parents, the Emperor and Empress of the Rohault Empire, two extremely powerful saints, would sit back and do nothing? ¡°If I were to wager, I¡¯d bet that at the very least, the Rohault Empress, and potentially even the Emperor, has arrived in the region to check on their daughter. From this moment on, it¡¯d be best to assume that there are two additional saints in the Gol Clan¡¯s territory. But all of that only makes the actions of the Gol Army all the more curious. Their change in behaviour¡­ it¡¯s like they¡¯re looking to take over a certain region in a hurry, but after going over the map, I haven¡¯t found anything that would warrant their attention.¡± The more he spoke, the more Marnur focused on the map when suddenly, ¡°Hmm, Mr Lanke? You¡¯re going?¡± ¡°You said you couldn¡¯t find anything of interest on the map, but maybe I¡¯ll be able to find something by flying over there personally.¡± Lanke laughed casually as he took his leave. Book 6: Chapter 33 - Alliances ¡°So this is the mine, huh?¡± Jordon asked with a hint of surprise as he followed Ace through the air. He didn¡¯t need Ace to say anything; he could sense the incredible fluctuations of energy coming from beneath the ground. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ace nodded before he turned to Amira¡¯s father. ¡°What do you think? Do you reckon you¡¯d be able to create a cave below without damaging the mine to allow my people to excavate the gems?¡± ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to?¡± Emperor Jordon snorted with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. ¡°I may not quite be able to compare to a little freak like you, but I¡¯m still a peak sai¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, both his and Ace¡¯s heads snapped back after sensing a powerful aura rapidly flying in their direction. Though he was still several kilometres away, on a clear day like today, the eyes of Ace and Jordon were able to lock on to the figure approaching, causing a small frown to manifest on each of their faces. Just as Ace was preparing to take action, he sensed something that caused his eyes to widen with a hint of surprise. ¡®Law of the Earth ¨C Profound Mystery of Strength,¡¯ Ace immediately guessed as he felt the earth seem to lend its power to the dark-skinned Emperor beside him, causing the muscles in his legs and arms to swell. ¡°You stay here,¡± Jordon said coldly as he locked in on his target, summoning a pair of twin battle hammers from his storage ring. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with him!¡± Ace was slightly surprised by Jordon¡¯s change in demeanour. Usually, the Rohault Emperor was the picture of composure and stability. This was the first time he¡¯d sensed him show his killing intent. Still, when he remembered the man¡¯s longstanding problem with the O¡¯Brien Empire, he understood, after all, it was them who essentially ruined his big brother¡¯s future, preventing Aiden from ever being able to become a saint. Though also a peak saint, Lanke¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t as strong as Jordon¡¯s or Ace¡¯s. As such, he was discovered long before he discovered them. His eyes constricted slightly when he sensed a powerful aura shooting towards him. ¡°Jordon Rohault¡­¡± The moment he identified his attacker, Lanke didn¡¯t think twice before turning tail to run away. Unfortunately, whilst Lanke, as a warrior who focused on the laws of the wind, would ordinarily be the more agile of the two, when it came to travelling in a straight line, it was the Emperor who came out on top in a competition of speed. The power coursing through Jordon¡¯s body when he took action allowed him to move like a meteor as he shot through the skies, appearing above Lanke in what may as well have been the blink of an eye. Ace watched in awe as the space around Jordon¡¯s hammer rippled, as though it wanted to break free of the spatial constraints of their Yulan Plane. Jordon¡¯s hammer tore straight through Lanke¡¯s body, only for Lanke¡¯s body to shimmer out of existence. Still, Jordon didn¡¯t seem surprised as ten identical Lanke¡¯s appeared around him. Instead, he used the momentum of his first attack to skillfully carry him towards another of the doppelgangers. Lanke¡¯s eyes flickered slightly as he looked down toward Ace, but sensing the might of the man essentially bulldozing his way through his clones, he immediately turned tail and ran, with each of his clones flying in opposite directions. ¡°Marnur was right¡­ About everything.¡± Jordon had just destroyed the fourth doppelganger when he watched the other six flee in different directions. He briefly considered chasing one more but quickly disregarded that option. Although he was exceedingly fast when moving in a straight line, that was only when he had a solid platform to launch himself off; otherwise, he was a level or two slower than the War God¡¯s 22nd disciple. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. And more importantly, even if he was confident in chasing down one more clone, he had no idea which clone was real and which was fake. ¡°This might be a bit of a problem,¡± Jordon sighed when he sensed Ace near. ¡°It¡¯s fine; it¡¯s just a mine.¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°If we can keep it, we¡¯ll keep it; if not, then we won¡¯t. But before their forces can rearrange themselves, I wanna try and mine as much as possible.¡± ¡°You really are an odd one,¡± Jordon said after taking a second look at his brother¡¯s only disciple. ¡°Most people in your situation wouldn¡¯t be able to keep so calm.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting so worked up?¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°Our plans never included the ownership of the mine in the first place. It¡¯d obviously help our cause if we could claim it for ourselves, but if we can¡¯t, then we¡¯ll just continue with our original plan. Either way, no one will stop us from forming our Empire in the future.¡± ¡°Haha, well said!¡± Jordon nodded appreciatively. ¡°Still, I¡¯d hate to allow those bastards of the O¡¯Brien Army to grow any stronger. How about some reinforcements from my Rohault Empire.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ace asked. ¡°You know that chances are it won¡¯t just be the O¡¯Brien Army who set their sights on the mine. If you send reinforcements from your Empire, you¡¯d likely be antagonising the Radiant Church, Yulan Empire, and potentially the Cult of Darkness as well.¡± Although Ace didn¡¯t have much interest in politics, it didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t understand it. He knew that with the Yulan and O¡¯Brien Empire having forged an alliance, chances are, both forces will come together when attempting to pressure them to give up the mine. And with the Church having made some sort of deal with the Yulan Empire, there was a good chance that they would be involved as well. And although the Cult had seemingly pulled out, when they inevitably received word about the magicite mine, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stay away either. As far as Ace was concerned, retaining ownership was near impossible, unless he went out to fight as well. Unfortunately, although he was technically still a mortal, in the eyes of the rest of the world, he was now considered a saint-level expert. The second he stepped foot onto the battlefield, their enemies would all undoubtedly send their saints as well. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us, brat! My Rohault Empire has never been afraid of getting into a bit of trouble,¡± Jordon snorted disdainfully. ¡°Plus, these last couple of years of peace have been particularly draining for the soldiers of my army. They¡¯re all starting to get a bit antsy.¡± Hearing that, Ace couldn¡¯t help but think back to the impressive martial spirit of the Rohault soldiers. A hint of a grin hung on his face as he nodded. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll drive those bastards back and split the profits between us.¡± . . . At the same time, back in the O¡¯Brien territory of the Anarchic Lands, Lanke, who had just hurried back, immediately took General Marnur and went to explain his findings to his senior brothers. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± Fain asked. ¡°Ace found a magicite mine?¡± ¡°Positive,¡± Lanke nodded solemnly. ¡°And with those Rohault bastards there as well, it won¡¯t be easy to pry it from them on our own.¡± ¡°True,¡± Fain nodded pensively. ¡°It¡¯s a shame the Rohault Empire¡¯s involved as well. If it was just Ace, we might¡¯ve been able to find a way to force Ace¡¯s hand into forcing him to hand over ownership. All we can do is tell our new allies and offer them an equal split.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯ll be enough,¡± General Marnur, who had been entirely silent until now, added respectfully. ¡°Who are you to be interjecting in a conversation between us saints?¡± Byrius snorted, a cold and disdainful light flickering across his eyes. ¡°Byrius, that¡¯s enough! Without the General¡¯s insights, we¡¯d still be completely unaware of what Ace had found,¡± Fain snapped back at his irritable junior brother. ¡°General, please go on. I¡¯d like to hear your thoughts on the matter.¡± ¡°Yes, Milord,¡± Marnur nodded respectfully, still cautious about Byrius¡¯ presence, not wanting to say or do anything that would get himself killed. ¡°I think it¡¯d be in our best interest to involve not only the Yulan Empire but even the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness.¡± ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Byrius barked. ¡°If we do that, we¡¯d have to lessen our cut by even more.¡± Fain coldly glanced at Byrius, causing him to settle down. Still, he didn¡¯t say anything as he too was of the same belief, but he understood that Marnur wouldn¡¯t make such a suggestion for no reason. ¡°I understand that Milords,¡± Marnur replied feebly. ¡°But Ace and Linley have already shown that they have a connection to one another. Although I can¡¯t confirm the strength of their relationship, it¡¯d be in our best interest to assume that Linley¡¯s Baruch Duchy would also be providing support to Ace¡¯s territory. If I¡¯m wrong, I get that we would¡¯ve lowered our cut for no reason, but if I¡¯m right, and we choose not to include the church and the cult, the chances of us being able to seize ownership of the mine with just ours and the Yulan Empire¡¯s forces here in the region, is slim to none. After all, the Baruch Duchy has five supreme warriors with the strength of a peak ninth-rank expert, as well as that necromancer ¨C Zassler.¡± As Marnur finished his explanation, whether it was Fain or the explosive Byrius, neither said anything immediately, as they both understood that the General was right, again. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do it your way,¡± Fain nodded slowly before turning to his junior brother. ¡°Lanke, you go and tell the delegates from the church and the cult to hurry over; I¡¯ll fetch those from the Yulan Empire.¡± Book 6: Chapter 34 – Alliance With The Baruch Duchy Whilst the meeting of four of the seven superpowers was going on, as predicted by General Marnur, Ace had just arrived at the Baruch Duchies capital looking to find Linley. Though he was there, it hadn''t been his idea. As soon as he told Cirulus what happened, Cirulus was the one who told Ace that if they were serious about fighting for ownership of the mine, they should speak to the Baruch Clan about a partnership. Like General Marnur, Grand Marshal Cirulus was able to take a step back and predict what the O''Brien Empire would do based on the information they had access to. Ace grumbled about it as he didn''t want to look weak in front of the man he had chosen to acknowledge as his rival, but it couldn''t be helped. He''d rather ask for Linley''s support than lose to the O''Brien Empire and Cult of Darkness. "Ace?" Lina voiced in surprise as he noticed the arrival of the dark-haired youth in the skies above their residence. She had just been calmly watching her husband and youngest son train when she looked up and saw Ace seem to teleport above them. Hearing her voice, both Hogg and Wharton looked up to find Ace lazily looking down at them. Wharton''s body subconsciously tensed when he saw that all too familiar figure. Even though he had been able to suppress the demon Ace had left in his heart to help his brother revitalise their clan, seeing Ace brought it all back. He had sparred with his brother a few times, so he was very much aware of how powerful Linley had become. When Linley really tried, he wasn''t able to withstand even one strike. As far as he was concerned, there was virtually no one in their generation who was a match for his older brother. Even in the generation above, Linley would struggle to find an opponent, with the only one he could think of being Olivier, and even then, he doubted it. Still, there was one person Wharton believed was still stronger than Linley, and that was Ace. The shadow he had cast over Wharton''s heart was seemingly indestructible. The invincible might he had shown to defeat Olivier, who had just broken through to the saint realm at the time, was simply peerless. A sigh escaped Hogg''s mouth when he saw Wharton''s reaction to Ace''s presence. The difference between his two sons was like night and day, not just in talent but also in temperament. Whilst Linley was able to acknowledge Ace''s ability and turn it into a source of motivation, Wharton went the complete opposite direction, struggling to function with any sort of normalcy. Still, he didn''t say anything to his son. Before leaving the O''Brien Empire, he and Linley went to the residence of Haydson, the Monolithic Sword Saint, not just to thank him for taking care of his son and wife but also to see if, as unlikely as it was, there was any way they would be able to convince him to join them. Unfortunately, Haydson had no intention of leaving the O''Brien Empire; it was his home, and like most others there, be they mortal or saint, they were extremely loyal. Before leaving, Haydson explained in great detail the extent of Wharton''s heart demon before saying that this heart demon was something that Wharton had to overcome on his own. And as hard as it was to accept, both Linley and Hogg understood that Haydson was telling the truth. "Ace," Hogg called out, ignoring his son. "Are you looking for Linley? Would you like me to take you to him?" "No need," Ace said as his afterimage suddenly disappeared. "I''ve found him." Hogg could only shake his head helplessly at that. Still, he didn''t mind that Ace was treating territory as his own back garden. Without Ace, it wasn''t a stretch to say that the Baruch Clan wouldn''t be anywhere near as far along as it currently was. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "He didn''t even acknowledge us," Lina sighed remorsefully. "I didn''t get the chance to apologise." "It''s fine; I''m confident he doesn''t hold it against you," Hogg took his wife''s hand in his. "And I''m sure you''ll have other chances to apologise in the future." At the same time, Linley was currently sat in a meeting with Zassler talking about the future plans of their Baruch Duchy when he sensed someone rapidly approaching. "Is that¡­" "There you are, Linley," Ace said as he blew a hole in the window to their hall before casually stepping through. Zassler''s eyes constricted when he heard the window shatter. Subconsciously he summoned his magi staff and began chanting, thinking they were under attack, when he heard his boss'' calm voice. "Must you destroy my property when you visit, Ace?" Linley sighed, not even bothering to get up. "No," Ace grinned. "But I couldn''t be bothered to walk around the long way." "Why are you here?" Linley said, changing the subject, not bothering to bicker with this rival of his, a mocking glint flickering in his eyes as he continued. "Don''t tell me you need our help." "Who needs your help?" Ace snorted. "I came here to offer your little lizard clan an opportunity." "An opportunity?" Linley asked back, his interest clearly piqued. "What sort of opportunity?" "My clan found a high-level magicite mine¡­" Ace began explaining the situation to Linley. "It sounds like he does need our help after all, boss." Bebe chortled from Linley''s shoulder. Even though he couldn''t understand Bebe''s words, with his [Observation], Ace was able to sense the intent behind Bebe''s squeaks. It had to be understood that Haki user''s ability to ''foresee the future'' in battle didn''t actually come from the ability to peer into the future. In reality, it was an extension of their ability to sense the emotions of their targets. Above sensing one''s emotions, was sensing their intent, or intention in full. With that, they could sense what their target was intending to do next, or in this case, sense the intent of a magical beast''s words, despite not understanding their ''screeching''. "Are you deaf, little rodent?" Ace snapped back. "I said this is an opportunity for you guys. You''re free not to take it; it just means I''ll have to give up the mine, essentially strengthening both of our enemies." As shocked as he was by Ace''s ability to understand Bebe, Linley didn''t have time to pay it a second thought; he was too focused on the second half of Ace''s sentence. Like Ace, he too was focused mainly on getting stronger, leaving Zassler to handle the day-to-day operations of their duchy. Still, he was no idiot. He was smart enough to grasp the big picture and how it could negatively impact his duchy''s future operations when targeting the Radiant Church here in the Anarchic Lands. "Zassler," Linley called out, turning to the frail, elderly-looking man sitting quietly beside him. "What do you think?" "I think Young Master Ace is correct," Zassler nodded, still thinking about the situation. "Because they don''t know the full extent of your relationship, the O''Brien Empire is likely to enter an alliance with the Yulan Empire, the church, and the cult for fear of our interference. And if the church were to get their hands on such a windfall, it would only help strengthen its position here in the region, making our futures here all the more difficult. I think it would be in our best interest to ally ourselves with the Gol Clan and send a portion of our force to participate in this battle." "My thoughts exactly," Linley nodded in agreement. "But how many of our troops should we send?" "Not many," Zassler answered. "Compared to all the other forces in the region, our Baruch Duchy''s greatest strength is our top-level experts. Aside from yourself, Bebe, and Barker, who all have the power of a saint-level expert, we have seven experts who have the power of peak mortals. As such, I think sending five of our seven generals should suffice." Linley nodded in agreement. Of those seven, six were descendants of the supreme warriors, whilst the last was Zassler himself, a necromancer who could effectively be considered a one-man army. "Will that suffice?" Linley asked, turning back to Ace. "That should do perfectly," Ace nodded. Although he didn''t know much about these seven in terms of comprehension, he could sense that of the six supreme warrior descendants in question, Wharton was the weakest, being a warrior of the seventh rank. Still, after transforming, he would be equal to a warrior at the ninth rank; plus, even though he doubted it could compare to his classmates, he knew that Wharton''s comprehension was nothing to scoff at. As for the other five, they were all in the eighth rank, meaning each of them was equal to a peak ninth-rank warrior. And as descendants of supreme warriors, when transformed, they were far superior to warriors in the same rank. Of those in the eighth rank, even if they hadn''t comprehended one with their weapon, just by relying on their innate gifts post-transformation, they would be equal to a ninth-rank warrior who had comprehended impose. Book 6: Chapter 35 – You Did It First So far, Ace¡¯s Gol Force had conquered 14 Cities ¨C more than the ten minimum requirements to form a duchy. Still, Ace hadn¡¯t officially formalised his territory as a Duchy. After discovering the mine, he and Cirulus decided to wait until after officially conquering their 15th city ¨C Firmbrook City ¨C before making it official. Technically, the mine fell in the territory of his 14th city, Marshgrove City, but Cirulus said that if they wanted to ensure the protection of their mine, they should take over all cities surrounding area. Although they were one city short of completing that task, the members of Ace¡¯s Gol territory had wasted no time commencing the mining process. In fact, they were hurrying along at quite some speed. Even though Ace was confident in the quality of the soldiers in his alliance, he knew there was a good chance of his side being greatly outnumbered. After all, on his side, both he and Linley were relatively new forces. As such, their numbers weren¡¯t quite up to par in comparison with their enemies; the only member of their alliance who could compete numbers-wise was the Rohault Empire. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t compete with all four forces that were threatening them. As a result, Ace had already passed on the message that although they would try and fight for control, it wouldn¡¯t be a do-or-die. If things really did look too difficult, Cirulus was under orders to retreat. Still, that was just the worst-case scenario. Even though they couldn¡¯t compete numbers-wise, when it came to the quality of their strongest warriors, they were definitely a level above. They had 11 experts at the level of an ordinairy general ¨C that included Cirulus, who, under Ace¡¯s brutal training, had not only broken through to the peak of the ninth rank but also finally comprehended impose. In the skies above the army, Ace, Leona, Wukong, Linley, Bebe, Jordon Rohault, and Kaymin Banux ¨C the former invincible General of the Rohault Army, turned saint ¨C all stood, calmly talking amongst themselves as they waited for the battle to begin. ¡°This will be the biggest battle I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Linley sighed as he slowly hovered in the sky, looking down at the combined force below. ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± ¡°As long as your father¡¯s really as strong as you claim, I can¡¯t see us losing,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about my father,¡± Linley rebuked. ¡°It¡¯s your brother, Killian, I¡¯m worried about. Are you sure he¡¯ll be up to the task?¡± Under Cirulus¡¯ command, they had created four outposts, effectively forcing the enemy to split their army into four to face the encirclement of their alliance. Each outpost was manned by three generals and a large contingent of their force, with the only exception being the main outpost. At the main outpost, there were no ordinairy soldiers. In fact, the only two present at said outpost were their two secret weapons, Killian and Hogg. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Killian,¡± Ace snapped back. ¡°There are no mortals as strong as him.¡± Since Ace began expanding his Gol territory, Killian had broken through to the late stages of the seventh rank, but most importantly, his insights into the profound mystery of the throbbing pulse of the world allowed his raw power to approach that of an early-stage saint. Unfortunately, it was just his speed that let him down. Still, there was virtually no mortal who¡¯d be able to take a full-powered strike from Killian and live to tell the tale. As for Hogg. As a Dragonblood Warrior at the peak of the eighth rank who had comprehended impose, after transforming, his strength was no weaker than Olivier as he was when he fought Ace. He too could be considered invincible amongst mortals. With the two of them to hold down the fort, Ace had every right to feel confident in his chances. ¡°With Hogg and Killian manning outpost one, I¡¯m sure nothing will go wrong on that front,¡± Jordon interjected helplessly as the two boys prepared to start bickering for what felt like the hundredth time already that day. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with the other three outposts.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Ace replied casually. ¡°Cirulus assured me he has made adequate preparations.¡± Kaymin, who had been quiet till then, suddenly sighed. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe how far you¡¯ve come in such a short period of time. The last time I saw you, you barely had the strength of a ninth-rank warrior, and now¡­ You¡¯re likely no weaker than me, and you¡¯ve even formed your own territory. At this rate, it won¡¯t be long before you¡¯re standing at a height I can only look up to.¡± ¡°You say that like I had any choice. With my enemies, it¡¯s either hurry up and improve or die,¡± Ace sighed before his sight fell on a dark-skinned youth standing near the front of Outpost two. ¡°And by the looks of it, I¡¯m not the only one who has improved these last few years.¡± Following Ace¡¯s line of sight, Kaymin saw a youth who looked like a younger version of him lazily stood, waiting for the battle to begin. ¡°Although that little brat of mine has improved somewhat, he can¡¯t compare to you or your classmates,¡± Kaymin snorted as he tried to hide the pride-filled smile that threatened to creep onto his face. It was true he wasn¡¯t quite as strong as Ace¡¯s classmates. Still, Ebeze was only 16 and had already reached the peak of the 6th rank and fused both states of wielding. Outside of the teens from the Pavilion, those from his generation who had surpassed him could be counted on one hand. Ace opened his mouth to respond when he sensed a large number of powerful auras approaching from the distance. ¡°What is it?¡± Wukong asked, seeing Ace¡¯s reaction. ¡°We¡¯ve got company,¡± Ace smirked. Jordon was the next to sense the incoming auras, but he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head as he looked at Ace in surprise. He was a peak saint, yet Ace, a warrior and mage of the sixth rank, was the first to sense their uninvited guests. In fact, the only ones not surprised by that fact were Leona and Wukong, who were well aware of Ace¡¯s monstrous soul. ¡°It¡¯s about time,¡± Wukong stated as the corners of his mouth curved up, forming a fiendish grin. ¡°This King has had enough waiting.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before those of the army below were able to detect the approaching army. But unlike Ace and the others in the sky, it wasn¡¯t via their auras but the sound of a giant Army marching towards them. Anticipation and tension began to rise among the Gol, Baruch, and Rohault Alliance soldiers. Especially among the ordinairy soldiers of the Gol Army. Unlike the soldiers of the Rohault Army, who had fought several battles of this scale in the past. This was the first time any of the Gol Army soldiers had fought a battle of such magnitude, and the fact that their enemy was the soldiers of four of their continent¡¯s strongest organisations. Still, their already high tension spiked when they heard the cold and deafening shouts of who they immediately knew had to be a saint spread across the battlefield, deafening all who heard it. ¡°GOL D. ACE,¡± Byrius roared, his voice like thunder as he suddenly appeared no more than a few hundred meters in front of Ace¡¯s front line, along with a group of eight saints. ¡°COME OUT, NOW!¡± Even though Jordon was undoubtedly the strongest expert on Ace¡¯s side, everyone subconsciously treated Ace as the alliance''s leader. In part because the mine was in his territory, but mainly because Ace was the poster boy for this new era, his fame made it too hard for others to focus on anyone but him. Still, Ace didn¡¯t take kindly to being commanded like that. Ace¡¯s body flickered, appearing in the skies just in front of his front line. ¡°Byrius,¡± Ace voiced coldly, skillfully using his haki to project his voice. ¡°You¡¯ll do well to remember mine isn¡¯t a name you¡¯re qualified to speak.¡± As his voice waned, Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] surged forth like a raging tide. Ace was still a mortal. His Haki did nothing to the saints, but some of the weaker soldiers nearer the front of his enemy¡¯s army began to drop like flies. The moment they heard the overbearing shout of their enemy¡¯s saint, the soldiers on Ace¡¯s side found their morale starting to wane, but upon noticing Ace¡¯s domineering response, their morale began to rise again. This was their spiritual leader, the greatest talent their continent has ever seen, the peerless son of heaven ¨C Gol D. Ace! A cold snort escaped the mouth of the tall blue-haired man with electric blue eyes when he noticed Ace¡¯s action. Sparks of lightning began flickering wildly around him. One of which fired straight toward Ace¡¯s head at a speed that was too fast for Ace to evade. Still, Ace remained calm as he faced an attack that could very easily claim his life. ¡°Who dares attack the junior of this king?¡± Wukong snorted as he appeared in front of Ace, his staff piercing forward like a bullet, easily blocking the bolt of lightning attacking Ace. ¡°Can I consider this as you wanting to forgo the battle between mortals and make this a battle between us saints?¡± Fain asked with a cold indifference that would make most shudder as he stared into the eyes of his Master¡¯s ¡®son¡¯, all but ignoring the ape-like young man who blocked his attack. ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask pointless questions,¡± Byrius snorted as he glared at Ace for once again making him lose face so publicly. ¡°For a saint to attack mortals, isn¡¯t the answer obvious?¡± ¡°What saint attacked a mortal?¡± Ace asked back as he met Byrius¡¯ ferocious glare without a hint of fear. ¡°First of all, I am a mortal. Leona and I should be fighting down there with the other mortals.¡± As he said that, the eyes of Fain and the others narrowed, but they couldn¡¯t find the words to respond as Ace was right. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, I can¡¯t be bothered to play with the trash you call soldiers. I¡¯ll leave that to my classmates.¡± Ace smirked before carrying on. ¡°Second, I never attacked. It¡¯s not my fault the trash of your empires collapsed from fear from my aura.¡± Ace mocked, knowing that they still had no idea how his haki worked, and therefore couldn¡¯t argue against him. ¡°And finally,¡± As Ace said to there, his aura turned particularly frigid as his killing intent surged forth, with his eyes falling on two saints in particular who had yet to speak. ¡°It was those on your side who sent saints to battle mortals first!¡± Book 6: Chapter 36 – Adequate Countermeasures ¡°Well said,¡± Jordon coldly voiced as he slowly floated towards Ace, his expression particularly frigid, this time not because of the presence of the O¡¯Brien Empire. ¡°Your Dark Alliance has some nerve, daring to appear before me after what you did to my daughter.¡± ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t dare kill you where you stand, Gediah?¡± The furious Emperor asked as he summoned his weapon from his storage ring. The moment he did so, the eyes of all those flying in the skies focused on the weapon in the man¡¯s hand, including those of his allies. Unlike the twin hammers he summoned when he attempted to chase down Lanke, this was a single two-handed war hammer, earthy-green in colour with golden runes running along its body. Though impressive in design, what really captured everyone¡¯s attention was the overwhelming aura it emitted. Without a doubt, this was the most impressive weapon Ace had ever seen, to the point where it caused waves of envy and greed in his enemies. It was a Divine Artifact, meaning it was a weapon created by and for a deity. And even though, as a mere saint, Jordon wasn¡¯t able to draw out its true power, the trace amount of its power he was able to call upon was enough for him to stand on par with a prime saint like Fain. It was a big part of the reason the Rohault Empire had been able to stand tall for all these years. The moment the Rohault Emperor summoned his weapon, Fain knew fighting it out like this would be a bad idea. Especially as he knew full well that if Jordon was here, then so too was his wife, Sharanthia, who also had a Divine Artifact of her own that allowed her to fight on par with peak saints like Byrius, whom, in terms of power, stood on a level just beneath his own. Although he was confident his side wouldn¡¯t lose, he knew it would be a bitter battle, and that was only on the condition that Ace¡¯s side didn¡¯t have anyone or anything else to rely on. ¡°Easy there, boys,¡± an exquisite young woman wearing a glistening, tight-fitted white robe that clung to her body, showing off her alluring curves, said softly. ¡°We came here today hoping not for war but to find a peaceful solution.¡± ¡°Peaceful?¡± Ace snorted as he looked down at the army their four sides had brought with them. ¡°Right, peaceful,¡± the woman nodded with an enchanting, almost seductive smile. ¡°First, allow me to introduce myself to you. My name¡¯s Felicia Wonnerin, second disciple of the High Priest.¡± Ace didn¡¯t need her to introduce herself. Before leaving, Cesar had given Ace an intelligence report noting all the powerful saints of the continent. As such, he knew that Felicia was a mage at the peak of the saint realm who was a light-style mage. According to Cesar, she wasn¡¯t quite at the level of a prime saint, but what made her so impressive was that although not fused, she had extremely high attainments in two of the profound mysteries of light: The Profound Mysteries of the Essence of Light and Purity. An impressive achievement indeed. Still, Ace¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t so much as flicker as he looked at her, waiting for her to continue. Understanding Ace¡¯s intention, Felicia calmly continued. ¡°We came here today hoping to negotiate a deal splitting ownership of the magicite mine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t negotiate with my enemies,¡± Ace stated categorically. ¡°Why must we be enemies?¡± Felicia chortled as she winked at the dark-haired teen before her. ¡°I think we could be good friends, handsome.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t smile like that,¡± Wukong spat out. ¡°It makes this king feel sick!¡± Felicia¡¯s eyebrows twitched slightly as she looked at Wukong, fake retching. Still, she didn¡¯t lose her composure. Instead, she turned back to Ace, waiting for his response. After all, although her Yulan Empire had entered an alliance with the O¡¯Brien Empire, that was only for the sake of rivalling the Yin-Yang Pavilion. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. It had nothing to do with Ace. Her Yulan Empire had no grievances with the Ace or his family. Unfortunately, if she thought she¡¯d be able to get Ace on her side by merely batting her lashes his way, she was sorely mistaken. ¡°If you stand on their side, you can only be my enemy,¡± Ace replied indifferently, pointing to the experts from the O¡¯Brien Empire and Cult of Darkness. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you feel that way,¡± Felicia sighed helplessly. ¡°It looks like this battle is unavoidable.¡± ¡°I told you that wouldn¡¯t work,¡± snorted a powerful-looking middle-aged man dressed in a loose, long white robe, standing at an astonishing height of over eight feet. His long white robe gently fluttered in the wind as he stood in mid-air with his arms crossed, his piercing emerald-green eyes coldly staring at Linley as his oppressive aura attempted to oppress his enemies. He was the commander of the Radiant Churches Zealots, and according to Cesar¡¯s reports, aside from the leader of the Church, Zealot Commander Lehman was the most frightening man in the Church¡¯s ranks. ¡°Stop wasting time, Felicia,¡± Lehman snorted. ¡°It¡¯s clear these brats have no understanding of their place!¡± Despite knowing he was inferior to the Zealot Commander in front of him, Linley appeared unwilling to back down. His azure draconian eyes coldly meeting the glare of his enemy¡¯s as he too, summoned his weapon ¨C a violet, flexible longsword. Whilst most present were focused on Linley daring to draw his sword in the face of a saint like Lehman, Ace was focused on the sword itself. On the surface, although the aura it emitted was impressive, it was nothing in comparison to Jordon¡¯s two-handed war hammer, but that was only on the surface. Ace¡¯s [Observation] sensed that the sword appeared to be hiding an astonishing amount of power. Or, more accurately, it was limited by the power it could display, by the weakness of its current owner. Unfortunately, his [Haki] was too weak to truly pierce the veil and understand the secrets of the sword. Still, the one thing he was sure of was that in terms of quality, Jordon¡¯s hammer couldn¡¯t even begin to compare with Linley¡¯s sword. Though intrigued, Ace didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of temptation towards Linley¡¯s sword. For starters, he wasn¡¯t a swordsman. Nor did he have any interest in becoming one. But more importantly, he had never been the type who was tempted to steal from others for no reason. Not even during his days as a pirate in his last life. The only thing he was envious of was the fact that his draconian rival had a good quality weapon, whilst he was forced to use inferior quality glaives that he stole from enemies, as his former glaive ¨C Newgate ¨C was broken, and weapons of that quality didn¡¯t just grow on trees. Still, that was neither here nor there. After a moment of curiosity, Ace focused back on the matter at hand, realising that tensions were rapidly rising and a battle could break out at any moment. ¡°Enough!¡± Fain said, glancing back at Lehman. Although the Church didn¡¯t have a formal alliance with the O¡¯Brien Empire, as their side¡¯s only prime saint, it was tacitly agreed that Fain would be the leader of their makeshift four-way alliance. As such, the moment he saw Fain looking his way, Lehman coldly snorted but promptly turned away. ¡°Since you have no intention of negotiating, we¡¯ll decide ownership through a war of mortals,¡± Fain announced. ¡°No saint-level experts are allowed to take part. That includes mortals with the power of a saint.¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that he was referring to Ace, Leona, and Linley¡¯s monstrous rat-type Divine Beast ¨C Bebe. Still, Ace merely smirked before accepting their terms. ¡°Fine,¡± Ace nodded indifferently. ¡°But if you break the agreement, don¡¯t blame me for what happens next.¡± With nothing more to say, both sides returned to the rear of their camps. ¡°Why do you seem so okay with a fight between our saints against theirs?¡± Linley asked Ace curiously when they were out of earshot. ¡°Their side has eight peak saints, whereas ours only has two experts whose strength has reached that level.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget the dozen saint-level angels and fallen angels they tried to hide,¡± Ace added casually. ¡°You know that, and yet you seemed almost hopeful that a fight breaks out,¡± Linley continued. ¡°Please tell me you have a plan, and you¡¯re not just trying to bluff your way through.¡± ¡°Why? Are you scared?¡± Ace smirked. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Linley barked back, clearly not amused by Ace¡¯s apparent lack of willingness to take the situation seriously. Ace sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if it really turns into a battle between saints, our side has nothing to fear from them.¡± Linley still had more questions, but before he could give voice to them, the sound of fireworks originating from their rear grabbed their attention. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Ace said before shooting off in that direction, leaving Linley and the others in a state of confusion. Linley¡¯s concerns were far from put to rest, but seeing how at ease the others all appeared to be allowed him to suppress his concerns. After all, he very much doubted the Emperor of one of their continent¡¯s leading nations would be so confident without having adequate countermeasures in place. Book 6: Chapter 37 – Mysterious Pocket Dimension ¡°Cirulus,¡± Ace called out as he appeared right in front of him. ¡°Is everything alright with the mine?¡± Cirulus, who was supposed to be on the battlefield fighting with the rest of the army today, wanted to ensure that the miners were working as fast as physically possible. Unlike Ace, he wasn¡¯t too confident in their chances of winning this battle and preserving their hold over the mine. As such, he needed the miners to dig up as much of the mine as possible before their enemies inevitably lay claim to it. He had no intention of staying too long after making sure everything was progressing smoothly, but he never could¡¯ve foreseen this¡­ ¡°Yes, the mining is progressing well. Very well in fact,¡± Cirulus explained. ¡°Things are moving slightly ahead of schedule.¡± ¡°Then why did you send the flare up to summon me?¡± Ace asked in confusion. ¡°And more importantly, why did you force all the workers to wait outside the mine?¡± Not far away from them, all the workers, who, for all intents and purposes, should be inside the mine working as fast as possible, were currently stood around, not too far away from them, staring at Ace with a mix of awe and curiosity. For most, it was the first time any of them had ever laid eyes on the world-famous Son of Heaven. ¡°This¡­¡± Cirulus looked around cautiously as though worried about who may overhear them. ¡°You know what? It¡¯s better if you see for yourself.¡± Curiously, Ace followed behind his Grand Marshall. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, but whatever it was, to have someone like Cirulus acting in such a way, it surely was no small matter. After entering the mine and making sure they were out of earshot, Cirulus finally began to explain. ¡°This morning, I only intended to stay here for around five minutes, but when I arrived, one of the workers explained that there was a change in quality near the depths.¡± ¡°Change?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Right,¡± Cirulus nodded, a hint of excitement seeping into his voice as he continued to lead Ace further in. ¡°Although we already knew this was a high-quality mine, the highest grade crystal we had found was of the eighth rank, and even that was still rare, but after reaching a certain part, the quality suddenly skyrocketed. Whereas before, gems of the eighth rank were in the minority because the majority were inferior, now, gems of the eighth rank were in the minority because the vast majority were all at the ninth rank.¡± ¡°Ninth-rank?! How is that possible?!¡± Ace asked as he suddenly spread his [Observation], only to discover that Cirulus was telling the truth. ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you already found it,¡± Cirulus exclaimed excitedly. Such high-quality gems would go above and beyond when helping Ace set up his territory. Even when splitting the proceeds three ways, it would still allow Ace to skip several stages of their original planning. Still, the reason behind Ace¡¯s shock had little to do with that and more to do with what he sensed right at the centre. Or, more specifically, what he failed to sense. The corridor Cirulus and Ace had just entered was filled with half-translucent gems, which carried a simply terrifying amount of energy. The energy in each gem was equal to what one could expect to find in a saint-level beast core, and yet, Ace didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention to any of them. His full, undivided attention was entirely focused on the simple, unadorned door at the end of the passage. ¡°What is this?¡± Ace asked curiously. ¡°How is this possible?¡± As Ace¡¯s [Observation] swept over the door, he failed to sense anything. It was like the door didn¡¯t exist, but he could clearly see it right in front of him. In fact, he could even see the strange ripples in space around it, but he couldn¡¯t sense even those spatial ripples. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°When the workers told me about the sudden increase in quality, I decided to investigate,¡± Cirulus explained as Ace continued to study the door. ¡°Believing that it could be some sort of treasure, I had the miners wait outside whilst I dug further and further until I discovered this door.¡± ¡°You did the right thing,¡± Ace nodded, glad that none of the workers had personally seen the door. He didn¡¯t know what was on the other side of the door, but whatever it was couldn¡¯t be normal, and he had no intention of letting his enemies know. ¡°Did you open the door and cross to the other side?¡± Ace asked with a hint of excitement as he reached towards the handle. ¡°WAIT!¡± Cirulus shouted, catching Ace by surprise just before he could open it. ¡°Shield yourself before you go in,¡± Cirulus said solemnly upon seeing Ace¡¯s confusion. He may not have understood what was on the other side, but anything that could cause such a reaction in Cirulus wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. With a thought, Ace covered his body in a skin-tight, fiery aura as he once again went to open the door, this time without being stopped. As soon as he did, Ace was shocked to find that as soon as he opened the door and attempted to walk through, he was assaulted by a wild surge of chaotic energy slashing at his body hundreds of times in but an instant. ¡®Each slash had the attack power of the average general,¡¯ Ace mused as he stepped through the door, finally understanding why Cirulus had warned him to protect himself. Although his strength was well into the saint realm, the actual strength of his body was merely at the sixth rank. Had he not protected himself, the results could have been disastrous. Still, the moment he entered the other side, Ace¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but widen in shock and complete and utter disbelief. ¡°How is it?¡± Cirulus called from the other side, unable to see or feel Ace¡¯s presence. ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Although Cirulus was a peak ninth-rank warrior himself who had comprehended impose, he was incapable of defending himself against such power. As such, he had no idea what was on the other side of the door. ¡°Cirulus!¡± Ace exclaimed. ¡°Go and have the workers get back to work, but forbid them from entering this final passage; anyone who does will face severe punishment.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Cirulus nodded solemnly. As curious as he was, Cirulus was more loyal than anything else. Plus, how could he not understand Ace¡¯s temperament by now? Unlike most leaders in his position, if there was a benefit on the other side of the door, Ace would unhesitantly share it with all those he cared for. ¡°Ooh, and Cirulus, one more thing¡­¡± Ace said, his excitement growing by the syllable. ¡°Go win the war, and I¡¯ll make you a saint by the end of the year.¡± Cirulus eyes widened before an excited grin suffused his face. He still had no idea what Ace had found, but Cirulus didn¡¯t care; all he cared about was entering the saint realm. Back when he was a serving soldier of the O¡¯Brien Army, the idea of becoming a general was his greatest ambition, and as for becoming a saint. That was merely a pipe dream, but now¡­ He was already significantly stronger than the average general, and all he could think about was becoming a legendary saint. Still, although he had already comprehended impose, he had no idea how many years it would take him to comprehend a trace amount of the profound mysteries. So, hearing Ace¡¯s words, his mood could be understood. Without hesitation, Cirulus went out and began executing Ace¡¯s orders whilst the teen in question was sat cross-legged, having entered a wonderous state of mind. Behind the door was a translucent spherical pocket dimension big enough to fit around 20 people comfortably. The pocket dimension had been modelled like a simplistic abode with only a simple desk, bed, and chair. Curiously though, on the desk was an obsidian ring with golden runes etched on. If one were to look up from inside the bubble abode, they would see a thin but surprisingly firm translucent membrane separating them from what appeared to be the vast expanse of space, with multicoloured rips in reality occasionally appearing and disappearing. This was chaotic space! The raw and exceedingly pure energy that surrounded every plane of existence in this universe. The power of each rip in space was far stronger than anyone or anything Ace had ever seen. Each having the power to destroy his very existence, easily a million times over. Still, the moment Ace entered, he discovered that this pocket dimension was actually siphoning a fraction of the elemental essence of chaotic space. Though it was only a fraction, it had to be understood that the elemental essence was hundreds of thousands, if not millions of times more pure than a plane like the Yulan plane. That fraction was enough to make the density of elemental essences here in the pocket dimension hundreds of times superior to that of the rest of the Yulan Continent. It was no wonder such a high-quality magicite mine had formed. Ace barely had enough time to pass Cirulus that last message before virtually being assaulted by wave after wave of insight like never before. The second he had finished instructing Cirulus on how to proceed, he immediately sat down with his eyes closed. A simple but pure-hearted smile appeared on his face as he gained insights into the laws of fire at a speed that should¡¯ve been all but impossible. Book 6: Chapter 38 – A Race To most, it would seem that Ace gained insight into the Law of Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire the easiest and quickest, but that wasn¡¯t the truth. Ace had spent so long focusing on learning to control and manipulate his flames in his last life that the moment he gained access to his affinity, his comprehension of said profound mystery had already reached the level of a prime saint, meaning he was only half a step away from completion. In actuality, the profound mystery he found the easiest to comprehend was actually the profound mystery of explosions. He didn¡¯t understand how or why, but to him, it was as easy as breathing. The hardest parts about comprehending a profound mystery were getting started, and taking that final step taking it to true completion. The profound mysteries of essence and fire-body were both mysteries he had gained insights into as a result of his last life. As for the profound mystery of heat, it was something he had initially gained insight into after Arianna showed him the list of profound mysteries in this life. Still, his suddenly gaining insight into it stemmed from the impacts of his death of his last life. Him being burnt to death by Akainu, despite being the holder of the fire logia-based devil fruit¡­ How could he be reconciled? Still, since then, his progress had been minimal. Granted, he hadn¡¯t been focusing much on it, but still, it couldn¡¯t even begin to compare to his progress into the mystery of explosion. It had only been around a year since he first gained insight into this profound mystery, but his insights into said mystery had already reached that of a mid-staged saint. His speed was simply blazing, but now¡­ ¡°I was wrong¡­ This is how it should be. It¡¯s like this¡­ No, like this¡­ Hahaha, so this is how I do it!¡± Ace laughed hysterically to himself as he continuously reflected on the laws of fire, all but forgetting about the existence of the rest of the world. . . . ¡°Where is that brat?¡± Wukong asked as he glanced down at the war going on beneath him. It had been six hours since Ace had disappeared, and the war had long since gotten underway. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a problem?¡± Linley frowned. He didn¡¯t for one second believe Ace would run away, but still, he couldn¡¯t help but be slightly worried that something had happened. Before any of the others could respond though, Leona, the only one with the ability to communicate with Ace, began roaring and growling at them, trying to explain. Unfortunately, none of them could understand what she was trying to say. Well, almost none of them¡­ As a magical beast himself, Bebe was able to translate for Linley what Leona was trying to say. Linley¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief before a helpless smile appeared on his face. ¡°Apparently, Ace is currently experiencing a bout of sudden enlightenment.¡± As soon as his words left his mouth, the faces of Jordon and Kaymin showed nothing but shock. Sudden enlightenment was something very few got to experience in their lifetimes. Even they, with their extensive life experiences, had never experienced it. Their shock quickly turned to envy before finally transforming into helplessness. ¡°Maybe he really is the son of heaven,¡± Kaymin sighed. Hearing that, even Linley had to agree. What incredible luck did one need to have to experience sudden enlightenment right before a big fight where losing could very well mean death? The only ones not surprised by this sudden development were Wukong and Leona, both of whom had long since gotten used to Ace¡¯s heaven-defying acts. ¡°Son of Heaven this King¡¯s arse!¡± Wukong snorted. ¡°Couldn¡¯t he have picked a better time to sit back and relax?¡± Those around him couldn¡¯t help but look at Wukong helplessly. Who didn¡¯t know that you couldn¡¯t choose when you would be enlightened? This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Still, they didn¡¯t say anything as they all understood his concern. Although it had only been a few hours since the battle began, and till now, it would appear that they were the ones who had a slight advantage with their side having taken out more of their enemies than their enemies had of their soldiers, it did nothing but put a slight dent in their opponent¡¯s numbers. Still, there were two things that they had to admit that they were impressed by. The first was the battlefield being held down by Killian and Hogg. Though they were facing the smallest force of the four battlefronts, with an opposing force of no more than 10,000. Those 10,000 were led by six of the Church¡¯s two-winged angels and six of the Cult¡¯s two-winged fallen angels. That was 12 experts with the power of a general, and yet, Killian and Hogg, on their own, had managed to whittle their enemy¡¯s numbers down by a third. Hogg¡¯s power was simply unreasonable. With the war blade in his hand, he was like a one-man army. Every slash of his sword would kill at least ten soldiers. But Killian was the one who really shocked everyone. Six of the church¡¯s angels moved to surround him to trap him in their angel battle-formation, and yet Killian appeared wholly unbothered. It had to be remembered that Killian, along with Leona and Alissa, had already been trapped in the battle formation of the church¡¯s fallen angels, and had it not been for Ace¡¯s arrival at that time, things could¡¯ve ended horribly. Still, even though it had only been a little over a month since then, the progress Killian had made since then could only be described as heaven-defying. Since getting Alissa back, that was the first time Killian had come close to losing her, and it was that which made him vow to himself to never let it get that bad again. That vow spurred Killian along, allowing his comprehension to take another giant step forward. Originally, Killian believed that the Earth¡¯s Throbbing Pulse of the World was a profound mystery that simply allowed him to borrow the infinite might of the world by merging his pulse with its pulse, but then he remembered the oscillatory effect it granted his attacks. By focusing on those vibrations, Killian¡¯s might had almost doubled. If before, in terms of raw power, Killian could be said to be knocking on the door of the saint realm, now, he was standing firmly above some weaker saints. The moment he had been trapped in the formation, before Hogg had even gotten the chance to attempt to save him, Killian casually smashed his battle-axe into the walls of the formation. The result of which brought no small amount of shock to those watching as the angel closest to him collapsed on the ground, his insides turning into bloody mush. Unfortunately, his comprehension did nothing to increase his speed or defence, making him something of a glass cannon. Or at least he would be to saints or those few mortals fast enough to force him into a corner. Unfortunately, although each of the two-winged angels and fallen angels had the power of a general, their abilities were pretty balanced, meaning that whether it was raw power, endurance, or, most importantly, speed, they were all very balanced. They were significantly faster than Killian, but not to the point where they could suppress him with their speed, especially when they all knew they couldn¡¯t afford to take a single attack from Killian¡¯s battle axe without forfeiting their lives. As powerful saints themselves, Fain and the others were easily able to recognise Killian¡¯s weakness, which was why, as much as they hated to admit it, Killian couldn¡¯t be considered a saint-level expert. Unfortunately for them, it also meant that, just like Kaymin and Olivier in the past, and even Hogg now, Killian could be considered invincible amongst mortals. Thankfully, Killian and Hogg could only be in one place at a time. This battlefield was, without a shadow of a doubt, one that they stood no chance of conquering. The only positive was that their ordinairy subordinates knew that as well, and instead of trying to win, they were now solely focusing on delaying Killian and Hogg by as much as possible. If either of them were allowed to leave to go and support one of the other battlefields, that one would inevitably end up with the exact same result as this one. The second thing that had managed to impress Emperor Jordon and the others was the battlefield with Cirulus. As previously mentioned, Cirulus had reached the peak of the ninth rank and comprehended impose, making him easily as strong as any general, but that was only the beginning. Ace had also taught him how to use each of the six techniques of Rokushiki, making him an especially powerful general, but his biggest improvement was in his swordsmanship. Compared to his former self, he could be said to be a completely new warrior. Since training with Ace, Cirulus basically went to Ace to be abused. Till now, Cirulus barely felt his improvements, but that was only because the gulf between Ace and him was so big that even with all his improvements, the gap had barely been closed, if at all. Still, these other generals weren¡¯t Ace. He single-handedly managed to kill one and injure another when fighting two-on-one without suffering so much as a single injury. Still, as impressive a feat as that was, that wasn¡¯t what impressed Linley and the others. Especially as their battlefield had an army of over 100,000, eight of whom were generals. No, the thing that impressed them was the tactics that he employed. Despite being severely outnumbered by over five to one, Cirulus used a combination of brawn and wit to whittle his opponent¡¯s numbers down by over a third. Granted, a big part of that was thanks to the magicite cannons. Still, the tactics he used to employ them forced the enemies into a corner, with them not daring to approach easily for fear of being blown away. Unfortunately, Cirulus knew that this wouldn¡¯t last forever. Eventually, their enemies would undoubtedly resort to using their superior numbers to overrun them. He just hoped he could reduce their numbers so that, at that point, it would be more of a fair fight. To make things worse, the other two battlefields didn¡¯t have a commander with Cirulus¡¯ intelligence or the raw power of Killian and Hogg. As such, it was only a matter of time before they were forced to retreat. Unless Hogg and Killian managed to win their war and make it to these battlefields. All the saints watching from their front-row seats understood it was a race. If Killian and Hogg could win their battles and get to the other two battlefields in time, then it would be a win for Ace¡¯s side; if not, it was their loss. Book 6: Chapter 39 – One Down Over the next couple of hours, things became increasingly tense between the two alliances. Both sides fighting more and more desperately, understanding the importance of winning. Ultimately though, there was always going to be one side to break the deadlock first. In the sky above, Jordon and the others sighed helplessly as they watched General Murciel ¨C the Rohault General Ace and the others first fought alongside back when they made their debuts on the Rohault-O¡¯Brien Battlefield ¨C signal for his side to retreat. General Murciel¡¯s side had fought valiantly. With the support of two of the five Barker brothers as well as Lance and two of the young Pavilion Disciples, when it came to the battle between those at the top level, their side held a slight advantage. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough. Despite their best efforts, the ordinairy soldiers were eventually overrun by the enemy¡¯s superior numbers. Murciel had already been commanded by Emperor Jordon that they were to give their all, but if things reached the point where there was no hope, then they should retreat. Although the ownership of the magicite mine would help their future endeavours, it wasn¡¯t to the point where they had to fight to the bitter end. As such, none of the ¡®saint¡¯ level experts on Ace¡¯s side held it against Murciel. He was right to retreat when he did. The only part that made it hard to swallow was that if they were able to hold on for another couple of hours, Hogg or Killian would¡¯ve made it on time to immediately turn the tides. ¡°Dammit!¡± Wukong cursed as he watched those saints on the side of the O¡¯Brien alliance smirk victoriously as their soldiers marched victoriously towards the mine. ¡°This king¡¯s tempted to go and slaughter their little soldiers. Let¡¯s see if they¡¯re still smiling then.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no use crying over spilt milk,¡± Jordon sighed as he patted the young ape-like warrior¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Our side fought valiantly. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough this time.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± Linley couldn¡¯t help but ask, seeing the middle-aged Emperor¡¯s calmness. ¡°When they get their hands on this mine, it¡¯ll make their armies stronger, thereby making their hold in the region that much firmer.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Jordon nodded. ¡°But why should I worry?¡± Seeing the confused expression on Linley¡¯s face, Emperor Jordon couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°It¡¯s true that it¡¯ll make their mortal armies stronger, but it won¡¯t change the overall picture much. At the end of the day, the most important factor of a force¡¯s stability and future development is the power of their powerhouses, and although this mine will inevitably strengthen their armies, it¡¯ll do next to nothing to strengthen their saints.¡± Hearing that, understanding dawned on the young Dragonblood Warrior. ¡°All I have to do now is make sure that my Empire is able to remain standing for the next 100 years,¡± Jordon chortled as he glanced at the opposing saints in the distance. ¡°After that, when your generation finishes maturing, it¡¯ll be their turn to cower in fear.¡± His words caused confident grins to appear on the faces of not just Linley but Wukong, Leona, and even Bebe. They all understood that forget 100, in 50 years, as long as they carry on progressing at their current speeds, they would have nothing to fear in front of any of those so-called Major forces. ¡°Hmph! Who are those bastards smirking at?¡± Byrius snorted, glaring venomously at Wukong and the others. ¡°Can¡¯t those fools see that they¡¯ve lost? The mine is ours.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Fain waved dismissively. ¡°Ignore them. It¡¯s time to claim what¡¯s¡­¡± Before Fain could finish his sentence, he saw something that left him speechless. It wasn¡¯t just him; whether it was him, Byrius, or any of the saints on his side, or even those on their opposing saints, they were all left stunned by what they were seeing. ¡°Is he serious?¡± O¡¯Casey, the elder judge of the Cult of Shadows, muttered, not knowing what else to say from beside Gediah. ¡°What is he thinking?¡± Linley asked, no less shocked as he watched Ace casually lying on the roof of what appeared to be a recently and quickly made shabby wooden cabin. It was only when the opposing army appeared around a hundred or so meters from his position that Ace opened his eyes, a smirk forming on his handsome face as he calmly got up, summoning a halberd from his storage ring. Though not his preferred weapon of choice, this was currently the best pole-arm weapon Ace had at his disposal. It had belonged to one of the fallen angels he had previously killed, and even though it wasn¡¯t at the level of his former glaive, it wasn¡¯t too far off. The moment they saw that it was Ace who had appeared before them, the soldiers of the O¡¯Brien alliance promptly came to a stop, not daring to go further anymore for fear of angering the young man in front of them, and when they saw him summon a weapon, their hearts seemed to stop beating. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Ace casually swung his halberd, causing a highly compressed but exceedingly large blade of air to shoot forward. Ace¡¯s [Flying Slash] sliced through the ground just inches in front of their front line. Looking down at the results of Ace¡¯s seemingly casual slash, the bodies of the front-line soldiers began to tremble uncontrollably. If it had gone any further forward, it would¡¯ve been them who were cut in two. ¡°Those who step past this line will die!¡± Ace calmly uttered, his voice causing shivers in the soldiers who stood before him. ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Fain snarled viciously. ¡°You promised that you wouldn¡¯t be getting involved in the war between mortals.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Ace innocently replied. ¡°Threatening mortals from proceeding isn¡¯t getting involved?¡± Lehman snorted, his body tensed as though he was prepared to take action at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Our alliance won, so this mine is ours!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Ace raised an eyebrow as though he were looking at an idiot. ¡°This battle was for the ownership of the territory to your rear. As the winners, that town belongs to you.¡± Ace nodded with an innocent smile as he continued. ¡°But this mine falls under my already claimed territory.¡± It was then that all the saints listening in understood that Ace was right. Strictly speaking, the mine fell somewhere between the two territories, but as it was closer to Ace¡¯s already claimed territory, technically, it fell under Ace¡¯s jurisdiction. Still, no one bothered with the technicalities, as both sides knew that whichever side won once would more than likely win the next time. ¡°Fine,¡± Byrius growled as he barely managed to forcibly suppress his anger. ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t permit you from intervening directly in the matters of mortals. Your actions are preventing them from continuing on with their conquest.¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± Ace asked casually. ¡°This is the territory of My Gol Clan. If I choose to build a home in my clan¡¯s territory, who are you to tell me it¡¯s not allowed? As for stopping them from proceeding¡­¡± As he said to there, a cold smile suffused Ace¡¯s lips before he continued. ¡°They¡¯re free to proceed at their own risk. I was just politely warning them of the consequences of stepping foot on my land.¡± Hearing that, everyone was once again left speechless. In principle, there was nothing wrong with Ace¡¯s words. It was his territory, meaning he was free to build a home as and where he liked. And as such, if others were to intrude, he would be free to attack, and no one would be able to fault him for it. Their problems had little to do with the principle of the matter and everything to do with the shamelessness of his actions. Even Linley and Jordon didn¡¯t know what to say about Ace¡¯s actions. As Jordon said previously, it was just a mine. It wouldn¡¯t change the greater picture much. They didn¡¯t understand why Ace was willing to go so far. How could they possibly know that this mine held the entrance to a pocket dimension that could definitely change the greater picture? Whether it was for the sake of preventing his enemies from getting stronger or for the sake of drastically speeding up his growth, Ace was unwilling to part with the mine, even if it meant making it a battle between saints. Linley, Jordon, and Kaymin may have been left speechless by Ace¡¯s shamelessness, but Wukong was all for it. ¡°Hahaha, good brat,¡± Wukong laughed boisterously as he and Leona unhesitantly moved to Ace¡¯s side. ¡°This king has long thought this location was a good place to settle down in the future. Have you room for one more?¡± Wukong had no idea about the pocket dimension, but since when did he need a reason to slap the faces of those he didn¡¯t like? ¡°Of course,¡± Ace chortled, all but disregarding the presence of the enemy¡¯s glaring down at them. ¡°The more the merrier.¡± ¡°You really are testing my patience, boy!¡± Byrius growled as he leapt to action. As he darted towards Ace, no one from his side made any attempt to stop the brash, red-haired warrior. They were all beyond furious with Ace¡¯s antics. Since Ace was so determined to cross their bottom line, they would accompany him. Instead of stopping his junior brother, Fain summoned his sword and moved to intercept Jordon. In his eyes, he was the only one present that could pose a threat to them. What he hadn¡¯t expected, though, was that instead of attempting to rescue Ace, Jordon¡¯s chilling, undivided attention was focused solely on him. Seeing his senior brother moving to intercept the only person who could pose a threat to him, the furious grin on Byrius¡¯ face only widened. ¡°No one can save you now, brat!¡± Byrius was several times stronger than him. Without question, if Byrius¡¯ attack were to land, Ace would definitely die without a burial ground. Still, Ace¡¯s eyes showed no fear, only mockery. ¡°Now!¡± Byrius suddenly felt his heart go cold, instinctively thinking he was caught in some kind of trap. But unlike what he imagined, the trap he¡¯d been caught in consisted solely of Wukong. Even before Ace had spoken, Wukong had already summoned his trusty staff. ¡°This king¡¯s your opponent,¡± Wukong voiced coldly as his staff snaked forward, its body coated in lightning as it aimed to smash into the side of Byrius¡¯ head. ¡°[Piercing Thunder]!¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± Byrius snorted disdainfully as he swung his sword to meet Wukong¡¯s strike. Wukong was sent skidding back as the two attacks met, whereas Byrius didn¡¯t take so much as a step back. As powerful as Wukong was, he was far from a match for Byrius, a man who was one step from the prime saint level. Still, before Byrius could continue with his attack, he was forced to stop as his body trembled uncontrollably. He let out a pained grunt as his face paled. In his rage, he had forgotten one very important fact. Though Wukong¡¯s speed and power weren¡¯t much compared to his, it had been two years since Wukong had begun fusing Lightning¡¯s profound mysteries of Judgment and Movement. Wukong¡¯s spiritual attack was far more powerful than it had been in the past. Spiritual attacks had little to no effect on angels and fallen angels, but Byrius was neither. At the same time, a small shadowy figure darted out from the poorly made wooden cabin at a speed that caught everyone by surprise. What made those around even more surprised was the fact that even though it was right before them, they weren¡¯t able to sense its presence. It took no more than a split second to realise it was a small magical beast no bigger than a dog, wearing a shadow robe. There was nothing more fearful than the unknown. Not being able to sense the beast¡¯s presence made it so that no one dared to face the creature head-on. Most sighed in relief when they realised they weren¡¯t its target, but there was one unlucky victim who failed to flee before being caught in a giant fiery sphere. No one even attempted to save Lanke, who had been too slow to escape, but their hearts went cold when they heard the pain-filled shrieks of the man trapped in the fiery dome. ¡°That¡¯s one down,¡± the magical beast growled excitedly as the pseudo-god realm dissipated, revealing the figure of a little red beast that looked an awful lot like Carter. Book 6: Chapter 40 – Aiden’s Shocking Might Everyone present, be they saint or mortal, watched in shock as Lanke, O¡¯Brien¡¯s 22nd Disciple, a true expert at the peak of the saint realm, fell to his death, his body a charred heap of meat! ¡°Lanke!¡± Fain cried out. Although there was a lot of competition and negativity between most of O¡¯Brien¡¯s disciples, Fain was one of the very few who cared deeply for all his junior brothers and sisters, even Byrius, who seemed dead set on antagonising everyone around him. His heart had been thrown into turmoil after the death of his other juniors at the hands of Arianna¡¯s disciples a couple of years ago. Still, there was nothing he could¡¯ve done back then as he hadn¡¯t been there to help. But this was different. This time, he was right there, yet all he could do was watch as his junior brother was killed right before his eyes. Even Byrius felt a hint of sorrow. With him being so agreeable by nature, Lanke was one of the few martial siblings Byrius got along with. Still, they weren¡¯t given any time to mourn. ¡°Haha, good kill!¡± Wukong exclaimed as he turned into a bolt of lightning, charging straight towards the saddened Byrius, his staff bending as it came hurtling down towards the crown of the red-haired warrior¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Byrius growled, ignoring the stinging of his soul as his sword arced towards the Wukong¡¯s neck whilst side-stepping the crystal-white staff. Unfortunately, with his soul still tingling from Wukong¡¯s last attack, his spiritual essence couldn¡¯t completely lock on to those around him, allowing Ace, Byrius¡¯ original target, to suddenly leap into the fray unnoticed. Just as he was about to evade Wukong¡¯s attack, Ace¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] surged forth. Its effects were limited against saints. Still, it was enough to cause him a fraction of a millisecond lapse of concentration ¨C more than enough time for Wukong to capitalise. By the time he shrugged off Ace¡¯s mysterious attack, Wukong¡¯s staff was right in front of his face. Knowing he wouldn¡¯t be able to block in time, Byrius tried his best to dodge. Unfortunately, despite not being a saint, Wukong was too fast. Ultimately, all he could do was move his head out of the way, allowing Wukong¡¯s staff to hit him on the shoulder. The sound of his shoulder dislocating rang through the air as his body was sent flying. ¡°BYRIUS!¡± Fain roared unwillingly as he saw Ace¡¯s body move at a speed that should be impossible for a warrior of the sixth rank. ¡°DODGE, QUICKLY!¡± After taking two of Wukong¡¯s attacks, his soul was in copious amounts of pain. It took everything he had not for him to lose consciousness. If not for Fain¡¯s shouts, he may well have done. Unfortunately, his soul was in far too much pain to pay attention to what was going on around him; his eyes had barely opened when he noticed the tip of a fiery halberd piercing towards his head. For the second time in as many years, Byrius was overwhelmed by fear as the threat of death loomed over his head. ¡°NOOOOO!¡± Byrius roared as he tried to fly away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Ace was too close. He barely moved fast enough to avoid his head being pierced. Unfortunately, his chest wasn¡¯t so lucky. Still, as a peak saint, his battle-qi wasn¡¯t something Ace could pierce through easily, but before he could sigh in relief, Ace¡¯s cold voice seemed to penetrate his soul. ¡°Die!¡± Everyone watched in absolute disbelief as the flames coating Ace¡¯s halberd suddenly blew. Whether it was the experts from the Cult of Darkness, the Radiant Church, or the Yulan Empire, their brows all furrowed when they saw the might of Ace¡¯s attack. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. They had all read the reports on Ace¡¯s strength. During his fight with Olivier, he displayed the strength of an early saint, but that was with the aid of a forbidden technique of some sort. When he finally made his reemergence into the world a year later, when fighting Harelk ¨C the early saint-level rainbow dragon ¨C he was able to comfortably display the strength of an early saint without the forbidden technique. A year after that, during the ambush of the Cult, he displayed strength nearing that of a mid-stage saint when fighting against Sulturn ¨C one of the cult¡¯s Archbishops. And just now, whether it was his strength or speed, they were equal to that of a mid-staged saint. This was the first time those from the Yulan Empire or the Radiant Church had seen Ace in action, and both felt that rumours of his talent weren¡¯t able to do him justice. There were no words that could describe the talent needed to accomplish what Ace had. Still, the youth in question was looking at his halberd, shaking his head. ¡°That didn¡¯t feel right,¡± Ace muttered, ignoring the severely wounded Byrius, who was desperately fleeing for his life. ¡°The explosion needs to be more focused.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Ace didn¡¯t want to chase after him. It was that he knew as fast as he had become, he was nowhere near as fast as he was; he was still significantly slower than a peak saint like Byrius, injured or not. As a result, Ace decided to focus on reflecting on his last attack. The others, though impressed, couldn¡¯t understand the true intricacies of Ace¡¯s last attack. Of those present, only Wukong was able to. As someone who had also begun to fuse two separate profound mysteries, Wukong was able to clearly sense that Ace had done the same. As a result of his enlightenment, not only had Ace¡¯s comprehension of the Profound Mystery of Explosion jumped to that of a mid-staged saint, he had even begun fusing it with the essence of fire, and by the looks of it, it had far surpassed the elementary stages of fusing. ¡°Little freak!¡± Wukong snorted when he saw the look of contemplation and unhappiness on Ace¡¯s face. At the same time, Byrius was desperately fleeing for his life. He had seriously come too close to dying just then. Right now, he had absolutely no intention of fighting against Ace. In fact, he had subconsciously decided he would never appear in front of Ace or anyone from the Pavilion again. The shadow they had left over his heart was simply too vast. It was like every time he saw them, he would lose disastrously! After the lesson that he¡¯d just been taught by Ace and Wukong, all he wanted to do was escape and live the rest of his life in a distant corner of the world, far away from Ace and far away from the Pavilion. He didn¡¯t care that he would be disappointing his ancestor. From that moment on, he wanted to live a solitary life without violence and struggle. It was hard to believe someone could change so much so quickly, but that was what happened when one was pushed past their breaking point. Byrius had lost all his willpower; as such, the chances of him being able to take even a single step forward with his comprehension at this point were non-existent. Unfortunately, despite his sudden change of heart and his desire for a life free from struggle, destiny had other plans for him. He had barely made it more than two kilometres when his already pale face was drained of any and all colour. ¡°You¡­ How¡­ No¡­¡± Byrius stammered incoherently as his eyes fell on the man in front of him, casually standing in mid-air holding nothing but a gourd of extremely potent alcohol. ¡°HAHAHA! IT¡¯S BECAUSE OF YOU! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!¡± Byrius suddenly roared with laughter as any hint of reason vanished without a trace. ¡°THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!¡± No one had been paying much attention to Byrius after he flew off, nor did they blame him. If he chose to stay, all that awaited him was death. Still, he hadn¡¯t left the range of their perception when they heard his mental breakdown. Turning their attention in his direction. The eyes of all the experts on the side of the O¡¯Brien Empire constricted. Even now, as their eyes fell upon that lone figure, they were wholly unable to sense him. But unlike Carter, he clearly wasn¡¯t wearing a shadow robe. ¡°Huh, old man?¡± Ace called out in surprise as he too had no idea he was here. Aiden lazily stood in the air, seemingly barely paying attention to what was going on around him, focusing more on the contents of his gourd. Byrius, who had lost all reason, attacked without any technique. He simply charged at Aiden, allowing his blazing aura to flare wildly. Those watching were taken aback as Byrius¡¯ wild and searing aura suddenly skyrocketed. Still, Byrius didn¡¯t seem to notice that he had finally achieved his goal of becoming a prime saint; his crazed eyes were focused solely on the man, who, in his eyes, was to blame for all his suffering as of late. Even as the temperature spiked, Aiden remained utterly uninterested. It was only when the deranged Byrius began roaring like a lunatic that he looked up with a hint of frustration. Still, he didn¡¯t draw for the glaive strapped to his back. He simply pressed his index and middle fingers together and thrust them forward. Everyone, whether it was Ace, Jordon, Fain, or any of the other experts present, watched in complete and utter disbelief as Aiden¡¯s fingers pierced the skull of the newly promoted prime saint like a hot knife through butter, killing him instantly. ¡°So noisy,¡± Aiden mumbled as he rubbed his temple, trying to ease his apparent headache. Book 6: Chapter 41 – One Expert To Another This was probably the first time in the history of the Yulan Plane that a battlefield had been so silent. The lack of noise was almost palpable as everyone tried to come to terms with what just happened. In the moments before his death, Byrius had broken through and become a genuine prime saint, making him one of the strongest experts on the side of the O¡¯Brien alliance. Even with his injuries, other than Fain and Jordon ¨C due to his weapon ¨C no one should¡¯ve been his opponent. And yet, Aiden Rohault, a man incapable of sensing, let alone using, the profound mysteries of the laws, easily reaped Byrius¡¯ life with little to no effort. From the last report they read on him, Aiden, despite being a mortal at the ninth rank, unable to utilise a single profound mystery, was able to easily fight and defeat a powerful peak saint like Lanke. Still, according to Lanke, he, at most, was equal to those top-tier peak saints like the Holy Emperor of the Radiant Church, the Dark Empress of the Cult of Darkness, and Byrius ¨C before his breakthrough. It had to be remembered that although the difference between peak and prime saints was only one step, it was a step that halted the steps of the vast majority of saints. In terms of actual power, the difference was like night and day. A single prime saint should be able to handle ten top-tier peak saints. When taking all of that into consideration, the shock those spectators were currently undergoing was very much understandable. ¡°Well, that was anti-climactic,¡± Wukong said as he looked in the direction Byrius¡¯ corpse fell. Wukong was fully aware of the history between Byrius and Aiden. As such, he was very much looking forward to the day when the two finally met again after all the time, never believing for even a second that Aiden would lose. He was someone who loved a good face-slapping. As such, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a deep sense of anticipation at the thought of seeing Byrius¡¯ expression when he lost to his master¡¯s husband after all these years. In comparison, this was indeed extremely anti-climactic. The truth was, although Byrius saw Aiden as a rival/archnemesis, the same couldn¡¯t be said vice versa. After their very first fight, Aiden had never seen Byrius as anything but a defeated opponent. Even after being poisoned and being forced to essentially create a brand new path to power, that remained the case. Had Byrius not stopped to attack him and instead carried on fleeing, Aiden would¡¯ve been too lazy to bother with him. Unfortunately, things hadn¡¯t panned out in such a way. Whilst everyone else was getting over the shock of Aiden¡¯s power, Ace couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of relief. Though he hadn¡¯t said it, ever since his master left to attempt to make his breakthrough, he had been deeply concerned. As a fellow user of the [Imposing Devourment], he understood the implications of failure, especially after almost crippling himself the first time he used it. To make matters worse, he had used it on his physical body and dantian, his master, was using it on his soul, which was several times more fragile. Failure would undoubtedly mean certain death. As for Aiden¡¯s dramatic increase in strength, Ace saw that as a given. It had to be remembered that when fighting, Aiden drew his power from his use of impose, which in turn drew his power from the strength of his soul. Previously, Aiden¡¯s soul had only approached that of a Demi-God, yet upon using impose, his body was able to match that of a peak saint. Now, with his soul having broken through to the realms of a Demi-God, upon using Impose, Ace guessed that his master¡¯s body was able to match that of a prime saint, and even that was a conservative estimate. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The deathly silence came to an end as a terrifyingly palpable killing intent suddenly surged forth. ¡°You killed him?¡± Fain asked, his tone getting decidedly colder as he stared at his junior brother¡¯s unmoving corpse. ¡°Is your Yin-Yang Pavilion trying to start a war with my O¡¯Brien Empire?¡± Aiden merely glanced at Fain, still rubbing his temples before uttering a single word. ¡°Idiot.¡± Before anyone could react to his words, Aiden¡¯s body flickered, appearing in front of his disciple. ¡°What did you say?¡± Fain asked, his reddened eyes glaring at the back of the so-called invincible mortal. Aiden¡¯s brows furrowed as he turned to Fain. His rubbing his temples wasn¡¯t just an act; his head was genuinely throbbing! Though he had been successful with his breakthrough, calling the pain he was currently under excruciating was a gross understatement. He felt as though his soul was literally being burnt from the inside out. Fortunately, ever since he had first started walking this new path of his, his pain tolerance levels had skyrocketed to unimaginable levels. Still, the pain of taking his soul to the Demi-God level was like nothing he could¡¯ve ever imagined previously. As such, his patience was at an all-time low. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t to the point where he had forgotten all sense of reason. He understood the current precarious position of the Pavilion, or at least he thought he did. Before he left, his wife was still the only person capable of fighting at the deity level, and although individually, she was stronger than the War God and the High Priest, she hadn¡¯t reached a level where she could fight them both on her own. He knew Mathias could break through whenever he wanted, but that would effectively be ruining his future. Add that to the fact that, other than his brother¡¯s Rohault Empire, just about every major force secretly wanted the Pavilion to fall so as not to put so much pressure on their own forces; he knew that if a war were to break out, it would effectively be the Yin-Yang Pavilion against the world. In 100 years or so, when his disciple and the other students of the pavilion had fully matured, the Pavilion¡¯s standing would be fully secured with no one daring to bare their fangs at them, but until then, he couldn¡¯t afford to do anything to jeopardise their future. Because after completing his breakthrough, he came straight over to find his disciple, he had no idea that Cesar had also become a deity, making it so that even if all the other human forces really chose to form an alliance, they still wouldn¡¯t easily provoke the Pavilion. Had he known that, he wouldn¡¯t care so much about provoking the O¡¯Brien Empire. Still, because he didn¡¯t know that, he chose to explain himself ¨C something he was usually too lazy to do. ¡°I had been here since the beginning of the war,¡± Aiden explained. ¡°Regardless of what happened, I had absolutely no interest in intervening. It was your foolish junior brother who chose to attack me; I simply defended myself. I called you an idiot because you seem incapable of understanding such simple logic. If, despite knowing that, you still choose to start a war with us, feel free.¡± As he said to there, Aiden¡¯s previously indifferent and seemingly unfocused eyes became fearfully sharp, as a frightful killing intent, which didn¡¯t seem to lose out to Cesar¡¯s, surged forth, all but completely suppressing Fain¡¯s. ¡°Just know that should you make that choice, none of you will be leaving here with your lives!¡± Between Aiden¡¯s previous display of power and his exceedingly potent killing intent, the eyes of Fain¡¯s allies constricted as their hearts threatened to beat out of their chests as the fear of death threatened to overwhelm them. Unlike Aiden, they were fully aware of Cesar¡¯s breakthrough. They knew that as it stood, the Yin-Yang Pavilion had two experts with the power of a deity, and now, if you add Aiden, they also had two experts who appeared to have the power of a prime saint. It must be remembered that, although on paper, the Yulan Empire was the equal of the O¡¯Brien Empire, in reality, they were anything but. The War God and High Priest were equals, true, but when it came to saints, Fain was the only person still alive on either side to become a prime saint. On his own, he could slaughter all of the Yulan Empire¡¯s peak saints and still have energy to spare, say nothing of O¡¯Brien¡¯s other saints. Of the rest of the continent¡¯s prime saints, none of them belonged to any of the major forces. All of them choosing to seclude themselves from the secular world, focusing on trying to break through and become deities. As a result, even if all the other major forces ¨C excluding the Rohault Empire ¨C were to form an alliance, with the Pavilion having two experts at the prime saint level, the chances of them winning were slim to none, and even if they did, at what expense. The price they would have to pay would be catastrophic. ¡°No, we have no such intentions,¡± Felicia hurriedly but respectfully interjected. ¡°We, of course, believe your words. If you say you didn¡¯t intend to involve yourself, then you didn¡¯t intend to get involved.¡± ¡°Hahaha, some alliance,¡± Fain laughed sadistically as he glared at Felicia and the rest of his spineless, so-called allies before turning back to the murderer of his junior brother, a vicious grin taking shape as his grip around his sword tightened. ¡°I have long since heard the tales of the abilities of the so-called ¡®invincible mortal¡¯. It would be a shame not to see your power for myself. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not representing my O¡¯Brien Empire. This is just a simple challenge from one expert to another.¡± Book 6: Chapter 42 – Aiden Vs. Fain ¡°You wish to challenge me?¡± Aiden asked, almost as though he was surprised by Fain¡¯s choice. ¡°How shameful. A prime saint challenging a mortal!¡± Jordon said mockingly before Fain could respond, his tone particularly frigid. ¡°If you want to challenge someone, you need not look any further. Let us continue where we left off.¡± Like everyone else, Jordon was also shocked by the ability his older brother just displayed. Still, although he sensed Byrius¡¯ breakthrough before death, he couldn¡¯t sit back and watch as his beloved older brother went on to fight a genuine, uninjured prime saint on his own. ¡°Jordon, you need not get involved,¡± Aiden said casually, understanding the thoughts going through his little brother¡¯s head. ¡°Since he challenged me off his own back, I¡¯d be more than happy to stretch my legs for a bit.¡± ¡°But brother¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Aiden said, cutting his brother off mid-sentence. ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision.¡± Jordon opened his mouth to continue arguing, but when he saw the look in Aiden¡¯s eyes, he knew that all he could do was step back. As carefree as Aiden came across most of the time, as his little brother, he knew better than anyone that when he made up his mind, there was no changing it. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Haha, good!¡± Fain sneered. ¡°If nothing else, I respect your bravery.¡± Like Jordon, Fain didn¡¯t believe that Aiden¡¯s strength had made such a leap that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with prime saints. As far as he was concerned, there was a simple explanation for Aiden being able to take advantage of Byrius¡¯ crazed and injured state and make killing him look so simple. He and all the powers at be already understood that a big part of Aiden¡¯s strength originated from his ability to use [Impose] at such a monstrous level. From that, they were all able to decipher that his ability stemmed from the power of his soul. As shocking a fact as it was, they understood that his soul had to have surpassed the prime saint level and approach that of a deity. Still, the only way he could use [Impose] to increase the power of his body to that of a prime saint would be if his soul genuinely reached the deity level, but whether it was the War God or the High Priest, both categorically stated that although his soul was nearing that of a deity, it was literally impossible for his soul to increase any higher. When going from a mortal to a saint, the individual¡¯s spiritual sea would see a drastic increase, but it was only a matter of quantity. But upon becoming a deity, the natural laws would descend, transforming said individual¡¯s energy and soul. The difference wasn¡¯t just a matter of quantity but also quality. This qualitative change was what allowed them to use abilities such as Godrealms. In their eyes, there was simply no way for a mortal to achieve such a breakthrough. As far as they were concerned, it was literally going against heaven¡¯s will. It was this that gave Fain his confidence. Unfortunately, his allies didn¡¯t share his confidence. Whether it was Ace or Arianna, the ability they displayed had already gone against heaven¡¯s will. So, although sceptical, subconsciously, they didn¡¯t dare push too far. Still, Aiden didn¡¯t care what they believed. He casually unstrapped the glaive on his back, sliding both halves together as he turned to his disciple. ¡°I came here today to fulfil my troublesome job as your master and continue teaching you,¡± Aiden sighed in an almost lazy manner, completely disregarding Fain¡¯s presence. ¡°Originally, I had planned to teach you by beating my teachings into you, but since a guinea pig has delivered himself to me, I¡¯ll spare you this time.¡± Both Ace and Fain¡¯s eyebrows twitched at Aiden¡¯s words, but before either could respond, Aiden continued. ¡°Watch carefully, brat.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. As he said that, everyone noticed a sudden change in Aiden¡¯s aura. Whereas before, it was virtually non-existent, now it had become exceedingly sharp, like the blade of Aiden¡¯s glaive, or at least that was how it seemed to most of those watching. ¡°Stop acting all mysterious,¡± Fain snorted coldly as his body shot forward at a speed that virtually no one present, Ace included, could follow. ¡°JUST DIE ALREADY!¡± Ace¡¯s eyes widened in shock, not because of Fain¡¯s ridiculous speed but because of his master. His [Observation] allowed him to see things that others couldn¡¯t. He also felt Aiden¡¯s aura was shockingly sharp, but it also seemed fleeting yet tempestuous at the same time. Still, that wasn¡¯t the reason behind Ace¡¯s sudden shock. No, the real reason was because his master¡¯s voice was being transmitted directly to his mind. Those whose souls had reached the saint realm were capable of using their spirit to send their voice directly to the ears of another, but ultimately, they were still talking. But Aiden, who was standing directly in front of him, had his lips firmly closed, and yet¡­ ¡°As you know, due to my crippled dantian, I¡¯m incapable of sensing the laws of nature. As a result, I¡¯m also incapable of utilising the profound mysteries of said laws,¡± Aiden transmitted as his body moved with the grace of the wind, allowing him to dodge Fain¡¯s sword by a hair¡¯s breadth. ¡°But, I never gave up believing that there was another way of incorporating the laws of nature into my glaivesmanship. That was the main reason I spent so much time honing my glaivesmanship, taking it to its current level.¡± Everyone watched in awe as Aiden seemed to toy with Fain. Each of them was a peak talent in their own right with a wealth of experience. There should be very little that could cause them to be shocked at their current level, but Aiden¡¯s glaivesmanship was damn near godly. The way it danced through the air, steadily suppressing its target was simply mesmerising. What was strange was that Aiden¡¯s glaive seemed to move at a speed so slow, it almost seemed as though he was being gentle, as though he was trying his best not to hurt his opponent and yet, the speed Fain was moving prevented them from seeing him as anything more than a blur. If they didn¡¯t know any better, they¡¯d believe that this was simply a wonderous use of utilising the profound mysteries, but no matter who it was, when one utilised a profound mystery, as long as you had comprehended a trace of a profound mystery, you too would be able to sense it ¨C though understanding it was a different matter altogether. Still, it was this that allowed them to know with absolute certainty that Aiden wasn¡¯t utilising any of the laws. But that simply gave birth to all new questions ¨C for everyone but Ace! ¡°I was beginning to think it was impossible, but everything changed when my soul broke through to the Demi-God realm.¡± Aiden transmitted. ¡°I still can¡¯t sense the laws or utilise their mysteries directly, but I can imitate them!¡± Ace watched in awe as his master¡¯s body and glaive moved like a leaf being carried like the wind, gently avoiding and parrying each of Fain¡¯s ferocious and destructive strikes. Not once had Aiden taken the initiative to go on the offensive, and yet, it was clear Fain was being completely suppressed. He had completely fallen prey to Aiden¡¯s flow and found it impossible to extricate himself. ¡°I call this style of utilisation, [Concepts]!¡± Aiden transmitted his voice, still casual as ever. ¡°Instead of focusing on comprehending the wind¡¯s power directly, I focused on trying to understand the ¡®Concept¡¯ of its more esoteric nature and infuse it into my glaivesmanship. Although I didn¡¯t see a sudden increase in my physical strength or the power of my battle-qi like one would when infusing the profound mysteries into their attacks, the increase in skill still increased the power of my glaivesmanship several times over. It¡¯s why, even when only using my former level of physical ability, I can still comfortably suppress those at the prime saint level. I believe that whether it¡¯s Concepts or Profound Mysteries, they¡¯re actually two sides of the same coin. Only by using both in conjunction with each other can you truly reach the apex of understanding of the laws.¡± This was the first time since their meeting that Ace had ever heard his master speak so much in one go. He could literally hear the excitement bubbling over in his voice. Still, he couldn¡¯t blame him. This discovery of his was truly mind-blowing, and for it to have come from Aiden. Ace knew full well how much it meant to him. It only took one look at the genuine and pure-hearted smile on Aiden¡¯s face to understand how much this discovery meant to him. Though he had never said anything, how could a talent on the level of Aiden not be distraught by his future being stripped away from him? Still, that only went to show how strong Aiden¡¯s inner heart and resolve were. After being ¡®crippled¡¯, Aiden didn¡¯t complain once; he merely kept his head down and created one technique after the next, each one more heaven-defying than the last, and now, though still very much in its embryonic stages, it seemed as though Aiden had created a brand-new path. Everyone refers to him as the son of heaven, claiming he¡¯s the most talented person their Yulan Plane has ever seen, but in Ace¡¯s eyes, that title belongs to his master. If he hadn¡¯t been crippled back then, Ace was under no delusions; Aiden Rohault would¡¯ve gone on to be the most dazzling genius the continent had ever seen. Book 6: Chapter 43 – Harsh Truths Whilst everyone found themselves mesmerised by Aiden¡¯s glaivesmanship, Fain, as the one facing it, was too busy fighting for his life to really get the chance to take in the true profundities of Aiden¡¯s glaivesmanship in all its glory. Still, aside from Ace and Aiden himself, he better than anyone understood just how frightening each strike was. Although only subtle, he had this feeling that going against Aiden was like going against the wind in all its might. Gentle yet swift, elegant yet sharp, everywhere yet nowhere, but above all, unrestrained and unfettered. ¡®HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!¡¯ The blue-haired prime saint roared in his mind. His boundless fury had long since been doused by the ever-nearing feeling of death. Right now, like his junior brother, all he wanted to do was flee with his tail between his legs, but with how deadly each of Aiden¡¯s strikes was, he knew that the moment he turned his back to try and flee, he would suffer a potentially life-threatening injury. The worst part was that he felt that, although Aiden¡¯s strength remained at the peak of the saint realm, his glaivesmanship actually seemed to be improving at a slow but still noticeable pace. A fact that only served to make him more and more restless. It wasn¡¯t long before wounds started accumulating on the formerly overconfident swordsman. ¡®If I stay here any longer, I¡¯ll die,¡¯ Fain thought to himself franticly as a deep gash appeared across his chest. ¡°FUCK OFFF!¡± Fain roared as he willed a torrent of lightning to surge out of his sword, trying to force Aiden back long enough for him to escape. Unfortunately, as incredibly quick as he was, Aiden¡¯s glaive seemed to be twice as fast. ¡°ARGGGHHHH!¡± Fain howled in agony as his body turned into a streamer, fleeing faster than most could follow. ¡°Haha, he fled pretty quickly.¡± Wukong laughed, taking no small amount of pleasure in the man¡¯s pain. ¡°He even left an arm as a parting gift.¡± That¡¯s right, by Aiden¡¯s feet was Fain¡¯s arm, cleanly severed from the shoulder down. Lucky for him, it was his non-sword-wielding arm. Still, unless he were to find a saint-level healer who specialised in the laws of light or Edict of Life or broke through to the deity realm, he would remain a one-armed swordsman for the rest of his life. Aiden didn¡¯t seem that phased by the severed limb, or the fact that his opponent had gotten away. He merely rubbed his temples as his eyes scanned the remaining saints. His eyes had lost their former sharpness, nor was he emitting any killing intent, but as the High Priest¡¯s second disciple ¨C Felicia ¨C and the others saw him looking over, their bodies involuntarily trembled. ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way then, Lord Aiden,¡± Felecia said mildly, trying her best to suppress her fear. In response, all she got was a dismissive grunt, but that grunt was like music to their ears. None of them hesitated for a second as all of the enemy saints turned into streamers as they flew into the distance at breakneck speeds. Seeing their leaders leaving, what was left of the enemy¡¯s army desperately wanted to flee, but they didn¡¯t dare move. As ridiculous as it sounded, they all hoped that if they simply stayed still and quiet, the group of monsters in front of them would forget about their existence. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t quite work out that way. Ace¡¯s eyes swept over them, causing their legs to weaken suddenly. With his current level of strength, Ace was very much capable of destroying this battalion with a mere wave of his hand. Fortunately for them, he had no interest in mindless slaughter, especially of those who were so much weaker than him. Still, he wouldn¡¯t just let them go without making his enemies suffer slightly. ¡°All of you,¡± Ace addressed the special battalion from the Yulan Empire. ¡°Drop your weapons and remove your armour, then you may go.¡± Some of those soldiers, namely the commanders, were equipped with top-tier weapons and armours, something they¡¯d be heartbroken to lose on any other day, but today, as they heard Ace¡¯s words, they couldn¡¯t be any happier. Under the circumstances, despite losing their belongings, they felt as though they had just gotten their hands on a supreme treasure, and in a sense, they weren¡¯t wrong; after all, what was more valuable than life itself? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. But when they heard Aiden¡¯s voice, they couldn¡¯t help but feel as though the grim reaper was standing right behind them, the cold, hard blade of his merciless scythe pressed against their necks. ¡°Hold on,¡± Aiden said slowly, his voice causing each of them to pale. ¡°Before you go, I need you to pass on a message to your leaders.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Ye¡­ Yes, milord¡­ An¡­ Anything¡­¡± The general leading this group muttered fearfully, not daring to meet the gaze of the man who just bullied one of the most powerful saints on the continent. ¡°Tell them they are free to continue fighting against this foolish disciple of mine,¡± Aiden explained casually, paying no attention to the glare he was receiving from Ace. ¡°Even if he were to die at their hands, they would face no retaliation from either myself or anyone at the Pavilion.¡± His words came as a shock to almost everyone listening, including Linley and Bebe. The only ones not shocked by his words were those who knew him. This was just how he was. Even if the Pavilion were ten times stronger and had the power to completely suppress every single force on the continent several times over, Aiden would still make the same decision. He better than anyone knew that for a young talent to truly turn into a peerless expert, they needed copious amounts of pressure, and for a talent on the level of this disciple of his to really excavate his potential, a mere O¡¯Brien Empire and Dark Alliance was far from enough. It would take the combined might of all the major forces to put enough pressure on him. Aside from when he was referred to as foolish, Ace didn¡¯t so much as bat an eyelid at his master¡¯s words. His train of thought aligned perfectly with his master. In fact, after discovering the secret pocket dimension, he doubted whether even all of them combined would be able to create enough pressure for him, considering his rate of growth. ¡°Okay,¡± Aiden said, waking the Yulan General from his daze. ¡°Now you can go.¡± ¡°Than¡­ Thank you, Milord,¡± The general said, scurrying away in nothing but his underwear. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure my leaders receive your message.¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Aiden grunted dismissively before turning to his disciple with a smirk on his face. ¡°What do you think? Not bad, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s incredible!¡± Ace agreed unhesitantly, his eyes shining with anticipation. Ace¡¯s words were what everyone else was thinking as they looked at the monstrous existence that was the invincible mortal ¨C Aiden Rohault. Still, it made Aiden laugh boisterously, as he had never seen such an expression of pure-hearted admiration on Ace. ¡°Alright, come with me. I¡¯ll explain the method of utilising concepts,¡± Aiden chortled, clearly in a great mood. ¡°Wukong, you come too. In fact, Jordy, go collect the rest of the brats and bring them. I¡¯ll explain it to all of them at once. Even if they¡¯re not ready to begin comprehending concepts, at their rate of improvement, it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡± As he said to there, he noticed the azure-coloured Dragonblood Warrior standing in the sky, looking down at him with a mix of longing and a hint of reverence. Thinking back to the talent of his disciple, like Ace, he knew it was only a matter of time before this continent lacked the ability to provide him with any sort of pressure. The only one who had a chance at continuing to pressure him would be Linley. He had seen and met a multitude of experts from the families of the four supreme warriors, including the four supreme warriors themselves; still, none of theirs could even begin to compare to the purity of Linley¡¯s bloodline. But the most impressive point about the young Patriarch of the Baruch Clan was that, unlike the rest of his clan, who all had mediocre affinities to the elements, Linley¡¯s were simply exceptional. Aside from his average affinity to the laws of fire, he had exceptional affinities to the laws of wind, earth, and Water. The last of which had actually surpassed the exceptional grade, matching that of Ace¡¯s affinity to the laws of fire, his niece¡¯s affinities to the laws of light and wind ¨C when she wasn¡¯t using her newly awakened bloodline ¨C and Killian¡¯s affinity to the laws of earth after eating that Earth Root Fruit. He even had a slight affinity to the Edict of Destruction, though it was poor at best. Still, all things considered, Linley¡¯s talent was no weaker than Ace and Amira¡¯s in the slightest. In the future, he may well be the only person capable of rivalling Ace. As such, when he saw the look of longing on Linley¡¯s face, he laughed calmly before nodding. ¡°Brat, you can come too.¡± ¡°Errm, Lord Aiden,¡± Kaymin voiced hesitantly, unable to hide his hope and anticipation. The allure of Aiden¡¯s display was too much for him to stay quiet in the face of such an opportunity. ¡°May I come as well?¡± ¡°You?¡± Aiden asked as he looked at the former duke before glancing towards his brother, who also looked at him in anticipation. ¡°You may both listen in,¡± Aiden sighed. ¡°But I suggest you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But brother¡­¡± ¡°Listen to me first,¡± Aiden said, cutting off his dejected younger brother. ¡°Both of you can be considered geniuses in your own right; if you weren¡¯t, you never would¡¯ve reached your current heights. Still, in terms of your affinities, neither of you can compare to these brats, all of whom have at least an exceptional affinity to at least one of the elements.¡± ¡°You need to understand, this path I¡¯ve recently unearthed is still in its embryonic stages. For these brats, walking down both paths at the same time would likely help them, but if the two of you, with your limited talents, were to become distracted from comprehending the profound mysteries of your respective laws, chances are, you wouldn¡¯t walk very far on either path.¡± Aiden¡¯s words were blunt and direct, but he had no intention of mincing words. He was being honest for their own good. As his brother, and a talented expert of his home, he didn¡¯t want either of them to walk down the wrong path because they were blinded by greed. Still, at the end of the day, the decision was theirs to make. Thankfully, though he wasn¡¯t around much, the position Aiden held in the hearts of the Rohault Empire¡¯s experts was above all and second to none, even more so after his recent display. ¡°I understand,¡± Emperor Jordon said helplessly, understanding his brother would never do anything that wasn¡¯t for his own benefit. ¡°I¡¯ll follow your advice.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Kaymin sighed, unable to hide his disappointment. Book 6: Chapter 44 – Demi-God Artifact Over the next few hours, Aiden, Ace, and Linley waited whilst Jordon, Kaymin and the others went to round up Killian and the other Acolytes of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, including the pale-faced Amira. In that time, Ace had already explained Amira¡¯s condition to his master, so when he saw her weakened condition, Aiden wasn¡¯t surprised. In fact, he agreed with her decision. He understood that as Ace¡¯s soulmate, her talent was in no way inferior to his. Still, it was only after seeing the abilities granted by her bloodline awakening that he understood how true it was. With her current level of talent, he didn¡¯t doubt for a second that this adoptive niece of his would definitely be able to turn this disaster into a blessing; it was merely a matter of time. When everyone had gathered, Aiden sent away all of those with lesser talents, including Linley¡¯s family and friends. Although each of them were incredibly talented, being descendants of the four supreme warriors, that talent was only regarding the path of warriors. It was common knowledge that aside from the Violetflame Warriors, whose bloodline boosted their prowess as mages ¨C and thereby affinity to fire ¨C the other three all suffered from poor affinities to the laws of nature. It was exceedingly rare for a descendant of a supreme warrior to be blessed with decent affinities, which was why, of the ten alive and present in this era, aside from Lauriella, who was a pure-blooded Violetflame Warrior, only Linley and Alissa were blessed with exceptional affinities. After everyone else was dispersed, the only ones remaining were Ace, his fellow disciples from the Pavilion, Wukong, Leona, Linley, Bebe, and surprisingly, Ace¡¯s mother, Milianna. Although, when one took the time to really think about it, her being allowed to stay made sense. Not only had her pure soul completely recovered, as a haki user, the power of her soul was especially powerful. It had to be said, of all those present, the only ones with talent surpassing hers were Ace, Amira, and Linley. Even Leona and Bebe ¨C two Apex Divine Beasts ¨C could only be said to be on her level. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Amira whispered to Ace whilst sitting on Leona¡¯s back, leaning against Ace¡¯s lean body for support. ¡°The old man completed his breakthrough,¡± Ace said softly, gently holding Amira. Even though, technically speaking, Ace and Amira¡¯s relationship hadn¡¯t progressed since their conversation back in the Rohault Empire ¨C Ace still wanting to wait until he had finished his business with O¡¯Brien before taking things any further ¨C unofficially, they appeared to be getting closer and closer by the day ¨C that was especially true after Amira got injured. Unless he was training, Ace would spend almost all of his free time by her side. To be fair, even when he was training, Amira would spend her time by his side, silently focusing on her comprehension of the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mystery of Purity, as though being by his side gave her strength. At first, they would still be embarrassed acting so intimately when others were around, but after a month, they had long since gotten used to it, as had everyone else. Even Amira¡¯s ¡®mother¡¯, Empress Sharanthia, though still sceptical, didn¡¯t say much else. She could see the joy being by Ace¡¯s side brought Amira, and there was nothing she wanted more than the happiness of the daughter of her deceased, beloved older brother. ¡°He also somehow managed to create a new path that allowed his strength to take a giant step forward.¡± Ace continued with his explanation. ¡°Now, he¡¯s going to explain the specifics of this new path of his to each of us.¡± Amira¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when she heard that, but before she could ask anything else, the sound of her uncle¡¯s voice caught the attention of everyone present. ¡°Now that all of you brats are here, let¡¯s begin,¡± Aiden said lazily. ¡°As some of you already know, I left the Pavilion to enter seclusion over a year ago so that I could attempt to push my soul into the realms of a deity, and thankfully, I was successful in my breakthrough.¡± As he said that, the eyes of Linley and the others all constricted into pinholes as they felt an extremely tyrannical and overbearing energy surround them. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Godrealm,¡± Alissa muttered, feeling the familiar energy surround her ¨C It was identical to her grandpa Cesar¡¯s after he broke through to the deity realm. Though it had done nothing to suppress them, it made each of them feel like they were mere ants standing before a deity. ¡°Show off,¡± Ace snorted, causing Aiden to give Ace¡¯s soul a slight shock to teach him a lesson before continuing as though nothing happened. ¡°It was after making my breakthrough in the Twin Horn Peak in the mountain range of death and using my newly enhanced soul to observe the unique aspects of the wind that I had an epiphany, leading to my discovery of this new path,¡± Aiden explained. ¡°Twin Horn Peaks?¡± Killian asked. ¡°Mountain Range of death?¡± ¡°The mountain range of death is one of the continents forbidden areas of the continent. It¡¯s said that all who enter will find themselves unable to leave ¨C or at least that¡¯s the case for mortals.¡± Joel explained. ¡°But to saints and experts on the level of Grand Elder Aiden, it¡¯s just another slightly unique location in our continent.¡± ¡°The truth is the Twin Horn Peaks were formed in such a way that when the winds travel through It, it makes a howling sound that affects the soul of those who hear it,¡± Aiden explained. ¡°But like Joel said, it¡¯ll only really affect the souls of mortals and those saints with weaker souls. But anyway, whilst observing the wind, I realised that even though I can¡¯t comprehend the laws directly, there¡¯s no reason I can¡¯t comprehend the abstract concepts of the wind and apply them to my glaivesmanship.¡± As Aiden said to there, he began to display his new and improved glaivesmanship. Although he had no opponent, it didn¡¯t stop Ace and the others from marvelling at the display. It was truly enchanting. ¡°It¡¯s as though both Uncle and his glaive have fused with the wind, essentially becoming a force of nature,¡± Amira¡¯s eyes sparkled the more she watched. As someone with an exceptional affinity to the laws of the wind, she was able to take away more from this display than Ace was. It wasn¡¯t just her either. Be it Alissa, Kannal, or Linley, each of them had exceptional affinities to the laws of wind; as such, this display was especially mesmerising to them. ¡°As I¡¯ve already said, this path is still very much in its embryonic stages, and although my experience can¡¯t compare to those supreme experts in the universe, I genuinely believe that this is the true path of utilising the laws or at least half of it,¡± Aiden said, a gentle smile playing his lips as his glaive danced through the air with an undeniable charm. ¡°I believe that when you utilise the profound mysteries, they should be used as the basis for your supreme and finishing attacks, but what about when you¡¯re just attacking normally? My wife¡¯s family heirlooms include videos of supreme experts from the various higher realms who have done battle in our plane in the past. Although their supreme attacks are something I can¡¯t even begin to fathom, when attacking normally, their attacks tend to be brutish at best, simply relying on raw strength and speed. Some were skilled enough to create supreme attacks that could be used repeatedly over extended periods of time, but it was still a waste of their energy. They should focus on using their divine energy for their supreme attacks to kill their enemy when the right time arises. A feat that becomes entirely possible by infusing the concept of a law into your weapon handling. Doing so wastes not an ounce of your divine energy. Instead, it relies solely on the body¡¯s stamina and endurance, which, forget the deity realm, even at the saint stage, becomes virtually limitless.¡± The reason why saints no longer use [impose] is that [Impose] is merely a way for mortals to become one with nature, using the force of mother nature to strengthen their attacks. But upon becoming saints, the body goes through an evolution, preparing them for godhood. This evolution essentially makes their body one with nature, meaning that without having to actively do anything, their attacks hold the same effect and power of [impose]. This evolution allows them to forgo the need for food or sleep; it also gives them a limitless amount of physical stamina. ¡°Unfortunately, there is one prerequisite for truly starting upon this path,¡± Aiden said as he gradually came to a stop. ¡°And that is for you to become a deity, or at least your soul must reach that level.¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes were sparkling as they hung on Aiden¡¯ every word, but when they heard the prerequisite, their expressions couldn¡¯t help but drop. Among them, the closest among them to the Deity realm was Wukong. After initially fusing two profound mysteries, his comprehension had already stepped into the deity realm, meaning that he would face no bottlenecks when increasing his realm until he reached the Demi-God realm. Still, even if he stopped focusing on his comprehension and focused all his time and energy on increasing his realm, it would still take the better part of a decade to become a Demi-God. It had to be remembered that comprehension, whilst the part that slowed most on the path to godhood was only one of two things needed when becoming a deity. The other was the accumulation of energy. Although the process of absorbing energy was simple, it was still a gradual process, especially as the amount of energy needed was simply astronomical. As such, it was no surprise that each of them was so disappointed by Aiden¡¯s revelation. ¡°As I said before, this path is still very much in its infancy stage, plus I¡¯m merely a cripple who can¡¯t sense the laws of nature, so I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s another way, but as it stands, the only way to truly infuse the concepts of the laws into your weapon art, is via the use of a divine weapon,¡± Aiden explained, going back to his usual lazy and uninterested demeanour. As he did, the eyes of all those present widened as they stared at him, or more specifically, his weapon. ¡°Your glaive¡­¡± Ace said incredulously. ¡°It¡¯s a Demi-God Artifact?¡± Book 6: Chapter 45 – Palpable Excitement Ace¡¯s shock wasn¡¯t simply because of the fact that his master¡¯s weapon was a Demi-God Artifact. The main reason behind his shock was because he hadn¡¯t been able to tell at all. To him, it looked like the same ordinairy Glaive he always used. It had to be understood that Ace¡¯s [Observation] was able to sense the specialness of even Linley¡¯s violet flexible sword, and that was a sword Ace was 100% certain was hundreds if not thousands of times superior to his master¡¯s weapon, even now. ¡°Has it always been one?¡± Ace asked, his eyes still focused on the glaive. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I sense it?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Aiden replied casually. ¡°Do you think Demi-God Artifacts just grow on trees?¡± ¡°As for why you were unable to sense it¡­¡± As Aiden¡¯s voice trailed off, so too did his presence. ¡°Do you really believe that you can sense a deity if they wish to hide from you?¡± Even though everyone was able to see him, they couldn¡¯t sense his presence in the slightest. An act that allowed everyone to understand what he was implying. By utilising their Godrealm, a deity was able to hide their presence entirely. Only those at their level or superior were able to sense them. Just like how Cesar was able to hide the presence of Alissa, Linley, and the rest of his group back when Ace and the others were confronting the Dragons, Aiden was likewise able to hide the aura of his weapon. Still, there was one question running through the minds of Ace and the others that remained unanswered. ¡°How did you turn your weapon into a Demi-God Artifact then?¡± Now that Aiden wasn¡¯t hiding the aura of his weapon, Ace was able to sense that although the energy it emitted had increased multiple times over, the inner structure of it hadn¡¯t changed at all. No materials had been added, nor had any formations been infused to increase its might. ¡°Arianna, Mathias and the others were waiting till you become saints to tell you this, but I guess there¡¯s no harm in telling you brats a little early,¡± Aiden mused aloud. ¡°As you all know, there are very few deity-level experts here on our Yulan Continent, which is also why we have so few Divine Artifacts in circulation. Most of you might have thought that a Divine Artifact can only be forged by Divine Forgers, but that couldn¡¯t be any further from the truth. In terms of skill, the top forgers on the continent have already reached the limits of what forging can accomplish, being able to smelt and forge most ores and materials perfectly into top-quality weapons, and yet, none are able to forge a Divine Artifact. What you need to understand is that, unlike mortal artifacts, a Divine Artifact has little to do with the materials and formations used to create it and everything to do with it being nurtured by the spiritual essence of its owner. To mortals and even the vast majority of saints, one¡¯s spiritual essence is still immature, meaning it can¡¯t be used freely outside of the body except for sensing the auras of others. But like I said before, after reaching the deity level, your soul undergoes a metamorphosis, transforming it into a spiritual sea, increasing the quantity and quality of one¡¯s spiritual essence. At that stage, even if you don¡¯t specialise in a law that focuses on the soul, you can still attack the soul of others.¡± As he said that, a smirk formed on Aiden¡¯s lips as he glanced at his disciple, who just experienced that first-hand. ¡°Aside from that, it also allows deities to slowly channel their spiritual essence into their weapon to slowly nourish it. Over time, that weapon will gradually develop a spirit of its own, thereby increasing its quality and ability, which is also why although the materials a weapon is made from will make a big difference to a weapon¡¯s quality to mortals and even saints, to deities there¡¯s virtually no difference at all. For Deities, the only way to increase the power of their artifacts is to slowly nourish them over extended periods of time with their spiritual essence.¡± Understanding dawned on Ace and the others when they heard that. They also understood Mathias and Arianna¡¯s decision to not tell them until they became saints ¨C it would simply do nothing by knowing. If anything, it may make them want to hurry up and become deities instead of taking their time and focusing on their comprehension. Still, there remained an unanswered question on everyone¡¯s minds. ¡°As interesting as that is, what does that have to do with your newly created path and this king having to wait to become a deity?¡± Wukong asked curiously. ¡°To put it simply, after running a few tests, I realised that Concepts can only be infused into a weapon that has developed its spirit,¡± Aiden explained. ¡°More specifically, only weapons that have been nourished and awakened by you personally. As he said that, Aiden¡¯s eyes fell on Linley. ¡°Unfortunately, that means that you won¡¯t be able to use that flexible sword of yours as a shortcut to utilising concepts, even though it¡¯s Highgod Artifact.¡± As his voice came to an end, Linley¡¯s eyes constricted. The violet flexible sword was his greatest treasure. It was something he found whilst exploring the mountain range of magical beasts. The only reason he dared to use it was because his master ¨C Doehring Cowart ¨C assured him that whilst he remained unable to use its true power, no one else would be able to sense the power hidden within. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But hearing Aiden¡¯s words and feeling the shocked eyes of all those around him focusing intently on him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like the walls were closing in around him. Feeling his boss¡¯ frantic emotions, Bebe¡¯s eyes turned cold as he stood up on Linley¡¯s shoulder as though ready to pounce at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brat,¡± Aiden chortled in amusement upon seeing Linley¡¯s reaction. ¡°I have no desire to take your weapon, nor does anyone else. I only brought it up so you wouldn¡¯t bother wasting any time trying to use concepts with it.¡± It was only when Aiden¡¯s words entered Linley¡¯s ears that Linley¡¯s heart calmed enough for him to really assess the looks of those around him. He saw expressions of surprise, interest, and even a little envy but no greed. A fact that shocked him greatly as the worth of a genuine Divine Artifact was priceless, especially in a world like theirs where there were so few deities to start with. As he wasn¡¯t a member of the Pavilion, how could he possibly understand that the values instilled in each of its members taught them that the most important thing was their own personal power rather than the power brought on by treasures? After all, if you relied on a treasure to reign supreme and then said treasure was stolen, you¡¯d essentially be nothing. Still, that was only part of the reason for their lack of greed. The other was that Linley and his clan could now be considered allies; as such, any greed that would¡¯ve aroused had Linley been anyone else was all but doused. He may not understand their lack of greed, but he did know that whether it was Ace, Wukong, or Aiden, each of them was stronger than him and had the ability to forcibly snatch it from him. Yet none of them seemed particularly bothered. Well, almost none of them¡­ ¡°Oi, lizard brat,¡± Wukong called out suddenly. ¡°Bring out the Highgod Artifact for this king to see. This king has never seen a Highgod Artifact before.¡± Though sceptical and a little hesitant, Linley still ultimately brought it out. One because everyone now knew about it, two because Aiden had already said he had no interest in taking it from him, and an expert of his level would have no reason to lie. As for the third, final, and arguably most important reason, it was because he trusted his judgement of Ace. From what he knew of him, Ace wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to force him to hand it over, especially not in this scenario. If Ace genuinely wanted it, he¡¯d defeat him in a fair fight and take it. Still, judging by the complete lack of interest Ace showed, he didn¡¯t seem to hold it in any regard. ¡°Hmm,¡± Wukong raised an eyebrow as he studied the violet flexible sword in great detail. ¡°Why can¡¯t this king sense anything special about this sword?¡± ¡°For two reasons,¡± Aiden said. ¡°One, your spiritual essence isn¡¯t strong enough, and two, although Linley has already bound this weapon to him, he hasn¡¯t gained the spirit of the weapon¡¯s acknowledgement. It¡¯s also the reason he wouldn¡¯t be able to use Concepts with it.¡± ¡°How do I gain its acknowledgement?¡± Linley hurriedly asked, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. Although his master had been instrumental in guiding him to this point, Doehring Cowart was merely another saint before he died. In terms of knowledge, how could he compare to those experts in the Pavilion? Now that he finally had the opportunity to get answers, how could he possibly forgo such an opportunity? ¡°Although Divine Artifacts have spirits, they aren¡¯t truly sentient beings, meaning they can¡¯t truly communicate with you,¡± Aiden explained. ¡°As such, the only way to gain its acknowledgement is to nourish it with spiritual essence equal to or surpassing that of which it¡¯s used to, which would require you to have the soul of at least a Highgod. The book Ace had passed to him a year ago hadn¡¯t just listed the various profound mysteries of the various laws; it had also included the various deity levels and what one needed to do to break through to each realm. As such, when he heard that, Linley¡¯s face dropped. ¡®Forget comprehending all six of a specific law; I haven¡¯t even begun comprehending a single profound mystery for any of the laws,¡¯ Linley sighed in dejection. ¡®How many thousands, if not tens of thousands of years, would it take to reach such a level.¡¯ ¡°As powerful a weapon as it is, I suggest you treat using it as a last resort rather than your immediate go-to,¡± Aiden suggested. ¡°For one, although saints can¡¯t see through the power of your weapon, deities can. If O¡¯Brien, Catherine, or even that Dylin fellow were to see it, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill you for it. But most importantly, as soon as you reach the deity level and have begun to comprehend a concept, the amount of help your nurtured weapon will give you won¡¯t lose out in the slightest to that Highgod Artifact; in fact, there¡¯s a good chance it¡¯ll surpass it.¡± ¡°But how long will it take to nourish a weapon enough that it¡¯ll turn into a true Divine Artifact?¡± Linley asked helplessly. ¡°For most, it¡¯d likely take at least 100 years of constant nourishment,¡± Aiden nodded. ¡°But for those who¡¯ve comprehended a concept, it¡¯ll likely take a month, if that. You need to understand that when utilising a concept, your spiritual essence is constantly being channelled through your weapon. It¡¯s that what allows your concepts to materialise. The best part about it is that not only is it nourishing your weapon, it also has the added benefit of tempering and refining your spiritual essence.¡± Aiden¡¯s words once again sent each of those listening into shock. One month to awaken your weapon¡­ Tempering one¡¯s spirit¡­ If one were to develop a technique with either of those effects, it¡¯d likely be held in extremely high regard, but for Aiden¡¯s new path to accomplish both¡­ It caused everyone to sigh in admiration at Aiden¡¯s newly founded path. It was no wonder he held it in such high regard despite understanding his own lack of knowledge regarding the worlds of deities. It was simply too heaven-defying! ¡°Ooh, and the best part is, as long as your soul reaches the level of a saint-level warrior, one should be able to start down this path,¡± Aiden said, the corners of his full lips creeping up to form a teasing smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that one needed to be a deity first?¡± Amira hurriedly asked as she, like the others, felt her excitement bubbling up. ¡°I lied,¡± Aiden laughed. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen all your faces; you brats looked so upset, haha.¡± Despite being played, no one seemed to care. It had to be remembered that Aiden said, ¡°Saint-level warrior¡±. Everyone present was both a supreme talent walking the path of a warrior and a mage. Their souls were far stronger than mages at the same level. Even the weakest among them would only have to wait until they reached the eighth rank as a mage and a warrior to start comprehending concepts; as for the stronger ones among them¡­ Wukong, Ace, Amira, and Linley had already achieved the minimum requirements. As had Killian, thanks to the increase brought about by the Earth Root Fruit. Because of Aiden¡¯s last revelation, the excitement and anticipation in the room had become palpable. Book 6: Chapter 46 – Necropolis of the Gods ¡°The only thing I will say is that the weapon you choose to start nourishing will likely be your partner for the rest of your lives,¡± Aiden said, regaining the focus of the excited youngsters. ¡°As such, you should start gathering materials and ores for your perfect weapon now. Although it¡¯s true that the stronger the grade of the weapon, the less the material it was originally forged from matters, to start with, the quality of your weapon will still make a substantial difference. Plus, certain materials react differently with different elements. I can¡¯t be sure as I haven¡¯t run enough tests, but I¡¯d be willing to bet that the more suited the material is to said element, the easier the nourishment process will be.¡± Everyone had to admit, Aiden¡¯s words made sense. Still, the only ones who were in any sort of hurry were Ace, Wukong, Amira, Linley, and Killian. With their souls already in the saint realm, the only thing stopping them would be their weapons. Still, it was then that Ace said something that came as no small surprise to all those present, including his master. ¡°I think I might be able to help with that,¡± Ace said with a grin as he waved his hand, causing a large amount of materials to materialise on the floor. Examining the materials, even Aiden was unable to hide his shock. On the floor, there was everything from shadow diamond ore to adamantine. Each material more expensive than the last, with some that not even Aiden, with all his experience, was able to recognise. ¡°Brat, where did you get these?¡± Wukong asked incredulously as he stared at the various materials laid out before him. ¡°This is part of the reason I decided to risk it all in a battle against the O¡¯Brien saints and their allied force,¡± Ace explained slowly. ¡°You know what, it¡¯s better if we get Uncle Jordon and the others so I can show you.¡± Saying that everyone was intrigued would be a giant understatement; still, they all patiently waited whilst Jordon, Sharanthia, Kaymin, Lance, and Cirulus returned. ¡°At first, although I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t want to retain ownership of the mine, it was nowhere near the point where I was willing to fight to the bitter end over it,¡± Ace explained as he led the large group through the mine. ¡°But that all changed when Cirulus showed me what he found at the deepest corner.¡± As he said that, they turned the corner to the final passage, and as they did, there wasn¡¯t a single person who wasn¡¯t beyond shocked by what they saw. ¡°This¡­¡± Jordon muttered as he stared at the various gems embedded into the cave¡¯s walls. ¡°These gems¡­ They¡¯re all of the ninth rank; some are even at the saint rank.¡± ¡°How is this even possible?¡± Sharanthia asked, understanding that such a high-quality mine, though not impressive in the higher realms, shouldn¡¯t exist in such a low-quality plane like the Yulan plane. ¡°You¡¯ll understand in a moment,¡± Ace said as he quickly incinerated the pile of earth that blocked off the rest of the passage. ¡°This door¡­¡± Aiden said as his eyes widened in shock. With his soul now able to match that of a Demi-God, he now had the ability to use his divine sense. There should be nothing that could hide from his senses, yet he had absolutely no idea that this door existed. ¡°I covered it just in case we weren¡¯t able to retain ownership of the mine so that our guests would find it that much harder to find until we were strong enough to reclaim it,¡± Ace explained. ¡°What¡¯s on the other side?¡± Aiden asked, genuinely curious. Hearing his master¡¯s question, a mysterious smile formed on Ace¡¯s face as he wrapped the entire group in his flames. ¡°Follow me, and you¡¯ll find out.¡± As he said that, the group followed him through, only to be rendered dumbfounded by what they saw. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°This¡­ How?¡± Wukong muttered as he was practically assaulted by an overwhelming amount of extremely pure elemental essence. Even though he couldn¡¯t sense the elemental essence in the atmosphere around him, looking past the thin membrane separating them from the vast expanse of chaotic space, Aiden was able to put two and two together. Still, that only left him all the more shocked as he understood that this little ¡®room¡¯ was more than likely man-made. ¡°Which expert created this?¡± Aiden asked in awe. ¡°Someone created this?¡± Jordon asked, subconsciously believing that something so incredible could only be formed naturally by the heavens themselves. ¡°Of course,¡± Aiden nodded. ¡°Even if you ignore all the other clues, the fact that there¡¯s a door to separate this pocket dimension from the rest of our plane is enough to discern that this was definitely not naturally formed. The only thing I can¡¯t wrap my head around is the level of strength needed to do such a thing!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure which expert originally created the pocket dimension, but when I first entered, after awaking from my enlightenment, I discovered a chair and desk, both of which were made from a wooden material I¡¯ve never seen or heard of, but on the desk was a storage ring with the all the materials you saw previously, as well as a journal of the expert who previously used this room last,¡± Ace explained before taking out the journal and opening it to the first page. ¡°To whoever finds this room next, my name is Turieb. I have devoted my whole life to my dream of becoming a paragon. After spending the last billion years roaming the infernal realm, I finally managed to reach my current level ¨C that of a seven-star fiend. Unfortunately, Improving any more is simply too difficult. Forget the level of a paragon; I¡¯m still not even able to match the power of an Asura. That was when I heard the rumours of a Sovereign creating a secret realm here in this so-called Yulan Plane called the Necropolis of the Gods, where they left a myriad of treasures, including Sovereign Artefacts and other treasures on that level. I used my entire life¡¯s savings on travelling here with the hopes of acquiring a treasure that would allow me to take another step towards achieving my dream. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I realised just how difficult it would be for me to succeed. With other Asura-level experts such as Lord Bloodviolet here, the chances of an ordinairy seven-star fiend like me prevailing were slim. Still, I refused to give up; I decided to stake it all on this chance. Thankfully, whilst waiting for the Necropolis of the Gods to open, I managed to stumble onto this secret pocket dimension. I¡¯m not sure which senior created this pocket dimension, but I know they needed to be at least at the level of an asura. Who knows, it could¡¯ve even been the all-powerful Sovereign himself. Whoever it was, all I can say is that I owe them a great deal of gratitude, for it was in this very room whilst waiting for the opening of the ruins where I was able to make another breakthrough, going from a seven-star fiend to that of an Asura. Although I still can¡¯t say for certain whether I¡¯ll be successful in my venture, I am confident in my ability to protect myself. Even if I walked away empty-handed, this trip was still absolutely worth it. I would love to find the senior who created this pocket dimension and personally thank them, but since I can¡¯t do that, I¡¯ve decided to carry this good karma forward by leaving some treasures for whoever finds this room next.¡± As Ace finished reading the journal of Turieb, he could see the expressions of everyone else were similar to his own. ¡°I don¡¯t know what a seven-star fiend is, nor have I any idea what an Asura is, but from the sound of it, they should be extremely powerful experts. For such an expert to be willing to risk his life to enter this so-called Necropolis of the Gods, I can¡¯t help but want to take a look at it myself.¡± ¡°A boy who hasn¡¯t even broken through to the saint rank wants to visit the Necropolis of the Gods? Courage really does come from ignorance!¡± Sharanthia snorted. ¡°As you should already know, a Highgod Paragon is someone who has comprehended and fused all six mysteries of a chosen law. Beneath them are Commander-level experts, or in the case of the infernal realm ¨C Asuras. To become an Asura, one needs to be a Highgod who has fused at least five mysteries or has matching strength. Under them are the experts on the level of the infernal realms seven-star fiends, each of whom has comprehended all six profound mysteries and fused at least four. From what I¡¯ve heard, many seven-star fiends entered the necropolis of the gods to die. Even a few Asura-level experts met their ends in the ruin, yet you, a snot-nosed brat who is still very much wet behind the ears, wants to ¡°take a look¡±? You should obediently train a few million years before you even think about thinking about the Necropolis of the Gods.¡± A wry smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he heard Empress Sharanthia¡¯s explanation. Till now, the strongest expert he had ever personally met was Arianna. Still, whether it was realm or comprehension of the laws, she was severely lacking in comparison to a seven-star fiend. It was only now that he understood how ignorant he had been. Still, a seed had been lit inside him, and it wasn¡¯t one that would just go away because of his current lack of power. ¡®One day, I will definitely go have a look at this so-called Necropolis of the Gods!¡¯ Book 6: Chapter 47 – The New Yulan Empire After getting over the shock of the pocket dimension, Ace, Linley, and Jordon agreed that as well as splitting the gems equally between the three forces, Linley¡¯s Baruch Clan would be permanently awarded two spaces in the pocket dimension, whilst Jordon¡¯s Rohault Empire would be given three seats. It may have seemed unfair, especially as the pocket dimension could quite comfortably fit 20 people, but Linley didn¡¯t argue. Ace didn¡¯t have to tell him about the pocket dimension, neither did his master have to let him in on the secrets of ¡®Concepts¡¯. Plus, with the brewing relationship between Ace and Amira, it was only fitting that Ace give what would undoubtedly be his future in-laws more benefits. As for the other 15 spaces, five were for the Yin-Yang Pavilion. As his alma mater, Ace wouldn¡¯t be Ace if he didn¡¯t save a few spaces for them. Still, he would obviously leave the remaining ten spaces for his own people. Unfortunately, Aiden was the only actual expert who couldn¡¯t benefit from the pocket dimension. As such, as soon as he finished with Ace and the others, he immediately left to return to the Pavilion, where he told his wife and the rest of the Pavilion¡¯s higher-ups about the pocket dimension. Within a day, Arianna led Cesar and her disciples straight over to Ace¡¯s territory. The only disciple who didn¡¯t arrive was Mathias, who unfortunately drew the short straw and was forced to stay in the Pavilion, along with Julius, to look after the younger disciples of the sect. At the same time, word was spreading like wildfire about the results of the battle between the two alliances. Not only did it serve to elevate the already ridiculously high profiles of the Pavilion¡¯s Acolytes ¨C especially Killian, who was now regarded as the continent¡¯s most powerful general. ¨C It also highlighted the power of Linley¡¯s Baruch Duchy. As it stood, in terms of all the mortal armies on the continent, everyone saw the Baruch Army as the strongest. They may not have had the biggest ¨C far from it, in fact ¨C but they did have the best lineup of top-quality generals. After all, although not quite as strong as Killian himself, Hogg had also reached the level of a peerless general ¨C a general who could stand on par with the likes of Olivier and Kaymin before they broke through to the saint realm, a general who could fight multiple generals on his own without losing ¨C and they also had five other experts who had reached the level of a general, four of whom were supreme warrior descendants with the last being Zassler, a peak rank nine necromancer. Still, everyone knew that was only temporary. Within the next few years, as Ace¡¯s classmates made a few more breakthroughs, each of them would inevitably reach the standards of a ¡®peerless general¡¯, easily surpassing those supreme warriors. But, the true focus of everyone¡¯s discussion was Aiden Rohault. It had to be understood that after the incident between the Pavilion and the O¡¯Brien Empire a couple of years ago, the world had come to understand that Haydson ¨C the man formerly regarded as the most powerful saint in the world ¨C was anything but, with the likes of Fain, Desri, and even Byrius, simply too lazy to fight over such a meaningless title. It was at that point that everyone understood, aside from the monstrous exception that was Arianna Qingya, who was considered a deity because of her ridiculous power, the most powerful saints were the various prime saints, plus Mathias and his wife ¨C Lauriella Hyde ¨C whom, because of their comprehension of the Edict of Destruction and Violetflame Warrior Bloodline could easily fight on par with prime saints. But now, not only did Aiden kill Byrius with a single and effortless strike, but he also went on to easily suppress O¡¯Brien¡¯s eldest and most powerful disciple ¨C Fain. At that point, everyone understood that despite only being a mortal, the most powerful man under the deities was, in fact, Aiden Rohault. The rest of the world could only sigh in amazement. It was at that point that the standing of the Yin-Yang Pavilion became thoroughly unshakeable. With two ¡°deities¡± standing at the helm as well as three ¡°prime saints¡± ¨C one of whom appeared to be invincible among saints ¨C there was simply nothing the other major forces could do to stop them. The only good news was that the Pavilion seemed to hold no ambition with regard to fighting for territory or resources. . . . Over the next few months, the whole continent seemed oddly peaceful, with none of the major forces making any movements. Still, even the ordinairy residents of the continent could feel the tense and fragile current state of affairs, allowing them to understand that this was merely the calm before the inevitable storm. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. That being said, those in the newly and formally established Gol Duchy, as well as those forces allied with them, seemed to be oblivious. Ace and the others were training calmly within the pocket dimension, but that peace had to come to an end at some point, and today appeared to be that day. ¡°Ace,¡± Cirulus called out as he hurriedly entered the pocket dimension. ¡°Cirulus,¡± Ace laughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you back so soon ¨C you just broke through to the saint realm yesterday. I thought you¡¯d want to relax outside for a little longer before returning.¡± That¡¯s right, with the help of the pocket dimension, Cirulus had finally broken through to become a saint. That was how he was able to enter the pocket dimension so easily without help from anyone else. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have, if not for the information that just ended up on my lap,¡± Cirulus explained, a surprisingly dignified expression on his face. ¡°What is it?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Please say that those bastards have tried encroaching on our territory again,¡± Wukong smirked. ¡°This king has long been looking forward to finding a reason to stretch his legs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Cirulus shook his head as he explained. ¡°All the major forces have pulled out of the Anarchic region completely.¡± Hearing that, shock could be seen on the faces of all those present in the pocket dimension, including the ever-calm Arianna. ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t that good news,¡± Faye asked jubilantly. ¡°Now we can finally expand and turn our Duchy into a Kingdom. So, why aren¡¯t you smiling?¡± ¡°Because, whilst what you said is true, I¡¯m more concerned about the reasoning behind their pulling out of the region,¡± Cirulus sighed. ¡°The reason?¡± Wukong sneered. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because they know they¡¯re too scared of us to stay here and risk being forcefully pushed out?¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± Cirulus shook his head. ¡°I imagine that this was done in response to the pressure placed upon them by the Pavilion¡¯s current power and the potential you all have displayed, but according to the intelligence report I¡¯ve received, the alliance between the O¡¯Brien Empire, the Yulan Empire, the Radiant Church, and the Cult of Darkness, has become permanent ¨C all four forces have merged together under the banner of the New Yulan Empire.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised the Radiant and Church and Cult of Darkness were willing to put down their differences and obediently amalgamate,¡± Osiris sneered. ¡°I¡¯m more surprised O¡¯Brien was actually willing to submit to Catherine,¡± Linley uttered after taking a few seconds to get over his surprise. After reaching his current level, Linley¡¯s viewpoint of the world had changed, as had his views on those so-called supreme experts that had ruled over their Continent these last few thousand years. He knew that all deities were currently stronger than him, but aside from a select few, he no longer held the average deity in any regard. In his eyes, it was only a matter of time till he reached their level and even went on to surpass them. ¡°According to the intelligence, there were reports of cataclysmic disturbances in the skies above the O¡¯Brien Empire a few days before this news was released,¡± Cirulus revealed. ¡°If I had to guess, the higher-ups of the four forces had long since decided to band together; the only thing they couldn¡¯t decide on was who would lead ¨C O¡¯Brien or Catherine. Those disturbances everyone heard and felt were likely caused by Catherine and O¡¯Brien fighting for command.¡± ¡°I guess we finally know who¡¯s the stronger of the two,¡± Alissa nodded. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Arianna uttered lightly. ¡°Unlike O¡¯Brien, Catherine became a deity by herself over a thousand years ago. For her to do so in a place like the Yulan Plane speaks to her talent. After over a thousand years, it would be all but impossible for her strength not to have taken a single step forward.¡± Despite saying that, it was clear by her tranquil expression that Arianna didn¡¯t put either of the two Demi-Gods in her sights. ¡°What does that mean for us?¡± Joel frowned. ¡°Will they use their newly combined force to go to war with us?¡± ¡°Hopefully,¡± Ace grinned. ¡°Hopefully?¡± Lauriella asked with a raised brow. ¡°You sound a lot more confident than you should, considering the circumstances.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve reached a bit of a bottleneck with my training,¡± Ace admitted. ¡°Who knows how long it will take me to break through whilst staying in seclusion like this? Plus, since deities can¡¯t get involved in the battles between saints and mortals because of Lord Beirut¡¯s rule, we only have to worry about their saints.¡± ¡°You say that as though you¡¯re strong enough to deal with their powerful saints,¡± Kimika replied. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Ace smirked as he glanced at Wukong and Carter. ¡°But I won¡¯t be the one fighting those peak and prime saints.¡± Carter merely snorted before reclosing his eyes and going back to his meditation. As for Wukong, he raised a brow as he responded. ¡°Why does it sound like you intend on using this king?¡± ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯re not excited about seeing some action?¡± Ace quipped back. Like Carter previously, Wukong merely snorted. Still, there was a light of excitement and anticipation flickering in the depths of his eyes. ¡°Kong? You completely comprehended your first mystery?¡± Lauriella and the others asked in disbelief. Nothing needed to be said about Carter. When using his pseudo-Godrealm, his power had long been at the prime saint realm. But Wukong was different. Even though he had started fusing two mysteries, as he was still a mortal, his power could only be reluctantly considered to have reached the peak of the saint realm. But for both Ace and Wukong to be so confident now, Lauriella could only guess that this fifth brother of hers had finally comprehended his first mystery; after all, he had already said he would only break through to the saint realm after doing so. At which point, it was very possible for him to fight against a prime saint, despite only being an early saint himself. ¡°Not yet,¡± Wukong shook his head helplessly. ¡°This king¡¯s still half a step from doing so.¡± ¡°Then why are you and Ace so confident?¡± Lazerim asked curiously. ¡°Because the comprehension of this king¡¯s fused mystery has deepened,¡± Wukong revealed with a pride-filled grin. ¡°Still, the brat¡¯s right. If this king is going to make another breakthrough any time soon, this king will need some external pressure.¡± Book 6: Chapter 48 – Husband & Wife Hearing Wukong¡¯s words, though surprised, everyone understood Ace¡¯s fearlessness. As it stood, Wukong could be considered to have the strength of a powerful peak saint. If he really were to completely comprehend a profound mystery and break through to the saint realm, with the might of his fused mysteries, his power would instantly jump to the prime saint realm. At that point, other than deity-level experts, the Gol Clan¡¯s territories would have nothing to fear. ¡°What do you wanna do about the remainder of the unclaimed cities in the Anarchic Lands?¡± Alissa asked curiously as her eyes travelled back and forth between Ace and Linley with an amused light. ¡°With everyone else having pulled out, only our Gol Duchy and the Baruch Duchy are left with any real ability.¡± Hearing that, everyone understood what Alissa was saying. They also knew she was trying to instigate a battle between the two sides, but it didn¡¯t make her words any less accurate. Linley, Bebe, and Wharton were the only ones present from the Baruch Duchy in the pocket dimension. As they had only been given two seats, Linley had to make a decision on who would be allowed to enter. Still, as it stood, it wasn¡¯t much of a decision. As supreme warriors were known for their poor affinities, the five Armand brothers were instantly dismissed. Although Barker was an early saint when transforming, in terms of comprehension, he had only comprehended one with the axe. He was a long way from even touching the ¡®Impose¡¯ boundary, which was when the pocket dimension would really become useful. As for the rest of his brothers, they were even worse than him. With them dismissed, all that was left was Wharton, Zassler, and Hogg. In terms of comprehension, Hogg, having already comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯, was the closest to comprehending a profound mystery. Still, both he and Zassler decided to step back and allow Wharton to use it. Both Hogg and Zassler were old already, especially Zassler, who had been alive for close to a thousand years. As such, both parties decided to let Wharton ¨C who had shown talent surpassing both of theirs ¨C use the final seat the majority of the time, with them only using it every once in a while. Wharton had long since fused both states of wielding. The next step was ¡®Impose¡¯. Unfortunately, it was a step that managed to halt many geniuses. He previously had no idea when he would take that step. But ever since he entered the pocket dimension, he was able to sense the laws of nature with a lot more clarity than ever before. His progress in these last few months was astonishing. Although he still hadn¡¯t comprehended ¡®Impose¡¯, he felt it would take him no more than a year to take that step at worst. This last year or so had been pivotal for his growth. With him being back around his family all the time, especially with his mother¡¯s soul having healed and her going back to her true pure and gentle-natured self, the demons eating away at him had slowly been resolving themselves. Although he still hadn¡¯t gotten rid of the heart demons left by Killian and Ace, they no longer ate away at him, allowing him to focus wholeheartedly on his training. Still, when he heard Alissa¡¯s words, his heart instantly tightened, thinking that his Baruch Clan would have to face the Gol Clan and their army. Linley, on the other hand, was able to stay calm as he patiently waited to hear what Ace and the others would decide. He knew that although his side had a lot more top-quality generals, his own father had recently broken through to the ninth rank in his human form, making him a saint when transformed. If both sides were to fight now, although he had more Generals, it would take all of them fighting together to stop Killian. At this point, the rest of Ace¡¯s classmates would be able to move freely, making quick work of the rest of his force. In his eyes, since he didn¡¯t have the strength to oppose Ace¡¯s Gol Clan, there was no point worrying about the things he couldn¡¯t control. All he could do was let nature take its course and act accordingly. Still, Ace¡¯s response took him by surprise. ¡°Just split them equally between us and the Lizards,¡± Ace said dismissively. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As far as he was concerned, the size of his territory mattered very little. What was really important was the strength of him and their experts. ¡°There are 11 territories remaining,¡± Alissa immediately replied, seemingly having guessed that Ace would respond as he had. ¡°Which side should take the six, and which side takes five?¡± Even though Alissa¡¯s intentions were all too obvious, everyone merely listened in amusement. It may seem like an inconsequential decision, but that couldn¡¯t be any further from the truth. Right now, everyone knew that Ace and Linley were allies. Although Ace had been dubbed the leader of this next generation, Linley¡¯s rising fame was starting to near that of Ace¡¯s, with him being named ¡®The Little Dragon King¡¯. His talent as a mage was ¡®viewed¡¯ as second only to Ace¡¯s, not losing out to the other disciples of the Pavilion. Add that to the purity of his bloodline, which had evidently surpassed that of even his ancestors; most believed that in terms of talent and potentially even ability, he was in no way inferior to the ¡®Son of Heaven¡¯. Even though they were allies, the side that took six cities would be publicly and officially seen as the leader. Similar to O¡¯Brien¡¯s empire being absorbed into the Yulan Empire after his presumed loss to Catherine ¨C the high priest. But before Ace could open his mouth to respond, Linley¡¯s words shocked and excited everyone. ¡°Let¡¯s fight for it?¡± Linley said provocatively. ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace looked at Linley as though he wanted to confirm he hadn¡¯t misheard. Although Linley¡¯s progress these last few years could only be called monstrous, Ace¡¯s could only be described as heaven-defying. Still, Linley didn¡¯t back down. ¡°It¡¯s been years since we last fought,¡± Linley snorted when he saw the shock on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°If you think you¡¯ll be able to beat me as easily as you did in the past, you¡¯re in for a rude awakening!¡± ¡°I see,¡± Ace¡¯s battle intent suddenly exploded as he looked at the unyielding light in Linley¡¯s eyes. ¡°When?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready whenever you are,¡± Linley quipped back as he stood up, his excitement and battle intent not one whit inferior to his soon-to-be opponent¡¯s. Ace stood up, preparing to head out there and then, but before he could respond, Joel spoke out, forcing both young men to temporarily suppress their impulses. ¡°If you are determined to do this, then you should do it right,¡± Joel said. ¡°This is a big event that could and would generate a lot of excitement throughout the whole continent. You two are seen as the brightest stars of this generation; a battle between you would be huge! If done right, it could bring in a sizeable profit for both of our territories.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Arianna nodded, glancing lightly at Ace. ¡°It would likely draw in even more eyes than your challenge against the War God¡¯s College.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Ace acquiesced. ¡°When should we do it?¡± ¡°How about one month?¡± Lauriella suggested. ¡°It would give all the experts who are interested in the spectacle more than enough time to hurry over. I can even bring those twerps from the Pavilion and allow them to see the difference between them and their senior brother.¡± ¡°One month¡¯s fine with me,¡± Ace nodded, looking back at Linley. ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me as well,¡± Linley nodded as he led Wharton and Bebe out, his steps poised and measured. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back where we had our first fight in a month.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± Ace grinned excitedly as he followed Linley out with his eyes. ¡°Where you first fought?¡± Amira asked, with a smile as she thought back to that day a few years ago. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be heading back to the mountain range of magical beasts.¡± In these last few months, with the assistance of the pocket dimension, everyone had made at least some improvements, but the one who¡¯d improved the fastest, at least in terms of comprehension of profound mysteries, was undoubtedly Amira. As a battle-thirsty warrior, she¡¯d put little effort into her healing spells, but after being poisoned by the Princess of the Cult, that quickly changed, and between her awakened bloodline boosting her affinities, as well as the pocket dimension increasing the purity of the elemental essences, her improvements could only be described as blazing. After three months, Amira had finally gained insight into the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mystery of Purity, allowing her to easily heal herself. Just like that, Amira had begun comprehending her third profound mystery ¨C two of light and one of wind. ¡°Mmh,¡± Ace nodded as he thought back to their time there, a fond smile taking shape. ¡°It has been a while.¡± ¡°How do you feel about your battle with that Linley fellow?¡± Lazerim asked with a curious smile. ¡°Are you confident?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lose!¡± Ace stated matter-of-factly. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Lance nodded, an almost imperceptible smile appearing on his face. ¡°Because as long as you win this, we¡¯ll finally have all the cities required to formally go from a Duchy to a Kingdom. ¡°Since when do you care about the state of our territory?¡± Ace asked, knowing Lance all too well. ¡°My mother had to basically force you to take up your position as Duke and leader.¡± Hearing that, a slight blush began to creep up Lance¡¯s neck towards his face as he looked at Milianna. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ace asked as he watched his mother and Lance hold hands lovingly. Since Ace¡¯s awakening from his coma, Lance and Milianna¡¯s relationship was finally back on track. In fact, it was going better than ever. Still, the way they were acting was definitely out of the ordinairy. ¡°Mom,¡± Ace pressed. ¡°What are you two hiding.¡± ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t expect it to happen so soon,¡± Milianna said as she turned to face her son and the others. ¡°But, some time ago, Lance and I decided that as soon as our Gol Territory becomes a kingdom, that would be the day we got married so we could stand together as husband and wife ¨C as king and queen!¡± Book 6: Chapter 49 – The Gap Word quickly spread about the upcoming battle between the ¡°Son of Heaven¡± and the ¡°Little Dragon King¡±. And as expected, there wasn¡¯t a soul, be they ally or enemy, who wasn¡¯t interested in watching. In the centre of the Capital of the New Yulan Empire was a large but simple and elegant temple. It was the Temple of Serenity ¨C home of the Empire¡¯s High Priest. As busy as the Yulan Empire was, the Temple of Serenity usually remained free of traffic, with Catherine preferring to spend her time in solitude, but today was different. Today, the main hall of the temple was filled with people ¨C each of whom was a peak expert, the weakest being a peak-stage saint, but strangely enough, each of those peak saints was knelt down, not daring to raise their heads in the slightest. In front of them were two thrones; one was sat on by the Yulan¡¯s Empire¡¯s newly crowned God of War ¨C O¡¯Brien. The other was sat on by a woman with long, gracefully flowing blonde hair, who wore an emerald green mask and a long and simple white robe. It was clear from her appearance that this woman wanted to hide her appearance as much as possible, but try as she may, she still remained a nation-toppling beauty. The only thing that kept others from daring to even think about outwardly admiring her beauty was her overwhelming power. She was Catherine, the ruler and spiritual guardian of the Yulan Empire and one of the continent¡¯s foremost experts. Standing before one deity would be taxing for most saints, so one could imagine the pressure felt when standing before two of them, but funnily enough, that wasn¡¯t the reason for the sombre mood in the hall. No, the real reason was because of the news of the upcoming battle between Ace and Linley. As one of the most powerful nations in the world, of course, they wanted to watch, if for no other reason than to see the might of the two youngsters who were on track to become their greatest adversary. Unfortunately, they were troubled by what most would consider a simple matter ¨C who to send. They knew that for an occasion such as this, all the experts of the Pavilion would undoubtedly be there. And even though Aiden had already repeated that the Pavilion wouldn¡¯t take action against them, they¡¯d be lying if they said they weren¡¯t worried. After all, the Yin-Yang Pavilion were simply too powerful. Two experts with the power of a deity, and three at the prime saint level¡­ Even though with the amalgamation of four Empires, the current Yulan Empire could only be described as a behemoth, with far more saints than any other side, if it really came down to it, they had no confidence when it came down to going up against the Pavilion. And even if they were able to triumph in the end by using their superior numbers. What cost would it come at? How many of their experts ¨C saint or deity ¨C would have to sacrifice their lives? The Pavilion had made it clear that as long as they weren¡¯t provoked directly, they would do nothing to any of the other forces, even if those forces were to kill their Acolytes. Still, that didn¡¯t make them any more willing to go anywhere near those monsters. Seeing how none of her saints were willing to go to the battle, a helpless sigh escaped Catherine¡¯s mouth. Still, she didn¡¯t blame them. The Pavilion really were too scary; if it really were a trap they were walking into, only O¡¯Brien and herself would stand a slight chance of escaping with their lives, but with the nature of O¡¯Brien¡¯s relationship with them, there was a chance that they really might attack on sight. Unfortunately, they had been backed into a corner. Even if they didn¡¯t want to go, they had to! She looked down at the invitation on her lap as her jade-coloured eyes narrowed slightly. With Ace being so bold as to send an invitation directly to her if they refused to go, it would be no different to the admitting to the world they were scared. And even if they were, they couldn¡¯t afford to outwardly show it. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to go personally,¡± Catherine uttered gently, her gentle voice seemingly able to soothe the spirits of those who listened. ¡°This will be my first time meeting the so-called ¡®Son of Heaven.¡¯; I really want to see if he¡¯s as impressive as the rumours say.¡± . . . At the same time, deep within the forest of Darkness, Lord Beirut was looking at the invitation in his hand with a hint of a smile. With the difference in power between him and all the other experts on the continent, it was rare for anyone to even attempt to interact with him. This was the first time in thousands of years that he had received an invitation from anyone on the continent. For it to have come from a mortal¡­ Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Interesting,¡± Beirut chortled. ¡°Since he dared to invite me, it¡¯d be rude of me not to go.¡± . . . Ace¡¯s Gol Duchy made sure to extend an invitation to all the major powers and top experts on the continent, and without exception, each of them made their preparations to attend. This may well be the first so many experts gathered in one place outside of the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods. Still, with the fame of Ace and Linley, it was to be expected. Even those ordinairy saints scattered around the continent who didn¡¯t receive an invite still hurriedly made their way to the mountain range of the Magical Beasts. The only ones who didn¡¯t dare to attend were the mortals. With so many saints and deities gathering in one place, how could a mortal even dare to attend? Still, it didn¡¯t stop them from fervently gossiping and placing bets on who they thought would win. At the same time, in the Baruch Duchy, Linley was currently sitting in his grand hall drinking merrily with three other young men. With Linley¡¯s current strength and status, there were very few qualified to share a drink with him, and aside from the higher-ups from his dukedom and the young Acolytes from the Pavilion, those who were qualified were all saint-level experts. But these three were different. Although they weren¡¯t family by blood, they were no different than brothers. They were his three good brothers and former roommates from his days in the Ernst Institute: Yale Dawson, heir to the Dawson Conglomerate; Reynolds Dunstan, former heir to the Dunstan Clan; and George Walsh, formerly of the Yulan Empire. ¡°Cheers to you, third bro,¡± the long, blonde-haired Yale Dawson raised his glass happily. ¡°Not only have you reclaimed your Baruch Clan¡¯s former glory, you have already formed your own Duchy and are mere days from transforming it into a Kingdom. I always knew you were destined for greatness, but never would I have imagined that your rise would come so quickly!¡± ¡°And cheers to you, Boss Yale,¡± Linley merrily replied. ¡°As the current next in line to inherit your Dawson Conglomerate, your status is no worse than mine.¡± ¡°You jest,¡± Yale sighed. ¡°As a saint, how can my status compare to yours? Plus, I can only claim this position, one, because of my relationship with you and two because that cousin of mine has no interest in running the conglomerate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, Boss Yale,¡± the blue-haired George Walsh shook his head. ¡°Although your cousin ¨C Joel ¨C is more powerful than you, there is no denying that when it comes to running a business, you are second to none. Your family know that and chose you because of that.¡± ¡°Second bro is right,¡± Linley nodded. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t underestimate your ability. Without you, there¡¯s no way I would¡¯ve been able to bring my Clan to its current heights so quickly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also because of your foresight and quick thinking, Boss Yale, that I was able to escape from my Clan and make it here unharmed,¡± Reynolds nodded. ¡°If you all continue to praise me, I¡¯ll truly grow big-headed,¡± Yale chortled before a sombre expression formed on his face. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t believe your family would dare act against you like that, fourth bro.¡± Hearing that, a cold glint flashed across Linley¡¯s eyes as he thought about the danger Reynolds faced because of his relationship with him. It was no secret that Linley viewed each of the young men in the room as though they were truly his brothers. As such, when the alliance between the four nations was formalised, the Radiant Church asked their now countrymen, formerly from the O¡¯Brien Empire, to capture the young Dunstan Clan heir so that they could use his bond with Linley to their advantage. Thankfully, the Dawson Conglomerate¡¯s intelligence-gathering capabilities were top-tier. The moment Yale heard about the amalgamation, he guessed the Church would try something like that. As such, he immediately sent some of his organisation¡¯s strongest experts to fetch his fourth bro before any harm could come to him. His men arrived just as the Dunstan Clan were preparing to hand the young Reynolds over. The emissaries from the Church tried to threaten the Dawson Conglomerate into handing Reynolds over, but the Dawson Conglomerate had long since picked the side of Linley, Ace, and more specifically, the Yin-Yang Pavilion. As such, they paid the experts from the church no heed and swiftly took Reynolds away. The church had wanted to try something similar with George Walsh back when they initially allied themselves with the Yulan Empire a little after Apocalypse Day. Unfortunately, they were too slow. Though young, due to his impressive talent as a mage, as well as his friendship with Yale and Linley, George had been named the head of his family. As such, the moment he learned of the Church¡¯s alliance with the Yulan Empire, he didn¡¯t hesitate in taking his family away, not wanting anything to do with an Empire that would ally itself with a force that opposed his third brother. To him, this wasn¡¯t even a choice. He didn¡¯t know that the Church would try and target him, but before they even got the chance to act, George had long since led his family out of the Yulan Empire, taking refuge under the banner of the Dawson Conglomerate, whilst he took up the position of right-hand man, and advisor of his eldest brother, Boss Yale. ¡°Let us not talk about that now,¡± Reynolds replied, swiftly changing the topic, suppressing the pain of his family¡¯s betrayal. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with your upcoming battle against that Gol D. Ace, third bro.¡± How could Linley fail to sense the unwillingness and resentment his fourth bro held? Still, if Reynolds didn¡¯t wish to speak about it, he wouldn¡¯t force him. ¡°What¡¯s there to be concerned about?¡± Linley chuckled calmly. ¡°It¡¯s just another battle.¡± ¡°But this is a battle against the supposed leader of our generation,¡± George replied. ¡°Even I have to admit, his talent is frightening.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Yale retorted. ¡°The purity of third bro¡¯s bloodline has even surpassed his ancestor¡¯s! How could he lose? Right, third bro?¡± ¡°Are you confident?¡± Reynolds asked, a hint of concern seeping into his voice. Hearing their questions, Linley surprised them all by erupting in laughter. ¡°I have absolutely no confidence.¡± ¡°What?¡± Reynolds asked. ¡°None?¡± ¡°None,¡± Linley shook his head casually. ¡°If you have no confidence, then you shouldn¡¯t fight, third bro,¡± George frowned. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Yale added. ¡°A battle between experts at your level could easily result in the loss of a life!¡± As much as the trio supported Linley in all of his endeavours, they couldn¡¯t get behind Linley risking his life in such a manner. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Linley smiled calmly. ¡°Although I¡¯m not confident about defeating Ace, I am 100% confident about preserving my life. Plus, I really want to know how big the gap between us is now.¡± Book 6: Chapter 50 – The Truth of Arianna’s Qingya Clan Usually, the outskirts of the mountain range of magical beasts were filled with mortal beasts and the odd mortal human who entered for the purposes of training or hunting, but today was different. Today, there were barely any mortals present, and none of them were magical beasts. Instead, they were humans, and all of them were brought along by a saint. At that moment, there were over a hundred saint-level experts. Each was a being that would usually be treated as a king or emperor wherever they went, but at that moment, they had been reduced to mere ordinairy spectators as they circled around a large clearing, waiting for today¡¯s festivities to begin. Still, none was arrogant or foolish enough to demand better treatment, namely because of those few individuals in the centre. In the centre of the clearing was a group of around 50 people. And despite this group being filled with primarily mortals, it was them who everyone appeared to be focused on. Still, even with everyone focusing on them, the members of the pavilion seemed to be wholly unphased by their presence. Or at least half of them did. The other half were the 28 children who had been accepted into the Pavilion two years ago, and as talented as they were, they couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly nervous. Although they had performed in front of a much bigger audience during the Pavilion¡¯s trials, that was the first and last time any of them had done so, and once definitely wasn¡¯t enough to get used to it, but more importantly, the vast majority of those watching back then had been mortals, whereas this time, almost everyone here to spectate was a saint¡­ Still, it was made bearable by the calm and protective auras of Julius and the other more senior members of the Pavilion. ¡°Ahh, Fatty, I¡¯ve really missed your cooking!¡± Ace uttered in ecstasy; his mouth filled to the brim with various bits of his food as his hands continued reaching for more. ¡°It¡¯s been way too long!¡± ¡°Are you saying my cooking¡¯s not good enough?¡± Milianna asked gently, her voice sounding like a spring breeze. ¡°Of course not,¡± Ace hurriedly gulped down his food as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. ¡°Your food is still the best, mom!¡± Ace¡¯s reaction created a wave of laughter among the others as they all continued to eat. To the audience, this was the last thing they expected to witness, considering one of their own was about to take part in such a monumental battle. Still, Ace and the others didn¡¯t care; they simply continued eating and laughing merrily between themselves as if the rest of the world didn¡¯t exist. Still, that all changed at the appearance of the next arrival. Cesar and Aiden were the first to react, both sending a casual glance into the distance before going back to their respective drinks as though they hadn¡¯t sensed anything. But seconds later, one by one, Arianna, followed by her saint-level disciples, and the other saints in the audience turned their heads to the east as an undisguised and gentle yet oddly oppressive aura moved towards them at incredible speeds. Before the figure even appeared in eyeshot, her soft and almost ethereal voice entered the ears of those present, causing the souls of many to stir uncontrollably. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not late.¡± It was then that the enchanting figure of Catherine, the High Priest, appeared before them all. She didn¡¯t appear to do anything in particular, but the souls of those weaker experts ¨C namely the mortals ¨C weren¡¯t able to withstand her ¡®gentle¡¯ presence. Many of whom began collapsing uncontrollably. Even the weaker saints in the audience began to sway, struggling to stay awake. ¡°Annoying!¡± Aiden snorted as he calmly continued drinking whilst wrapping his spiritual essence around the young Pavilion disciples, preventing his group from falling prey to the High Priest¡¯s subtle methods. Catherine¡¯s beautiful jade-green eyes fell on Aiden. Though they appeared tranquil as ever, that was only because she was hiding her shock. She had already heard the reports of Aiden¡¯s heaven-defying power. Still, there was nothing that could¡¯ve prepared her for the shock of witnessing Aiden¡¯s prowess in person. Because she hadn¡¯t actually taken action and simply allowed her powerful soul to interact with the world around her, it wasn¡¯t surprising for so many to withstand her presence. Still, there was a difference between protecting your soul and using your soul to protect those of other people. The moment Aiden allowed his soul to surge forth, Catherine clearly sensed that Aiden¡¯s soul had somehow reached the level of a Demi-God, making it not much weaker than her own. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Catherine,¡± Mathias uttered with a calm indifference. ¡°Your actions, should I take them as a provocation against my Yin-Yang Pavilion?¡± Although his voice couldn¡¯t be described as cold, there was a certain edge to it that made those onlookers hold their breaths. The temper of the high priest was much better than her new ally ¨C O¡¯Brien ¨C still, even she had her pride. As a genuine deity, how could she be okay with being spoken down to in such a manner by a saint, no less? His comprehension may have reached the deity level, but until he broke through, in her eyes, he would continue to be nothing but a slightly larger ant. Still, just before she could respond, she felt the eyes of both Cesar and Arianna fall on her. Cesar was now an expert on her level, and even though she had the confidence to fight and even suppress him ¨C seeing as he had only broken through recently ¨C he still couldn¡¯t be ignored. As for Arianna, she was a different matter altogether. Catherine was just about to look down on Mathias because he was still only a saint, but Arianna was the exception to that rule. Her power didn¡¯t allow others to look down on her; she was effectively a deity in saint¡¯s skin. And according to O¡¯Brien, Arianna was likely stronger than her. As such, Catherine could only swallow her resentment and force a smile as she replied. ¡°Of course not. I merely forgot, there were mortals present. Forgive my rudeness.¡± As she said that, she completely retracted her presence, making her seem more like a mortal who¡¯d never cultivated a day in her life than a supreme expert who stood atop this continent¡¯s hierarchy. It was then that she locked eyes with one of the two young men of the hour, causing her to, once again, forcibly hide her disbelief. It had to be understood that not only was Catherine a deity, but she was focused on the Edict of Life, an Edict that focused heavily on the soul. Even though she had completely retracted her aura, if one were to lock eyes with her, even for the briefest of moments, they¡¯d still suffer from a spiritual shock that would affect most saints. Only those at the peak of the saint realm would be able to ignore such a shock. With that being said, the fact that Ace, a young man who was merely at the late stages of the sixth rank as both a mage and warrior, was able to calmly meet her gaze without being affected was incredible. After taking a moment to study the world-renowned High Priest of the Yulan Empire, Ace went back to laughing and joking with his friends and family. It wasn¡¯t just him; even Mathias and the other elders proceeded to ignore her. As long as she wasn¡¯t here to cause trouble, they were too lazy to pay her any attention. Catherine had never been put in such an awkward situation, at least not since becoming a deity. Still, she couldn¡¯t allow others to see that she was bothered. As such, she proceeded to sit cross-legged mid-air, pretending as though she was above all worldly affairs, whilst in reality, she was doing everything in her power to hide her embarrassment. The air for all those, minus the members of the pavilion and Gol Clan, became particularly awkward and tense. Luckily, it didn¡¯t last long, as the next expert arrived, and this was someone unignorable even by those of the Pavilion. ¡°And here I thought that I¡¯d be the last to arrive,¡± Beirut chuckled as he silently appeared in the sky above Catherine without her or any of the other experts with access to a Divine Sense being any the wiser. ¡°Lord Beirut,¡± Catherine hurriedly stood to her feet to pay her respects. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware you would be attending as well.¡± Beirut merely grunted as he sent the High Priest a passing glance before focusing his eyes on the group on the ground below. Most had never seen the mysterious ruler of the Forest of Darkness before, but they had all heard his name. The moment the High Priest bowed to him, the others all followed suit. That included Ace, Arianna and the other members of the Pavilion. They may not hold the other experts of their continent in any regard, but Beirut was different. According to Arianna and her family¡¯s records, Beirut has always been one of, if not the most powerful expert to come from their Yulan Plane. Even her ancestors, some of whom had reached the six and seven-star fiend level of power, said themselves they were wholly inferior to Beirut. Had he wanted to replace them as ruler of their material plane, he could¡¯ve done so with ease. Luckily, he had no interest in vying for power and resources, always choosing to remain in the confines of his own domain. ¡°Haha, no need for such formalities,¡± Beirut chortled, flashing a rare look of appreciation as he looked at the group below before focusing on Arianna. ¡°It¡¯s a shame the founder of your Qingya Clan departed for the Divine Wind Plane. Had he still been around, how could your family have fallen on such hard times?¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Arianna asked, faintly surprised. ¡°You knew my Ancestor?¡± ¡°Knew him?¡± Beirut chuckled as he began to reminisce. ¡°He could be considered a rival of mine back then. Still, because of the lack of challenges here, he quickly departed for the Divine Realms seeking new challenges. When you get the chance in the future, you should think about heading to the Divine Wind Realm ¨C he recreated your Qingya Clan there. Last I heard, they¡¯re quite a big deal there as well.¡± Alarm bells rang incessantly in Arianna¡¯s head, hearing that. For the longest time, she genuinely believed that she was the last Qingya descendant left, but now¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not alone?¡± ¡°Alone?¡± Beirut laughed. ¡°Of course not, child. There should be billions of Qingya descendants running around the Divine Wind Plane. Plus, you still have an ancestor here on the Yulan Plane.¡± Arianna¡¯s eyes widened in astoundment. Usually, she was the very picture of tranquillity and serenity, but every time Beirut opened his mouth, he seemed insistent on knocking her off her feet. She didn¡¯t dare to believe it. She didn¡¯t believe that a member of her family could remain on the Yulan Plane for all this time without her knowing. Still, she understood that Beirut would never be so bored as to lie to her just for the sake of getting her hopes up. ¡°Are you curious as to where she¡¯s been and why she never made an appearance with your clan facing near-total annihilation?¡± Beirut asked with a knowing and mysterious smile. ¡°It¡¯s because she¡¯s not on this half of the Plane.¡± Others may not have understood what Beirut meant, but her family were once the overlords of the entire continent. How could it be possible for her not to understand? Unfortunately, before Arianna could give voice to the myriad of questions plaguing her, Beirut quickly changed the subject. ¡°Anyway, now¡¯s not the time to speak on such matters, especially when you still have guests to greet,¡± Beirut said, glancing over at a devilishly handsome young man wearing a dim gold robe with a strange slit-like scar on his forehead. Book 6: Chapter 51 – Twin Unison Seeing the devilish young man floating in the distance, Cesar¡¯s body involuntarily trembled. Even Aiden¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly before going back to the drink in his hand. ¡°Lord Dylin,¡± Alissa uttered absentmindedly. The last time she saw the young-looking man was on apocalypse day. Back then, his casual attack had left Cesar on death¡¯s door. If it weren¡¯t for Aiden managing to strike a deal with him somehow, their whole group would¡¯ve lost their life. Still, this time, things were different. Cesar was now a Demi-God, Aiden had also made a breakthrough of his own, and most importantly, Arianna was also here. Even though Dylin was a Full God, Alissa believed that as long as all three of them were together, they would be able to hold their own against the mysterious king of the mountain range of magical beasts. But, the most important thing was that with Beirut present, no one believed that Dylin would dare to take action, even if he wanted to. It was clear from the cautious and hesitant expression on Dylin¡¯s face that even he was petrified of offending the mysterious lord of the Forest of Darkness. ¡°It¡¯s been close to 5,000 years since I last saw you, Dylin,¡± Beirut smiled. ¡°Congratulations on getting out.¡± ¡°Lo¡­ Lord Beirut,¡± Dylin bowed respectfully, trying his best to suppress his fear. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Beirut chuckled. ¡°Since you managed to escape on your own, I have no intention of sending you back, as long as you don¡¯t make the same mistakes you had in the past.¡± ¡°Thank you, Milord,¡± Dylin hurriedly said. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve learnt my lesson.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Beirut Chortled. ¡°Now, bring your children and come; let us stop stealing all the spotlight. We¡¯re merely here as spectators for today¡¯s festivities.¡± Before then, everyone had been so focused on Dylin himself that they didn¡¯t even notice the three seemingly harmless kittens on his shoulders, but with Beirut bringing them into the spotlight, the surrounding experts couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath as all three had the aura of a prime saint. The Pavilion may have been the strongest of the human factions, but overall, they could only rank third. Nothing needed to be said about The Forest of Darkness. With Lord Beirut around, the status of the Forest of Darkness was virtually unshakeable. And now, with Dylin having popped out of seemingly nowhere, the mountain range of magical beasts was also faintly superior. If it were merely a battle of saints, they likely wouldn¡¯t be able to compare. Between Aiden, Mathias, and Lauriella ¨C post-transformation ¨C the saints of the mountain range were a level or two inferior. However, with Dylin being a Full God, ultimately, the mountain range of magical beasts was still superior. ¡°Of course,¡± Dylin nodded hurriedly before turning to Arianna and the others with a respectful yet forced smile. ¡°Please continue; I didn¡¯t mean to ruin the mood.¡± Everyone could only sigh in amazement at the power Beirut held. Even though this was the first time most had ever seen Dylin in person, they¡¯d all heard the stories about the way he forced the Radiant Church out so the beasts that fell under his rule had more space. It was clear that he was a haughty and tyrannical expert who held human life with little regard, yet with just a few words, Beirut had forced him to hide his arrogance deep within. Beirut didn¡¯t seem to care about any of that. Instead, he looked down at Ace with a faint, knowing smile on his face, causing the dark-haired teen to smile apologetically. Since Beirut arrived, Ace had been studying the man fervently. The aura he gave off was too enigmatic. Unable to make heads or tails of it through normal means, Ace, without thinking, used his [Observation]. The results of which left him beyond shocked and also scared beyond belief. Even though the power of Ace¡¯s soul could only be described as pitiful to most deities, his [Observation] allowed him to see things that the ordinairy spirit of others couldn¡¯t. As it spread over Dylin, he sensed that Dylin, who, although was suppressing his aura, hadn¡¯t gone so far as to hide it appeared like the sun ¨C an overwhelming and oppressive aura that almost no one present could even begin to compare to, but Beirut was different. Ace could sense that Beirut also wasn¡¯t actively hiding his aura. Still, it was too hard to get a firm sense of it. It was almost like it belonged to a higher form of life. One that he was too weak to understand. Though he had never sensed the aura of a High God, he very much doubted it was as mysterious as that. ¡®Is he a Paragon? Or maybe¡­¡¯ It was then that he noticed Beirut¡¯s smile, letting him know the very unsurprising fact that he had been caught red-handed. It wasn¡¯t only Beirut either; Dylin¡¯s brows narrowed slightly upon being scanned like that. Still, with Beirut present, he could only swallow his displeasure. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You, brat, are too brazen!¡± Aiden sighed as he took another swig. ¡°Do you have a death wish, boy?¡± Cesar said, slapping his face with his palm. Even Arianna could only shake her head helplessly at Ace¡¯s action. With the current power of his soul, it was only the three of them in the pavilion who could sense his [Observation]. Ace could only smile wryly, knowing he had indeed gone overboard. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but steal another glance at Beirut, wondering just how strong he really was. As for Beirut himself, he simply floated there with an amused smile on his face, looking back at Ace. ¡°How interesting.¡± Over the next hour or so, one expert after the next arrived. Each one had a status more impressive than the last, including the human domain¡¯s true five prime saints: Including the former spiritual leader of the Ascetics of the Radiant Church, Desri, the prime saint of Light. The War Saint Tulily a prime saint who focused on the Edict of Destruction. The leader of the Frost Goddess¡¯ Shrine, Frost Queen Rosarie, who focused on the Laws of Water. And the strongest expert of the Arctic Ice Cap, the prime saint Rutherford, who also focused on the Laws of Water. Even Ace¡¯s former opponent, the sword prodigy ¨C Olivier Akerlund ¨C turned up with his little brother Blumer. Still, no matter who it was, as soon as they noticed the presence of Catherine, Dylin, and most importantly, Beirut, all of them obediently and silently floated off to a corner, waiting patiently. That awkward atmosphere persisted until midday, when several powerful auras made their way over from the distance, with one whose faintly surpassed that of the other four prime saints, Desri. Sensing the unrestrained aura of the Dragon King Ignus, a faint smile filled with anticipation took shape on Ace¡¯s face. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± As the sound of his voice waned, all the powerhouses of the Baruch Duchy valiantly appeared in eyeshot. Ace slowly rose to his feet before using the air as solid ground, calmly striding towards them. Seeing the smile on his face, Amira and the others knew that he was too excited to pay them any more attention. As such, they didn¡¯t even wish him good luck. Simply choosing to retreat out of the way. Seeing that, Linley¡¯s group of family and friends similarly retreated, understanding that the fight was about to begin. ¡°Remember our deal, boy,¡± Ignus growled. ¡°Win or lose, I won¡¯t join you unless your comprehension of the laws reaches the profound stage.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Linley grinned, his battle intent surging out of him like a ceaseless tide, his eyes fixed on his soon-to-be opponent. ¡°Just sit back and enjoy the show.¡± Ace came to a stop as he reached a distance of 20 meters away from the young Azure Dragonblood Warrior, a provocative smirk appearing on his face as he looked at the little black rat on Linley¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Will I be fighting both of you this time as well?¡± ¡°Bebe, go down and wait with my parents,¡± Linley said, ignoring Ace¡¯s blatant provocation. Before leaving, Bebe gave Ace a threatening glare. At the same time, an unconcealed look of shock appeared on Beirut¡¯s face as he looked at the small black rat on Wharton¡¯s shoulder. Thankfully, everyone was too busy studying the two young men in the centre of the plain to notice. ¡°I was just asking,¡± Ace teased. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to get rid of him. After all, as a mage, it¡¯s well within your rights to fight alongside your familiar.¡± After these last few months, having spent almost every day together in the pocket dimension, Linley had gotten to know Ace very well. As such, he knew better than to get into a war of words with the dark-haired troublemaker. ¡°It¡¯s been four years since our last fight,¡± Linley sighed as he summoned his weapons from his storage ring. ¡°Last time, I lost miserably, but I¡¯m no longer that same ignorant boy.¡± Looking at the pair of swords in his hands, the eyes of many couldn¡¯t help but flash with greed. Linley wasn¡¯t using his High God Artifact ¨C Bloodviolet. Nor was he using his specially made adamantium heavy sword ¨C Bladeless. No, now he was wielding a pair of Jian swords, the blades of which were a little longer than usual, at just under a meter in length, but its true uniqueness lay in its width, being twice as thick as a typical Jian sword. Looking at the sword¡¯s crystal white handles that perfectly merged with the golden hilts separating it from the faintly transparent jade/cyan blades that looked sharp enough to split the very fabric of space, there was no one here who couldn¡¯t tell that the twin swords were a supreme treasure. They assumed Linley had been lucky enough to find these blades during his travels. After all, which expert here hadn¡¯t had their own fortuitous encounter? Still, they were only half right. The materials had come from a fortuitous encounter; only it wasn¡¯t his, but Ace¡¯s. Linley ended up having to spend a fortune purchasing the materials needed from Ace and then another slightly inferior but still substantial fortune to get Lauriella to forge them. As he wasn¡¯t particularly interested in the art of forging, there were many materials and ores Ace and the others had never heard of, but Lauriella was different; she was able to identify each of the ores at a glance. Each of which left her salivating, desperate to try her hand at forging with them. After choosing the materials perfect for him and the rest of his group, he allowed Linley to purchase some from him with Lauriella¡¯s assistance. As for the remainder, they were given directly to Lauriella as payment for forging his and his friend¡¯s weapons. Ultimately, Linley chose three materials to forge his swords. The first was Cloud Sky Metal, a metal from the Divine Wind Realm known for its lightweight and, more importantly, ability to absorb all types of energy with minimal leakage. The second metal was Adamantium. As a Dragonblood Warrior, one of his greatest abilities was his raw power, and although Adamantium was indeed heavy, it would allow him to show off his strength with his swordsmanship. The third and final metal was high-class Thorium. A highly elastic ore that bonds exceptionally well with other materials, but more importantly, similar to Cloud Sky Metal, it¡¯s highly conductive. Only instead of simply allowing elemental energy to run through it, it also adapts to take on the properties of said energy. For someone like Linley, who has exceptionally high affinities to multiple elements, Lauriella told Linley that these three would merge together perfectly without taking a hit on power or ability, regardless of which element he used them with in the future. As for his decision to use twin swords, although his soul wasn¡¯t as powerful as Ace¡¯s, it was still extremely powerful. He had long since learnt to divide his mind in two. In his eyes, choosing not to dual-wield would be foolish. This way, in the future, as his concepts into the various elements he had an affinity for improved, he would be able to utilise two different styles of swordsmanship at once, increasing his unpredictability and lethality. ¡°Their name is ¡®Twin Union¡¯,¡± Linley uttered lightly as he looked down at the swords in his hands; a pure-hearted smile appeared on his face. ¡°And today will mark their first appearance in the world.¡± Book 6: Chapter 52 – Linley Vs. Ace (1) Ace wasn¡¯t in the habit of introducing his weapon before a fight, but since his opponent had already done so, he felt it would be rude of him not to. With a gentle flick of his wrist, a navy-coloured glaive with a crimson hue appeared in Ace¡¯s hand. As the crowd looked at it, they could only sigh in amazement as they could see that in terms of quality, this glaive was no inferior to Linley¡¯s ¡°Twin Union¡±. Unlike Linley¡¯s, Ace¡¯s glaive was made up of only two ores. The first was Blue Nightmare Ore ¨C A material that could be found everywhere in the Infernal Realm, which was equal to adamantine in terms of toughness, but in terms of elasticity, it was a level superior, making it perfect for polearms. As for the other material, it was crimson volcanite. An ore that was known for its incredible sharpness as well as its ability to transform all forms of energy into heat. For an expert who focused solely on the laws of fire, it was the perfect supplementary Ore. Just looking at the blade atop the glaive, everyone could see how profoundly sharp it was. It was almost as though it wanted to pierce the eyes of any who dared stare at it. ¡°This glaive is called God-Slayer,¡± Ace said calmly. ¡°This will be the weapon I use to claim O¡¯Brien¡¯s life.¡± Though his tone was calm, to those listening, it sounded no less sharp than the polearm in his hand. Even if he didn¡¯t say anything, everyone present would¡¯ve understood the meaning behind his naming his weapon ¡°God-Slayer¡±, but for him to come out and say it so publicly¡­ The word that should¡¯ve come to mind was ¡°Arrogance¡±, but the legend of Gol D. Ace didn¡¯t allow others to think like that. Still, Ace didn¡¯t care about what others were thinking; he simply stood across from his opponent, waiting for him to make his move. Seeing the expression on Ace¡¯s face, Linley understood that the time for talking was over. Taking a deep breath, all his pent-up excitement seemed to vanish as he became extremely focused. ¡°[Earthguard],¡± Linley uttered calmly, insta-casting the eighth-rank version of a fifth-rank spell to summon a thin but extremely sturdy layer of crystal jade to cover his already, almost impenetrable, azure scales. ¡®Seems like he really hasn¡¯t wasted his time these last few years,¡¯ Ace nodded to himself. Seeing that, even the crowd had to admit Linley really was an extraordinary mage. Still, that was only the beginning. If they were impressed before, they were downright shocked when they heard what he said next. ¡°[Wind shadow],¡± Linley said, allowing the wind to carry his voice into the ears of all those present. ¡°Impressive,¡± Dylin uttered. ¡°Mmh,¡± Arianna nodded. ¡°He¡¯s not bad at all.¡± The [Windshadow] Spell wasn¡¯t an ordinairy spell of the ninth rank; it was one that combined the best parts of the spells [Supersonic] and [Airwings], making it the most powerful Speed-Enhancing Spell known to date, as well as arguably the most difficult mortal spell of any element. The fact that Linley was able to insta-cast it as a mage of the eighth rank spoke volumes of his talent. When transformed, Linley had the body of a mid-staged saint; when layering that with the [Windshadow] Spell, Linley¡¯s speed was able to match that of a peak saint. Even so, Ace merely smiled calmly as his body and weapon turned jet-black in colour, and he willed his compressed flames to cover his body. As he did, ¡°God-Slayer¡± began to hum as though it was excited. Its already sharp blade becoming even sharper. ¡°You ready?¡± Ace asked, his excitement seemingly mirroring his weapons. Beirut¡¯s eyes flickered slightly, a trace of astonishment flashing across his beady black eyes. Still, he didn¡¯t say anything. Linley didn¡¯t respond; instead, his azure wings merely flapped once as he finally moved. That flap was so gentle it should have done nothing but allow him to stay in mid-air, but the speed he took off at was mind-blowing. Still, as incredible as it was, the shock on Dylin¡¯s face came from watching Ace. Ace had merely taken a step as though he was prepared to stroll through his back garden, but he left nothing but a flickering afterimage in his original position as he seemed to teleport in front of Linley. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Has he already begun fusing mysteries?¡± Dylin asked incredulously. ¡°His fusion of the mysteries of Explosion and Essence has reached the requirement of a deity,¡± Beirut sighed in amazement. ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t die early, that boy¡¯s future is limitless.¡± As he didn¡¯t hide his voice, all the other spectators had heard him. Unfortunately, other than those of the Pavilion, there wasn¡¯t anyone who understood what he was saying. Still, even though they didn¡¯t quite understand, they could still admire the profundities of Ace¡¯s movement. Like when he usually used Soru, Ace had kicked off multiple times in an instant, but even though he had only kicked off three times, each kick had created a small explosion beneath his feet, allowing him to move with explosive speed that gave him speed no worse than Linley¡¯s. Still, Arianna¡¯s surprise didn¡¯t come from that but from the accuracy of Beirut¡¯s vision. Although it was easy to see when someone had begun to fuse mysteries, it was harder to see which mysteries were fused, and harder still to see the degree of the fusion, even more so when you didn¡¯t train in the same laws as that individual. According to her Family¡¯s records, Beirut trained in the laws of wind and darkness, yet he was able to make such a precise estimation after seeing Ace move only once. ¡®He really is an old monster with unfathomable strength,¡¯ Arianna sighed. Looking back at the fight, Arianna saw her husband¡¯s disciple charging forward with an excited and passion-filled grin, his glaive cutting through the air, leaving a fiery trail. In response, Linley gracefully rose higher, his magnificent wings unfurling like a majestic canvas as he soared into the sky, dodging Ace¡¯s assault with the ease of a true aerial master. Ace¡¯s fighting style was wild, explosive, and filled with passion. His attacks were fuelled by sheer determination and passionate ferocity. Each swing of his glaive left those who watched mesmerised by its undeniable charm. Every strike was an artful dance of power and grace. The tapered edge of his blade left behind a trail of crimson light that seemed able to captivate even his opponent. Linley¡¯s fighting style, on the other hand, was gentle, graceful, and elegant. Like a body of water, he seemed to disperse the impact of Ace¡¯s strikes, flowing around them with an almost hypnotic fluidity. He moved with such elegance and finesse that it was as if he were dancing on air, his movements mirroring the ebb and flow of the tides. Other than Aiden, everyone ¨C including Beirut, Arianna, and Dylin ¨C watching was left in a state of awe as they watched the two youngsters. It looked less like they were fighting and more like they were dancing. Still, shockwaves travelled through the battlefield each time they clashed, rocks shattering and dust billowing into the air. Ace¡¯s glaive met Linley¡¯s sword, only for half of its power to disappear instantly, allowing the young Baruch Patriarch to deflect what was left of the strike so it missed him entirely. At the same time, his other sword arced beautifully through the air with a gentle but deadly grace, aiming to slice through Ace¡¯s neck. Those who were still able to follow the two young men watched with bated breaths as Linley¡¯s sword neared Ace¡¯s neck. Still, with his [Observation], Ace had long since seen through Linley¡¯s intentions. He calmly kicked off against the air three times, a giant explosion going off beneath his feet as he appeared by his opponent¡¯s back. Ace¡¯s eyes blazed with intensity and excitement as he unleashed a torrent of strikes, each one faster and more ferocious than the last. Linley¡¯s wings rippled as he gracefully attempted to dodge and parry Ace¡¯s attacks, his azure scales shimmering under the light of the sun as he moved. Still, this time, it wasn¡¯t enough. Ace¡¯s glaive had finally found a way through Linley¡¯s seemingly impenetrable swordsmanship, easily tearing through the crystal-jade armour, only to meet Linley¡¯s shoulder, the clash of metal and scales creating a symphony of sparks. The battle raged on, a mesmerising display of contrasting styles and power. Ace¡¯s wild and fiery onslaught clashed with Linley¡¯s flowing and graceful defence, causing the very earth to tremble beneath their feet and the clouds to part in the skies above, making it look as though the world was mirroring the intensity of their duel. Though slight at first, the longer the duel went on, the more glaring the gap became. Whereas at first, Linley was able to easily and beautifully transition between defence and offence to hold his own. After over an hour, beads of sweat were starting to fall down the side of Linley¡¯s azure-scaled face. As the fight went on, his movements began to slow, allowing Ace¡¯s attacks to land more and more frequently. Thankfully, Linley¡¯s defences were unmatched at the same level. Unfortunately, Ace¡¯s glaivesmanship actually seemed to be improving as the battle went on. The might of his strikes slowly increased, allowing him to slowly start to pierce those seemingly impenetrable scales with more and more ease. With a bang, Ace had once again found his way through Linley¡¯s defences, the tip of his glaive piercing the base of his opponent¡¯s sternum before sending him crashing into the ground below. ¡°LINLEY!¡± The Baruch Patriarch¡¯s friends and family screamed in worry. Looking down, waiting for the dust to clear as he stood in the air, Ace began to steady his breathing. Though he was definitely dominating, if he said fighting so intensely for so long wasn¡¯t tiring, he would be lying. Still, the excitement in his eyes burned just as brightly as it had at the beginning. ¡°Those scales of yours are really freakishly strong!¡± Ace sighed as he sensed Linley floating out of the crater he created. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk about freaks,¡± Linley sighed, accepting his inferiority as he slowly floated out of the dust, allowing everyone to see the deep stab wound on his chest. Still, considering his impressive vitality, everyone knew a wound like that was nothing. It was only when they could see Linley was okay that all his family were able to sigh with relief. Linley, though, was focusing on something else. He knew that had it not been for his abnormal defence, Linley knew he would¡¯ve lost a long time ago. Still, even though he was definitely the weaker of the two, the fact that he had come this far was a testament to how far he had come. Thinking back to the way in which he had been devastated during their first fight, the grin on his face only widened. ¡°Your swordsmanship is impressive,¡± Ace admitted. ¡°It¡¯s a perfect blend of offence and defence.¡± ¡°The [Rippling Tide Stance] of my [Serenity Sword Art] Is still very much in its embryonic stages,¡± Linley sighed. ¡°As is my [Blazing Glaive Art],¡± Ace nodded. ¡°Still, we¡¯ve got nothing if not time to hone and perfect our styles.¡± Book 6: Chapter 53 – Linley Vs Ace (2) Whilst Ace and Linley were talking between themselves, the crowd, most of whom had forgotten to breathe throughout the whole of the earlier exchange, were now trying to wrap their minds around what they had just seen. Even Beirut, an expert who stands near or at the apex of deities throughout the universe, felt his heart turn turbulent. ¡°Whilst fighting,¡± Beirut began to mutter to himself, not caring who heard him. ¡°Linley seemed to become the embodiment of water ¨C gentle, fluid, yet constant. On the other hand, Ace¡¯s glaivesmanship seemed to become the embodiment of fire ¨C wild, unrestrained, and explosive¡­ Neither were utilising the profound mysteries, yet the increase in power they saw whilst fighting, it was as though they had been¡­ How is this possible?¡± Beirut suddenly turned to Aiden. Although he barely intervened in the matters of the continent, he still kept up to date with what was going on. He had heard about Aiden killing Byrius O¡¯Brien and defeating Fain. He had even heard about how impressive his Glaivesmanship was. At first, he had been shocked beyond measure. A mortal defeating not one but two prime saints should have been impossible. With his level of power, he didn¡¯t even have to leave the comforts of his own home to find Aiden with his divine sense. As such, he was instantly able to sense the man¡¯s soul had reached that of a Demi-God, and although shocking, Beirut had seen more than his fair share of incredible treasures which could achieve such effects, some even more impressive. As such, he didn¡¯t think much more of it. But now, after seeing the display of Ace and Linley, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to the words being used to describe Aiden¡¯s own glaivesmanship. Like Ace and Linley, apparently, Aiden¡¯s fighting style allowed him to become an embodiment of the wind. Feeling the intensity of Beirut¡¯s gaze, not even Aiden was able to keep from feeling uncomfortable. Still, with a deep breath, he was able to calm his nerves, at least on the surface. ¡°As you guessed, it was me who taught those two brats about this style of fighting,¡± Aiden sighed, knowing in front of an expert like Beirut, lying or keeping secrets was futile. ¡°I call it the art of [Concepts].¡± ¡°Concepts¡­ Concepts¡­ Concepts,¡± Beirut repeated. ¡°How apt.¡± ¡°The method of cultivating it is fairly straightforward,¡± Aiden explained as though he hadn¡¯t noticed the surrounding experts ¨C saints and deities alike ¨C listening in. ¡°But I would prefer to keep it a secret from others for now.¡± Hearing that, whether it was Dylin, Catherine, or the other saints, everyone bar those in or connected to the Pavilion all cursed in their heads. Had Aiden been the one to spread his Divine Sense to keep others from listening in, although the saints and mortals would¡¯ve been helpless, both Catherine and Dylin would¡¯ve still been able to listen in. ¡°Haha, of course, of course,¡± Beirut nodded happily as he spread his own divine sense to cover only him and Aiden. With the power of Beirut¡¯s soul, every expert on the continent could forget about eavesdropping. Watching Aiden reveal the secrets of this new method left Catherine deeply frustrated. After watching Ace and Linley, she realised that by utilising these so-called [Concepts], both young men had the power to oppose peak saints. She had already assessed that between their respective current levels of comprehension and their bloodlines, both could, at most, match a mid-staged saint. For something that these boys had only spent a few months learning to be able to increase their strengths by so much¡­ How could she not want to get her hands on such a profound method? Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. Forgetting the difference in the powers of their souls, even if she had a way to sneakily bypass the divine sense of the lord of the forest of darkness, she still wouldn¡¯t dare. Offending him would only end in her death! What made it worse was that as Aiden was still a mortal with the power of an unparalleled saint, because of the rules created by Beirut, she couldn¡¯t target him, especially as any of the saints that served her and O¡¯Brien were too weak to pose a threat to him. Worse still was that even if she did have a way to find Aiden without Beirut knowing, with Aiden and Arianna tending to be together at most times, she would still have to get past the monstress that was Arianna Qingya. Similar thoughts were going through the heads of all the other experts. Unfortunately, Aiden had no idea, nor would he care, even if he did. ¡°Incredible, incredible indeed,¡± Beirut sighed in amazement as he looked at the unassuming mortal in front of him. ¡°To think that such a simple concept had been sitting under the noses of all of our universe¡¯s leading experts without any being any the wiser¡­ You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Truly incredible! Virtually every deity knows to nurture their own weapons over time. Still, because becoming one with your weapon is one of the most basic levels of comprehension and is something that everyone learns very early on, it¡¯s no wonder that none would think to unearth all its potential. If they had, with their insights into the laws of nature, how could they not have realised that by becoming one with the weapon whose spirit they had been the one to awaken, they could utilise the concepts of their elements.¡± Beirut once again sighed in amazement. Till now, although he was appreciative of those in the Pavilion, that was all it was. Aside from Ace, whose bloodline and natural talent allowed him to stand above most beings he had seen or even heard of, he didn¡¯t think much of the others, but now¡­ He had to admit that Aiden¡¯s talent was no less than his disciple¡¯s. In fact, for the simple fact that he had created this path himself, even after all the struggles and adversity he had faced, in Beirut¡¯s eyes, Aiden¡¯s worth had surpassed that of even Ace¡¯s. ¡°Become my emissary,¡± Beirut said, unable to contain his excitement. Visible shock could be seen on the face of the drunkard. ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself,¡± Beirut chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not forcing you; you are free to say no, and you have my word; I will not hold it against you. I just think, as you are now, your talents are wasting away. If you become my emissary, not only will I fix your dantian and heal your soul, I¡¯ll also introduce you to a world you never dreamed existed. Don¡¯t answer me now; just think about it,¡± Beirut smiled appreciatively as he dispersed his divine sense. ¡°You can give me your answer at a later date. For now, let¡¯s just enjoy the rest of the show.¡± At that moment, curiosity was the one emotion everyone shared. Even his wife and disciple were no different. Still, as his master didn¡¯t appear to be in danger, Ace was able to put it to one side for now and focus on the task at hand. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Ace said, refocusing on Linley. ¡°Where were we?¡± ¡°We were just about to bring this show to an end,¡± Linley replied as he re-entered his combat stance, an unprecedented look of focus on his draconian face. ¡°Right,¡± Ace nodded with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± Sparks seemed to fly as the eyes of the two geniuses met once more. Then, as if preplanned, both Linley and Ace took off simultaneously. Both young men turned into streamers as they charged at one another. Everyone expected them to clash once more, once again showing off their skilled use of ¡®Concepts¡¯, but just before entering the range of Ace¡¯s glaive, Linley began channelling elemental power as he gracefully swung his Jian swords across his body, causing a wave of bone-chilling coldness to radiate outward, sweeping towards Ace. ¡°[Serenity Sword Art: Frost Wave]!¡± Linley uttered lightly. Ace felt an icy grip tighten around his body, and for a moment, it was as if his very blood had turned to ice. He gasped for breath as his movements slowed, and his skin paled in response to the intense cold. Desperation welled up within Ace as he felt his body freezing from the inside out. In a desperate bid to survive, he summoned all the fiery mageforce from within, allowing him to transform his body into what appeared to be a blazing inferno. Flames erupted from his skin, and with a burst of searing heat, he managed to break free of his opponent¡¯s ultimate technique ¨C [Frost Wave]! Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t fast enough to completely dodge the attack. Linley¡¯s twin swords left a large sword-shaped scar across Ace¡¯s chest just as he leapt back. Ace staggered backwards, clutching his chest, his fiery aura flickering as he fought to melt the remnants of Linley¡¯s frosty energy and regain full control over his body. Linley, still in his graceful and elegant stance, didn¡¯t try to follow up with another attack; he merely watched Ace with a mix of respect, steely resolve, and a hint of excitement. The battle was far from over, but for the first time since they met, Linley had finally landed an attack on this incredible rival of his Looking down at the wound across his chest, Ace raised his index and middle fingers, coating them in an intense flame, allowing him to burn the bloody wound shut before looking back up at his rival., a devilish grin on his face. ¡°You kept that quiet.¡± Ace grinned devilishly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d begun comprehending a profound mystery.¡± ¡°After studying the forbidden spell [Absolute Zero], I was finally able to gain insight into the Profound Mystery of Freezing,¡± Linley admitted before smirking back. ¡°I was hoping to use it to defeat you in one go.¡± [Frost Wave] was a technique Linley had developed after finally gaining insight into the Laws of Water¡¯s Profound Mystery of Freezing. When using it, it enabled him to freeze water with a mere swing of his sword, and as the human body is predominantly made up of water, it was particularly effective on other humans. ¡°You almost had me there,¡± Ace nodded, the grin on his face widening as he readjusted his grip on his glaive. ¡°Too bad you lost your chance.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Linley roared as he charged towards Ace once again. Once more, he summoned his elemental essence to utilise his ultimate technique ¨C [Frost Wave]. With a calm swing of his swords, his dense elemental essence began freezing the air around them. That all too familiar bone-chilling coldness radiated outward as the moisture in the air turned to ice. Linley wasted no time in unleashing his frigid onslaught toward Ace, determined to freeze him once more. But Ace, ever the resilient warrior, was ready. With frighteningly explosive speed that seemed almost like teleportation, he too shot forward. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right on top of Linley, his glaive poised for a devastating strike. Linley¡¯s [Frost Wave] was already upon him, and Ace felt the icy grip tightening around his body once more, but this time, he was ready. Despite Linley¡¯s best efforts, the temperature around Ace¡¯s body soared as the skin-tight crimson aura around his body blazed hotter than ever before. Having neutralised Linley¡¯s technique, Ace no longer hesitated, unleashing his ultimate technique ¨C [Myriad Point Convergence]! In an instant, he struck three times with blinding speed, each thrust hitting the exact same point on Linley¡¯s chest. The strikes appeared to converge into one, and as they hit their mark simultaneously, each released a devastating explosion of fiery energy simultaneously. The combined force created a colossal explosion that engulfed them both. Linley was caught off guard by the sudden and explosive assault. Despite the freezing effects of his own technique successfully slowing Ace down ¨C albeit only barely ¨C he still couldn¡¯t react in time. The force of Ace¡¯s [Myriad Point Convergence] sent him hurtling backwards; his body was engulfed in the fiery explosion as he crashed into the ground with tremendous force, creating a massive crater in what could now only be called a desolate wasteland. Book 6: Chapter 54 – Opening of The Necropolis of the Gods (Finale) Smoke and dust billowed around the battlefield as the aftermath of their epic clash settled. Ace stood in the air panting heavily, his body still tingling from the residual cold of Linley¡¯s [Frost Wave]. Linley, on the other hand, lay motionless within the crater, battered and stunned by the sheer power of Ace¡¯s ultimate technique. Though Dragonblood Warriors were typically inferior to the Undying Warriors of the Armand Clan, there likely had never been an Undying Warrior whose defence could compete with Linley¡¯s at the same level. This had allowed Linley to focus solely on offence, believing the defence of his azure dragon scales would remain strong, even in the face of Ace¡¯s strongest techniques¡­ Looking down at his chest, Linley could only smile helplessly as he saw the charred mess that was once his chest. Those azure scales he had been so proud of had been all but incinerated, allowing him to get a clear view of his insides. Still, with the magnitude of his current vitality as a humanoid Divine Beast, he wasn¡¯t quite at death¡¯s door, but continuing with the battle was impossible. ¡°I admit my loss,¡± Linley smiled weakly, sincerely convinced of his loss but still proud of his progress. A cheerful smile suffused Ace¡¯s lips as he put his glaive away, moving to Linley¡¯s side. ¡°It was a good fight,¡± Ace chuckled as he stretched his hand out to help his rival up. ¡°I had fun,¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Linley nodded weakly as he accepted Ace¡¯s help up. ¡°Me too.¡± The wasteland around them bore the scars of their intense battle, a testament to their incredible power. Still, the eyes of all those present were focused on the two young men. This would be a battle that would go down in history as one of the most prolific battles of this generation, potentially even this era, and whilst most were merely happy they were there to bear witness to such a terrific battle, there were a select few whose emotions could be described as complicated, to say the least.Top of Form Catherine¡¯s beautiful jade eyes narrowed into slits as she stared at the two young men. What was going through her mind, only she knew. On the opposite side of the battlefield, Olivier was staring no less intensely, his fists cracking under the pressure of having them balled so tight. But unlike Catherine, whose thoughts could be presumed to be nefarious, Olivier¡¯s were more simple and pure. After losing to Wukong and Ace already, he simply didn¡¯t want to lose to anyone else of his generation or the one below for that matter. ¡°Marvelous. Truly marvellous,¡± Beirut clapped, causing others to follow suit. ¡°I can understand why yours is referred to as the golden generation. I have been alive a long time, but never in all my years have I seen as many talents in one generation. Two Apex Divine Beasts. A dozen apex geniuses, the worst of whom would easily be able to dominate almost any other generation, and then there are the two of you. Whether it¡¯s your potential, current power, or ability to lead others, you are second to none. As my way of giving a helping hand to this upcoming generation, I¡¯ve decided to open the lower levels of the Necropolis of the Gods a little early!¡± Hearing that, be they saint or deity, all were shocked. Who here wasn¡¯t an expert, and, as such, didn¡¯t know of the secrets of their Yulan Plane? They knew that the Necropolis of the Gods held a myriad of heaven-defying treasures, including Divine Artifacts and the highly-coveted Divine Sparks. ¡°Lord Beirut,¡± Desri asked respectfully but still hurriedly, unable to contain his excitement. ¡°Will it be opened to all saints?¡± Lord Beirut¡¯s words indicated that he was only opening it due to the talent shown by the younger generation. Like Desri, most of the older spectators couldn¡¯t help but wonder if, since he was opening it due to them, he would also put an age restriction on it. ¡°No need to worry; since I¡¯m opening the lower levels, all saints will be allowed entry,¡± Beirut chortled, understanding the concerns Desri and the other saints had. ¡°But I will be making a slight change to the rules for this opening ¨C two to be precise. For starters, where normally the lower Necropolis of the Gods is only open to saints, this time, mortals will be allowed entry. The only prerequisite is that said mortal must have the power of a saint.¡± As he said that, he waved his hand, summoning what appeared to be a humanoid puppet. ¡°All mortals who wish to enter will have to prove their power by defeating this Deathgod Golem. It has the power of a weaker early-stage saint. As long as you can defeat it, you will be allowed entry.¡± Seeing that, all the spectator¡¯s eyes flashed with amazement. In a plane like the Yulan Plane, where aside from the select few deities, saints were the ones who stood at the top of the world. Still, how hard was it to become a saint? There were billions of creatures on the continent, but there weren¡¯t even a thousand saints. If a family were able to get hold of such a puppet, even if it was just a weaker early-stage saint, it would still allow a family to become a high-class family. Still, as much as many wished they were able to get their hands on such a treasure, no one felt tempted by greed; after all, the owner of said golem was their world¡¯s foremost expert. ¡°The second change to the rules is that, whereas before, the gates to the Necropolis would only be opened once at the start and again at the end, now the gates will remain open for the whole ten-year period, meaning that you don¡¯t have to rush to enter on day one,¡± Beirut explained slowly. ¡°With that being said, it¡¯s important to note that although you can enter anytime you wish within the ten-year period, once you enter, you can¡¯t leave until the ten-year period is up. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Also, those with the power of a deity will be forbidden from entering the lower levels.¡± Hearing that, everyone understood Beirut was making these rules for the sake of the younger generation. Ace¡¯s generation were only teenagers right now, and according to the last intelligence reports, even the weakest of their group already had the power of an expert at the eighth rank. Within five years, it was very possible that they would all have the power required to gain entry. Even if they had to wait five years to gain entry, they would still have five years to explore. Still, no one had any complaints. As far as they were concerned, as talented as Ace and his group were, aside from Ace and Linley, no one else would be able to compete with them for the treasures in the Necropolis. They were also glad Beirut made sure to prohibit those with the power of a deity instead of limiting it to those at the deity level. It was clear that although he favoured the young geniuses of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, he wasn¡¯t being biased in his actions. If Arianna Qingya was allowed to enter with them, all those saints could forget about competing for treasures. With her power, it¡¯d be a simple matter for her to sweep through the entirety of the lower levels, claiming all those incredible treasures for herself and her sect. Still, as happy as the saints were about the recent developments, there were two present who had concerns of their own ¨C namely Catherine and Dylin. ¡°Lord Beirut,¡± Catherine spoke, her voice just as gentle and hypnotic as ever. ¡°Since you¡¯ll be opening the lower levels, does that mean you¡¯ll be opening the upper levels after that?¡± Though she did her best to conceal it, many could still sense the feelings of hope and expectation she held. ¡°Of course,¡± Beirut nodded. ¡°Directly after closing the gates to the lower levels in ten years, I will immediately open the gates to the upper levels for you deities, or rather those with the power of a deity. That also goes for those of you entering the lower levels in the next ten years. If you manage to increase your power by enough to carry on into the deity levels of the Necropolis of the Gods, you are free to do so. With that being said, the difference in danger levels between the 11th level ¨C which is the last level for the saint floors ¨C and the 12th level ¨C the first level of the deity floors ¨C is immense. If the average prime saint were to run across even the weakest creature on there, they¡¯d end up forfeiting their lives within a breath¡¯s time. So, even if you do get the chance to go up, I¡¯d advise you to think long and hard before making a decision that could end up claiming your lives.¡± ¡°On behalf of myself and those of my Yulan Empire, thank you, Milord,¡± Catherine said, her tone laced with thick excitement. ¡°Six months from today will mark the day the Necropolis of the Gods opens its gates, so all those who wish to enter should come to the central region of my Forest of Darkness at that time,¡± Beirut stated, ignoring Catherine¡¯s attempts at flattery before turning around. ¡°Well, that¡¯s everything from me. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± ¡°There is one more thing,¡± Ace said, stopping Beirut and all the other experts from directly taking their leave now that today¡¯s festivities had come to an end. ¡°Ooh?¡± Beirut turned curious as his beady eyes fell back on the young genius. ¡°Go on,¡± ¡°Lance,¡± Ace smiled encouragingly towards his mother¡¯s fianc¨¦. Hearing that, Lance took a deep breath before stepping forward, fighting against the immense pressure he was under with the eyes of so many of his continent¡¯s experts eyeing him ¨C each of whom could take his life with a mere wave of his hands. Still, when remembering the reason behind what he was planning, resolve welled up from deep within as he gently took his fianc¨¦¡¯s hand in his. ¡°For those of you who don¡¯t know, my name is Lance ¨C I am the fianc¨¦ of Gol D. Milianna. In a month¡¯s time, our Gol territory will be celebrating its promotion to the status of a kingdom. After careful deliberations, Milianna and I have decided to merge that special day with our own wedding, and we would like to invite each of you to come to our special day.¡± Lance¡¯s words caused no small amount of shock in the spectators, especially as they understood the hidden implications and meanings behind this announcement. Ace was the love child of O¡¯Brien and Milianna. It was no secret that Ace¡¯s attitude towards the former O¡¯Brien Empire was because of what O¡¯Brien did to his mother. Still, even if many secretly despised O¡¯Brien for his actions, that was how it remained a secret. At the end of the day, O¡¯Brien was still a Demi-God who could kill the majority of them with a thought! But with Lance coming out and publicly declaring that Milianna was his woman and that he would be marrying her. He, a mortal with no significant standing, was effectively slapping the face of the War God. Even the High Priest herself simply stared silently at the seemingly ordinairy man, her frigid eyes narrowing. His inviting everyone obviously included her, which wasn¡¯t only slapping O¡¯Brien in the face. As his ally, Lance¡¯s words and actions were slapping her in the face as well. Catherine had a strong urge to slap Lance to death where he stood, but she could see from the expressions on the faces of Cesar and Arianna that if she tried anything here, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to act against her. Because of the complexity of the situation, no one dared to come out and accept the invitation for fear of angering the crimson-haired Demi-God. Well, almost no one. ¡°Congratulations in advance,¡± Beirut chortled, the sound of his voice easily cutting through the tension. ¡°Allow me to be the first to RSVP. I shall see you in a month.¡± Without waiting for Lance to respond, Beirut¡¯s body disappeared. Not even a second later, the devilish-looking youth ¨C Dylin also spoke out. ¡°It would be my pleasure to attend your special day. I, too, will see you in a month.¡± With both the continent¡¯s most powerful deities speaking out, Catherine could only leave with a snort. She didn¡¯t dare to attack, but nor did she have any intentions of humouring this blatant provocation any further either. But with her now gone, many of the saints who couldn¡¯t afford to be as brazen as Lord Beirut and Dylin could now go forward and accept Lance¡¯s invitation. Many of the saints used that opportunity to form a better and more personal relationship with Ace, the Pavilion and Even Linley, but unfortunately, Ace paid them all little attention. Slowly, the crowd thinned until it was only those from the Gol and Baruch Duchy and the members of the Pavilion left. ¡°Haha, you can breathe now, Lance,¡± Ace teased. ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say,¡± Lance sighed as he fell backwards on one of the few patches of grass unaffected by the devastation caused by Ace and Linley¡¯s battle. ¡°I genuinely thought my heart was going to beat a hole straight out of my chest!¡± Hogg and his former guard commander turned family aide ¨C Hilton ¨C couldn¡¯t help but sigh as they silently watched the scene unfold, especially Hilton. A decade ago, Lance was nothing more than an ordinairy guard who worked directly for him. Back then, Lance was merely a warrior of the third rank. A warrior Hilton barely took any notice of, but now¡­ Not only was he engaged and about to marry one of the most famous and beautiful women on the continent, Lance himself was also an expert who could be said to be standing near the apex of mortals. Realising that, Hilton could only smile self-deprecatingly as he remembered the look of despise and condescension he gave his former subordinate back when he decided to leave the Baruch Clan to stay beside Ace and his mother. ¡°You did well,¡± Milianna smiled sweetly. ¡°Now all that¡¯s left to do is prepare for the big day in a month.¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Lance nodded, a big goofy grin appearing on his face. ¡°Just one month!¡± Book 7: Chapter 1 – The Will of D. Yulan Calendar, Year 10001, March 24th. Capital City, Yulan Empire. It had been almost one month since the monumental battle between Ace and Linley. And in that time, all anyone could speak about were the happenings of said day. From the battle itself to the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods. But surprisingly, the topic most people spoke about, even if only on the down-low, was the wedding between Lance and Milianna, and more importantly, its hidden implications. In the War God¡¯s newly built Temple, O¡¯Brien marched outside with a vicious look on his face as the temperature in the surrounding area rose to unreasonable levels. It looked like he was in a hurry, but before he could set off, the High Priest suddenly appeared in front of him. ¡°Catherine,¡± O¡¯Brien scowled. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Catherine asked back indifferently. ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡± O¡¯Brien snapped back, clearly not in the mood for socialising. ¡°You may be stronger than me, but you are far from qualified to intervene in my personal business.¡± ¡°That may be true,¡± Catherine nodded, her voice just as calm as ever. ¡°But let me warn you right now, if you try to attack Lance the night before his wedding, not only will I not support you, but I will also dissolve our partnership and let you fend for yourself.¡± O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t respond. He simply glared at the beautiful deity in front of him, clearly still enraged, but thankfully, a hint of reason had returned to his thinking. Seeing that, Catherine couldn¡¯t help but sigh inwardly. Truth be told, she looked down on this ally of hers. If not for the pressure the Pavilion placed on her and her Empire, she never would¡¯ve agreed to ally with him. Unfortunately, without him, she could only face being conquered. Not wanting to spend any more time in his presence than necessary, Catherine¡¯s body suddenly disappeared, causing O¡¯Brien to stand there alone and stew in his misery. ¡°Lance, Ace, Milianna¡­¡± O¡¯Brien growled as he turned in the direction of the newly established Gol Kingdom. ¡°One day, I will show each of you a fate far worse than death!¡± . . . The next day, the newly established City of Gol was a hubbub of commotion. Today was the day the King and Queen of the Gol Kingdom would officially be crowned, but more importantly, it was the day said King and Queen would get married. Despite having the eyes of everyone on the continent on them, the air in the city could only be called joyful and harmonious. It should also be noted that this City of Gol wasn¡¯t the same city that Cirulus had taken over originally on behalf of his young master. No, this was the area that had once housed the magicite mine. After officially laying claim to it, Ace had the area renamed the City of Gol, but considering it was called a city, it was unbelievably small. So small, in fact, that even calling it a village would be a stretch. In this so-called ¡®City¡¯, there were no more than 20 small and simple-looking cottages. After discovering the secret pocket dimension, Ace decided he would transform the surrounding area into a place where he, his friends, and his family would reside. Aside from them, due to the existence of the pocket dimension, those from the Pavilion, Baruch Clan, and the Rohault Empire would take up residence there. The citizens of the soon-to-be Gol Kingdom saw this City of Gol as something of a Holyland ¨C even more so when Ace declared that any Gol citizen who managed to break through to the saint realm would be allowed to relocate there as well. Still, even though there were usually very few residents, today, at the wedding and coronation of the new King and Queen, there were a lot of people who had come to pay their respects, all of whom were men and women of significant standing in the continent. Usually, with statuses such as theirs, they would be the main characters wherever they went, but today, each of them had been reduced to mere support characters as they watched the special day. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Seeing Lance on the stage, grinning from ear to ear as he stood across from a woman who, despite being a mortal, could already compare to the likes of Arianna and the High Priest, most could only sigh with a heart full of envy. Milianna could be described as a breathtaking, nation-toppling beauty on the worst of days, but today, in her flawless white dress, her beauty was something else. They may not have understood what Milianna saw in such a seemingly ordinairy man like Lance, but they did understand what Lance saw in her. Many thought that if they had the opportunity to marry such a beautiful woman, they too would do so, even if it meant offending a deity. As expected, the wedding and coronation went off without a hitch. The only thing of note was that despite what he had said a month prior, Beirut hadn¡¯t made an appearance. After the ceremony concluded, the party was taken to a grand hall created solely for the purposes of today¡¯s festivities. The mood during the party was peaceful and joyous. Even though there were a few individuals who had deep conflicts with one another, that day, they didn¡¯t dare to show it and potentially ruin the mood. By the time night came, the party was already well underway. Every visitor who was going to make an appearance had long since done so; as such, Cirulus, who, despite having broken through to the saint realm, was the one who announced the arrivals of the various gifts, had been told to stand down for the night so he could also enjoy himself. It was for that very reason this final guest was able to enter without the whole room being alerted. Even so, he was noticed by a few people. Those who noticed him had suddenly gone silent, simply staring in awe at the black-robed middle-aged man who calmly strolled through the hall. One by one, more and more people began to notice the man¡¯s presence. At first, they didn¡¯t understand why their friends had gone silent all of a sudden, but upon following the line of sight of their friend, they also acted in a similar way. Eventually, the hall quietened right down, many not daring to even breathe loudly. Looking up, Milianna and Lance hurriedly stood to their feet to greet the late arrival. Only for the man to chuckle. ¡°Please,¡± Beirut waved his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t let me disturb you. I¡¯m sorry I came late, but getting my hands on your respective gifts took longer than I would¡¯ve liked.¡± As he said that, Beirut produced two storage rings, one on each outstretched hand. ¡°We can¡¯t accept your gifts, Lord Beirut,¡± Lance said hurriedly. ¡°We¡¯re just grateful for you gracing our special day with your presence.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t accept?¡± Beirut frowned slightly. ¡°Are you looking down on me?¡± Even though it was such a minuscule action, one that didn¡¯t even cause his aura to change one bit, everyone felt fear grab hold of them. ¡°No, of course not. It¡¯s just unexpected,¡± Milianna replied gently as she took the two rings, keeping one for herself and handing the other to her husband. ¡°But since you, Lord Beirut, are willing to present us with gifts, then how could we possibly be so rude as to refuse them.¡± ¡°Haha, delightful!¡± Beirut exclaimed whilst stroking his beard. ¡°Now, ignore me, and please carry on.¡± Those present could only watch in envy. Anything gifted by an expert like Beirut was bound to be completely out of the ordinary. Still, they didn¡¯t dare say or do anything other than stare with curiosity and envy whilst suppressing their greed. Lance, who was still pale and sweating from the thought of offending Beirut, suddenly felt a gentle nudge from his side as a small but dainty hand entered his own. Looking over his shoulder, Lance saw the sweetest of smiles facing back at him. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Milianna asked softly. ¡°Mmh,¡± Lance smiled warmly back. ¡°With you by my side, how could I, Lance Gol, be anything but happy?¡± Just moments ago, he felt fear for his life, believing that he had genuinely offended the most powerful existence on their Continent. He had faced many scary, life-threatening situations, but that was easily one of the scariest. And yet, despite the fear he felt, as soon as he met his wife¡¯s gaze, all the fear he had previously felt seemed to dissolve. ¡®I really am the luckiest man alive!¡¯ ¡°Lance Gol?¡± Beirut asked curiously. It was uncertain whether he did it on purpose, or if he just happened to end up there, but after leaving the newly wedded couple, Beirut ended up by the table of Ace, Amira, Killian and the others. ¡°Mmh,¡± Ace nodded calmly despite speaking to such a powerful existence. ¡°Lance agreed to take our family name.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your name Gol D. Ace, and your mother¡¯s name is Gol D. Milianna,¡± Beirut mentioned curiously. ¡°How come Lance¡¯s name then is Lance Gol and not Gol D. Lance?¡± Beirut¡¯s question was one that the rest of those present ¨C or at least those who didn¡¯t already know ¨C were also curious about. This was already the second time Lance had announced his new name ¨C with the first being when he was saying his ¡°I do¡±. Still, as curious as they were, they felt it was inappropriate to ask, but with Beirut being the one to ask, how could they not listen in? ¡°The ¡°D.¡± in our name is for Descendant or rather Direct Descendant,¡± Ace explained, not seeming to mind who heard. ¡°Just like how Killian and Leona have taken our surnames without the ¡°D.¡± if one marries into, or gets adopted into our Gol Clan, they will only inherit the name Gol. But only those who are Direct Descendants of our Gol family and awaken our Gol Bloodline can inherit ¡®The Will of D.¡±. As he said that, a small and nostalgic smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face, he never understood the meaning behind ¡°The Will of D.¡± from his previous world, but it didn¡¯t stop him from recreating it and giving it his own meaning in this life. ¡°The Will of D. huh,¡± Beirut mused aloud, an intrigued and mysterious smile appearing on his face. ¡°How apt.¡± Book 7: Chapter 2 – Wedding Gifts ¡°Ooh right, before I forget,¡± Beirut suddenly said, glancing at Aiden briefly before turning back to Ace. ¡°As you are probably aware, your master has decided to accept the offer to become my Emissary. As such, he won¡¯t be entering the Necropolis of the Gods.¡± Other than those in or attached to the Pavilion, Beirut¡¯s words caused no small amount of shock in those listening in. As their continent¡¯s leading expert, Beirut¡¯s influence was unparalleled. By becoming his Emissary, Aiden had essentially ensured the safety of the Yin-Yang Pavilion ¨C not that they needed it. Still, Beirut calmly continued as though he hadn¡¯t sensed the surprise his words had caused. ¡°I had already told him that there was a certain treasure inside the Necropolis of the Gods called the Pearl of Life, which is capable of fixing his shattered dantian, allowing him to regain his elemental affinity. Still, he insists on staying by my side during this time to try and refine the path of utilising ¡®Concepts¡¯. Instead, he has decided to entrust the retrieval of the ¡®Pearl of Life¡¯ to you, his only disciple!¡± Hearing that, the eyes of Ace suddenly bulged as he turned to his master, who still seemed more interested in his drink than the topic of conversation. Still, Beirut¡¯s words had been enough to set off no small shock in Ace¡¯s heart. It wasn¡¯t just him either; all of his classmates were just as surprised by this fact as well; the only ones who weren¡¯t and seemed to have already known this were Arianna and the other Elders of the Pavilion. ¡°Hmm?¡± Beirut looked curiously at Ace. ¡°Was he wrong to put his faith in you?¡± Though he and his drunken master would often bicker, the space Aiden held in his heart was second only to his mother, Amira, and Killian. There was almost nothing Ace wouldn¡¯t do if it were for the sake of his master. As such, upon hearing Beirut¡¯s question, Ace didn¡¯t even hesitate before voicing his response. ¡°Of course not!¡± Ace stated matter-of-factly. ¡°Since the old man is too lazy to go himself, I guess I¡¯ll go do it for him.¡± ¡°Good to know,¡± Beirut chortled. ¡°But you should know, there are two pearls of life, and both are being held by beings with the power of a prime saint. If the current you was to appear in front of either of them, you¡¯d be considered nothing more than a light appetiser.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Ace nodded seriously, not doubting Beirut¡¯s words for even a second, but since he had said he would do it, then he would stop at nothing to do exactly that. ¡°Good,¡± Beirut nodded. ¡°And one more thing, you shouldn¡¯t think about relying on the other more powerful Elders of your Yin-Yang Pavilion either. According to your master, neither Mathias nor Lauriella are planning on entering either.¡± This time, it was Wukong who spoke out as he looked towards his senior brother and sister in confusion. ¡°Is this true? Why did neither of you tell this king?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Mathias nodded calmly. ¡°The lower levels of the Necropolis of the Gods don¡¯t pose much of a threat to Lauriella and I, but the upper levels are still too much for the current us.¡± ¡°Plus, someone needs to stay behind and take care of the new recruits whilst everyone else is away,¡± Lauriella added. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll have other opportunities to go in the future. We merely have to wait another thousand years or so.¡± The words of Mathias may have sounded arrogant, as the dangers of the lower levels were so prolific that it was very possible and even likely that even prime saints could lose their lives. Still, Wukong and the others understood that Aiden and Lauriella weren¡¯t just speaking lightly. Both husband and wife already had the power of prime saints, but after learning the secrets of Concepts, both of their strengths had seen a large increase. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Similar to Aiden, they could be considered invincible below the deity level. Unfortunately, as much as they had improved, if they were to fight even the weakest of deities, they might only be able to resist for a little while before having to flee desperately. Wukong hadn¡¯t asked because he was worried about his safety and wanted their protection; he just thought it was a waste of a perfectly good opportunity. Still, he had to admit their words made sense. As such, he said nothing further. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve said and done everything I came here for,¡± Beirut announced before turning to the newlyweds. ¡°Congratulations again, but I¡¯ll be taking my leave. There¡¯s no need for you to see me out.¡± Just like that, Beirut¡¯s body disappeared, seemingly moving at a speed none present could even begin to fathom. After Beirut, Dylin was the next to take his leave after delivering his gift. After the two deities took their leave, one by one, others began to do the same, each of whom left a gift for the newly married couples. On the whole, the gifts couldn¡¯t be said to be all that impressive, with most leaving gold or some other treasures that, whilst most would consider valuable, couldn¡¯t enter the eyes of those from the Pavilion. Still, there were a few gifts that made Ace and the others raise their brows. First was the gift from Linley and his Baruch Clan. Like Ace, Linley was also preparing to enter the ruins in about five months, at which point his territory would be without their true leader. After speaking with his father and the others, they agreed that whilst Linley and Bebe were in the Necropolis of the Gods, the Baruch Kingdom would temporarily submit to Ace¡¯s Gol Kingdom. When he saw that, Ace merely smiled and shook his head. It was true that although temporary, this would be an excellent boon for his Gol Kingdom, but he also knew the Baruchs would be getting just as much, if not more, out of the deal. Aside from himself, Amira, Wukong and Leona who were all planning on entering as soon as the gates opened. Neither Cirulus nor the rest of his classmates were entering the ruins ¨C at least not immediately. So between Cirulus, Killian, and now Alissa, with her having recently comprehended a trace amount of the Profound Mystery of Spatial Winds, their Gol Kingdom now had three experts with the power of saints staying behind. Though, with that said, Killian and the other Acolytes have already said that they too will be entering the ruins at a later date. They were just waiting till all of them had the strength to enter, at which point they would be staying together. Still, until that point, Linley¡¯s Baruch Kingdom would be the ones benefitting from their protection. The next gift that came as a surprise to Ace and the others were the ones from Beirut. Lance was given a High-God full body armour of the water element, as well as a golden soul pearl, which, according to Arianna, would increase the strength of Lance¡¯s Spiritual Essence to that of a mid-staged saint, potentially even to that of a saint at the peak stage. That High-God armour would be more than enough of a reason to spark a war between all the major forces on the continent. If not for the fact that it was gifted by Beirut himself, it was likely that not even Dylin and the other deities would be able to calm their greed in the face of such a treasure. It had to be understood that even Dylin, a powerful Full God, wouldn¡¯t be able to cause so much as a dent in an armour of that level. That being said, if Dylin were to attack, Lance would be lucky to survive more than one strike. Although the armour was virtually impervious to attacks at that level, it wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb all of the impact, and even 1% of Dylin¡¯s full power would be able to reduce a mortal like Lance to a bloody pulp. Still, Lance was more excited about the latter of the two gifts. A golden soul pearl was a treasure created by experts who trained in the Edict of Death. By refining millions of souls, they can create this pearl, which, when absorbed, allows the user to increase their spiritual essence significantly. For Lance, whose talent could only be described as being ordinairy, this was literally the perfect gift. Even though his affinity for the laws of water was utterly ordinary, when holding the Azure Dragon spear, his affinity spiked to the exceptional level, and now, with this, his perception would see another drastic increase, at which point his talent would be no less than any of the other disciples of the Pavilion. Finally, Lance would be able to stand proudly beside his wife! Still, as precious a gift as it was, it couldn¡¯t compare in value to Milianna¡¯s. Whilst Lance was given a High-God Armour, Milianna was given a High-God Soul Protecting Artifact, and as most people knew, the most expensive types of Divine Artifacts were, without question, Soul Protecting Artifacts. According to Arianna, unless it was an expert who specialised in spiritual attacks at the six-star fiend level or higher, one could forget about harming Milianna¡¯s soul now. The other gift appeared to be a simple note, but when reading it, everyone saw that Milianna had been shocked down to her very soul, something no one had seen since her soul had healed. Still, when asked, Milianna said that Beirut asked her to keep the contents of the note private for now and that all would be revealed after the closing of the Necropolis of the Gods in 20 years¡¯ time. Book 7: Chapter 3 – Ace’s Progress Since the day of Lance and Milianna¡¯s wedding, five months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. There were no major incidents that took place, with all the continent¡¯s major forces seeming to have gone into hibernation. Still, this didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise. With the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods fast approaching, everyone was without a doubt doing all they could to prepare in advance, and Ace and his group were no exception. Although he never stopped training hard, after learning that in the ancient ruins was a treasure that could heal his master¡¯s dantian, he began to train like a madman, only ever stopping to eat and sleep. Still, because his comprehension of both the laws and concepts of fire were ridiculously high for his level, his progress when focusing on comprehension had slowed considerably. It was only after his master temporarily returned from Beirut¡¯s side to visit him and Arianna that he was told something that not only he but even Arianna had no idea of. According to Beirut, although it was true that the earlier one began comprehending the profundities of the various laws, the smoother and easier one would find it later on, there was only so much one could accomplish at each stage. This was because the souls of mortals, saints, and even lower-level deities had their limits. If one were to think of the soul as a computer and one¡¯s comprehension as data, then the comprehension of profound mysteries was a seriously large amount of data that took up large amounts of the memory that was your soul. Typically, a peak mortal would at most be able to comprehend a single, complete profound mystery. The average mid-stage saint would usually be able to comprehend the fusion of two profound mysteries or three separate mysteries. Even the average Full God would only be able to comprehend the fusion of four profound mysteries. Demi-Gods weren¡¯t included in the explanation because, unlike mortals and saints whose realms could be split down into various sub-realms, deities were no longer cultivated by absorbing energy into their bodies. As soon as their comprehension reached a certain level, one would automatically break through, and for Demi-Gods, as soon as they had either comprehended two separate profound mysteries or the fusion of at least two mysteries, they would break through to the Full God realm. Ordinarily, if one were to go down this path, they would have started as a mortal or, at most, a saint. And since the average saint was capable of fusing two profound mysteries before running out of memory, upon breaking through, they would automatically skip the Demi-God realm and break straight into the Full God realm. Still, it wasn¡¯t impossible for Demi-Gods to go down this path if, like Cesar, they hadn¡¯t known about it until it was too late. But even so, they would have to either stop at the bottleneck for the completion of their second profound mystery or the bottleneck for their fusion of two mysteries. Either way, Demi-Gods could, at most, comprehend the fusion of three mysteries. Once one reached their limits, unless they were able to find some way to improve the power of their soul drastically, it would be impossible to improve their comprehension any further. But there were exceptions to the rule. Like Ace, Amira, and even Kong, there were those with unique bloodlines or unique bodies whose souls were especially powerful for their realm who could comprehend more at an early stage, but even they had their limits. It was then that Aiden explained that even though Ace¡¯s soul was equivalent to a warrior prime saint and therefore should be able to comprehend the fusion of two profound mysteries, his comprehension of the laws of fire didn¡¯t end there. During his enlightenment, when he first entered the pocket dimension, Ace had not only fused the mysteries of the essence of fire and explosion, but he had also begun to fuse the profound mystery of explosion with the mysteries of flame-body and heat, respectively. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was clear that whilst his affinity to the laws of fire had surpassed the exceptional grade, his affinity to the profound mystery of explosion individually was unprecedentedly high, allowing him to easily fuse it with other laws. According to Aiden, his comprehension of the profound mysteries likely brought him to near his limits, but it was his comprehension of the ¡®Concept of fire¡¯ that had likely pushed him to his limits. This caused Ace to change focus. From that moment, instead of trying to further his comprehension of the laws of fire, he focused on raising his realm, something he had purposefully been neglecting, simply allowing it to progress in a natural but slow manner as time went on. After only one month, Ace broke through to the late stages of the sixth rank as both a warrior and mage. Two months after that, he achieved another breakthrough, reaching the peak of the sixth rank, at which point he discovered something truly strange. Before his coma, he had to focus on each individual path to progress, but since awakening, it felt like both paths were slowly merging. By training in one, the other seemed to progress ¨C albeit at a fraction of the pace. Still, it did allow him to increase his training speed significantly. What was more impressive was that with each breakthrough, the fusion of both paths seemed to become much more thorough. Whether it was Arianna or Aiden, neither of them had heard of such a thing. Neither had Beirut, but he did mention it sounded like he was becoming more and more like a magical beast and less of a human. Magical beasts didn¡¯t have two paths to cultivate; they merely cultivated the energy of their beast core, which could be used to create spell-like attacks similar to a mage or strengthen their bodies like the battle qi of a warrior. He had never heard of a human being able to traverse this path, but after conversing with Aiden, he guessed it had something to do with the uniqueness of Ace¡¯s bloodline and his being continuously healed by the power of Milianna¡¯s Edict of Life. The Edict of Life wasn¡¯t simply known for its ability to ¡®heal¡¯ wounds. If that were really the case, it wouldn¡¯t be much better than the healing aspects of the law of light. No, the Edict of Life was capable of both healing and nurturing. Beirut guessed that with Ace being in a coma and his body naturally trying to restore itself to its best state whilst also being aided by the nurturing aspect of the Edict of Life, it allowed Ace¡¯s body to begin something of an evolution. Hearing that, Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong sense of excitement and anticipation rise up within him. Unfortunately, aside from cultivating, there was nothing he could do to speed up the process, and as he wasn¡¯t willing to skimp out on his comprehension, who knew how long it would take before this evolution was completed? After reaching the peak of the sixth rank, Ace wasted no time once again utilising his master¡¯s technique to once again [Imposing Devourment], but having learnt his lesson after overdoing it last time, Ace immediately stopped after breaking through to the early stage of the seventh rank. Upon doing so, he was immediately shocked and delighted to discover that not only had the fusion of his warrior and mage paths gotten closer once again, but the quality of his bloodline seemed to have improved as well. Every time he broke through a major realm, Ace always found that the potential of both his [Armament Haki] and [Observation Haki] had increased, giving him room for improvement, but this time, his [Observation Haki] and, by extension, the power of his soul, improved to its limits without him needing to do anything, allowing him to spread his [Observation] over 8 km in its uncompressed form, and 80 meters when compressed. Right now, the power of his soul had faintly surpassed that of a prime saint mage. As for his [Armament Haki], as a rank six warrior, Ace was able to coat all of his body at once, but if he were to use it on his weapon, he would need to sacrifice the coating of part of his body. He always knew that it would be when he was a rank seven that he would be able to coat both his body and weapon at the same time, but what he hadn¡¯t expected was that, although he could choose still to coat individual parts of his body when coating it all at the same time, he, like Amira, Linley, and the other descendants of the four supreme warriors, his warrior cultivation would increase by an entire realm. Despite only being at the early stages of the seventh rank, when using his [Armament Haki], his warrior cultivation jumped straight to the eighth rank. And because he still hadn¡¯t begun cultivating any form of his battle-qi, his body¡¯s natural potential was further improved, making him equal to the average magical beast in the same realm. Still, the thing Ace was most excited about was the improvement of his soul. Although it wasn¡¯t by a heaven-defying amount, it still meant he was able to continue increasing his comprehension of the laws of fire. If, during his fight with Linley, his power only barely matched that of a peak saint, now he could be considered fully entrenched within that sub-realm. Overall, Ace felt more confident than ever about his upcoming adventure in the Necropolis of the Gods. Book 7: Chapter 4 – Godeater Rat ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to wear this,¡± Ace muttered as he skipped dozens of meters with each seemingly casual step, dressed in a plain but glistening white robe. ¡°This is the first time this king has seen you in anything but cargo pants and shirts,¡± Wukong laughed as he traversed through the skies beside Ace. ¡°Aunt Milli was right,¡± Amira smiled. ¡°We¡¯re on our way to what may well be the biggest event of our era; the crowned prince of a major kingdom can¡¯t be seen dressed in combats and loose-fitting shirts. Your appearance and actions are a reflection of the Gol Kingdom now.¡± ¡°Yeah, but it doesn¡¯t mean I have to like it,¡± Ace grumbled back as he pulled at his top dissatisfiedly. ¡°My old clothes were so much more comfortable.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why all you humans insist on wearing clothes all the time,¡± Leona growled aloud. ¡°Being naked is true freedom!¡± ¡°You would say that!¡± Ace rolled his eyes, being that he was the only one who could understand her due to their bond. At that moment, Like many other saint-level beings from around the continent, Ace and his small group of four were casually making their way through the skies towards the centre of the Forest of Darkness ¨C the location of the gates to the mysterious Necropolis of the Gods. The night before, the whole of the upper echelon of the Gol Kingdom had a large banquet where they said their goodbyes to their four strongest experts. Because Amira was going as well, her parents, as well as a few of the senior members of her Rohault Empire, had come to say their goodbyes. Ace had to admit that he was slightly surprised that neither of Amira¡¯s parents were going, but with the twins ¨C Amira¡¯s two little ¡°siblings¡± ¨C being so young, neither wanted to be away for so long during their formative years. The mood during the banquet was joyful and harmonious, but it still left Ace feeling bittersweet. Whether it was his classmates, Lance, Killian or his mother, this would be the longest time he had spent away from any of them. He¡¯d be lying if he said he was a bit reluctant to be apart from them, but he knew that whether for his personal development or for the sake of Aiden¡¯s future, he couldn¡¯t afford not to go. Still, the process of saying goodbye was definitely made easier by the fact that Milianna¡¯s tainted soul had healed. Although still sad that her little boy would be leaving her, she was able to remain strong. That being said, her resolve to become a saint was stronger now than ever before. Only then would she be able to make sure she would have an eternity together with those she loved. Still, between her incredible talent and the fact that Ace would likely be away for the next twenty years ¨C undoubtedly heading up to the deity levels of the ruins ¨C chances are, by the time Ace returns, she would¡¯ve long since broken through to become a saint, even with the ridiculous prerequisites imposed on her by her master. Ace, who was still grumbling unhappily about the choice of attire his mother had picked out for him, suddenly looked up as they approached the depths of the forest. ¡°So many saints,¡± Ace sighed when he sensed the cluster of various powerful auras in the distance. Whether it was Leona, Amira, or Wukong, none of them had ventured so far into the Forest of Darkness, but hearing Ace¡¯s words, they immediately understood that they had to be nearing their destination. Within minutes, a jet-black castle, seemingly made of a unique black metal, appeared in the distance. The castle stretched over an area of several square kilometres. But in front of the black metal castle, hundreds of saint-level experts had gathered. Among them were faces Ace recognised, such as Desri and the other prime saints, Wharton¡¯s master Haydson, and even Olivier ¨C who after all this time seemed to have broken through to the mid-stages of the saint realm. There were many others he recognised from his mother¡¯s wedding or his fight with Linley, but most were faces he had never met before. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°This king is shocked there are so many early-stage saints that dare to enter,¡± Wukong shook his head. ¡°According to my father, in the past, lord Beirut had limited the number of experts who were allowed entry by allocating a certain number of places to O¡¯Brien, Catherine, and the various prime saints, which prevented the majority of saints ¨C including my father ¨C from being able to enter,¡± Amira explained. ¡°But since Lord Beirut decided to open it up to everyone this time, it was no surprise that so many saints are determined to try their luck this time. If they¡¯re lucky, they might be able to find a treasure that could very well change their fates.¡± ¡°Or, more likely, they¡¯ll end up dead,¡± Wukong scoffed. Whilst Ace and his group were studying the various experts already gathered, those same experts were studying Ace. ¡°So that¡¯s Ace, huh?¡± ¡°Apparently, he¡¯s the greatest talent our Yulan Continent has ever produced.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame I had been training in isolation these last few decades, so I couldn¡¯t watch the battle between him and that young Dragonblood Warrior. Still, he doesn¡¯t look too impressive.¡± The comments never stopped flying, many of which were sceptical with a hint of disdain. After all, which saint wasn¡¯t considered a peerless talent in their youth? Between that and their having never seen Ace in action, how could they be willing to admit their inferiority so readily? Still, that had nothing to do with Ace and his group, who were too lazy to pay attention to them. After taking a quick glance at the various experts, they calmly made their way towards a small group of four, waiting patiently in a secluded corner. ¡°Must you brats always be the centre of attention wherever you go?¡± Lazerim sighed as he watched Ace and the others make their way over. ¡°Linley¡¯s arrival gained just as much attention,¡± Kimika added. ¡°I was hoping that by coming early, I¡¯d be able to skip all of that,¡± Linley sighed from the side with Bebe lying lazily on his shoulder before focusing on Ace¡¯s odd expression. ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°That castle,¡± Ace muttered absentmindedly. ¡°I think it¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Bebe said aloud, his voice shocking all those of Ace¡¯s group. ¡°How can you speak?¡± Amira asked in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not a saint yet; you¡¯re only at the ninth rank!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me!¡± Bebe snorted disdainfully as he rose to his back feet whilst puffing out his furry little chest and pointing his nose up towards the sky to look down at Amira and Ace. ¡°I, Bebe, am an invincible Godeater Rat of the mighty Beirut Clan!¡± ¡°Beirut Clan? Godeater Rat?¡± Ace¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when he heard that. ¡°You¡¯re related to Beirut?¡± ¡°Grandpa Beirut could be considered my ancestor!¡± Bebe grinned proudly upon seeing Ace¡¯s surprise. ¡°He was the first Godeater in existence. In fact, until my birth, he was the only Godeater in existence. It was he who gave me a treasure that allowed me to speak in human tongue before becoming a saint. ¡°Godeater huh?¡± Ace smiled. ¡°A very imposing name.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us, Godeater Rats,¡± Bebe snorted. ¡°Upon becoming deities, we can be considered invincible in the same realm. Even among Divine Beasts, there are very few who can match us!¡± A low but imposing growl escaped the lips of Leona, who felt her competitive spirit and battle intent rising after hearing Bebe¡¯s words. ¡°Not now, Leona,¡± Ace said, gently stroking his familiar¡¯s obsidian fur. ¡°You can have some fun with the ¡°Godeater¡± inside the ruins.¡± Bebe had been so excited to show off that he forgot that, like him, Leona was an Apex Divine Beast. When she became a Divine Beast in the future, she would likely awaken a powerful Divine Ability as well. Still, he was confident that he was no weaker than the obsidian lioness in front of him. And when he awakened his Divine Ability, the gap would grow to an inconceivable level. But whilst Bebe was confident, Leona was even more so. Still, she knew Ace was correct; there was a time and a place for that, and now was neither. ¡°Anyway,¡± Ace said, bringing the topic of conversation back on track. ¡°What were you saying about the castle?¡± ¡°Ooh yeah, like you guessed, this castle is sentient. According to Grandpa Beirut, it¡¯s called a metallic lifeform. After bonding with it, you can control it to take any shape you wish,¡± Bebe explained excitedly. ¡°They also come at different levels; this one is at the level of a high god. As such, it can be considered an invincible existence here on the continent. Even if Grandpa didn¡¯t take action, this metallic lifeform would be able to kill all the experts here without much effort.¡± Hearing that, whether it was Ace, Wukong, or even Amira, they were all greatly. ¡®Beirut really is something else,¡¯ Ace sighed. ¡®Even his castle can be described as an invincible existence.¡¯ Ace opened his mouth to say something else when he suddenly turned his head over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing slightly as he sensed the group approaching from the distance. ¡°I was wondering when they were going to make their appearance.¡± Hearing Ace¡¯s words and sensing his growing bloodlust, Linley and the others didn¡¯t need to see them to understand who it was. Before long, a large group of almost 40 saints appeared in the distance. Almost all of whom were at the peak of the saint realm, but the focus of everyone¡¯s attention were the two overwhelming existences leading the pack. The one slightly in front and to the left was the ever-beautiful High Priest of the Yulan Empire, and just behind her was the crimson-haired Demi-God donning an imposing crimson armour. ¡°O¡¯Brien!¡± Ace snarled. Book 7: Chapter 5 – Another One Appears O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t need to look over to understand that the dense killing intent permeating the air was originating from his estranged biological son. Still, as soon as he looked over, a killing intent not one whit inferior erupted from him. He may have originally wanted to bring Ace to his side and even benefit from his connection to Arianna to get his hands on her family¡¯s treasures, but over the last few years, he had understood that neither was possible. Ace¡¯s negative feelings towards him were truly unresolvable. And after hearing about a woman he considered to be his plaything marrying another man ¨C a man who, forget being a deity, wasn¡¯t even a saint ¨C he no longer wanted to resolve things. If he had his way, he would slaughter every single member of the Gol Kingdom, only leaving Ace, Milianna, and Lance alive so he could spend the rest of their mortal lives torturing them. Unfortunately, as things stood, that was simply impossible. For the first time in god knows how long, O¡¯Brien, a Demi-God who originally stood at the very peak of the continent, a man who was able to have almost anything he wanted with a mere snap of his fingers, found himself unable to get what he wanted. The worst part was that, because of the talent of this unruly son of his, he¡¯d be lucky to survive the next 100 years. These last six months had been some of the worst of his entire life. He had the power to destroy his enemies, but he was forbidden from acting. He was forced to essentially disband his empire and subordinate not only himself but also his subordinates to a woman whom he had once considered his lifetime rival and enemy. Then, to top it off, he had to sit back and do nothing whilst the only woman to escape his grasp married another man in the most public of settings. O¡¯Brien had never been known for having the best of tempers, but over the last few months, his temper had only gotten worse. He was now but a deranged shell of his former self. Aside from the High Priest, there was no one who dared say a word in his overbearing presence. With all that being said, one could imagine his reaction to laying eyes on one of the individuals he held responsible for his current state of affairs. Sparks flew as both father and son¡¯s eyes met for the first time in over two years. The tension in the air was palpable, and the heat in the surrounding area became almost unbearable for even those at the early stages of the saint realm. Still, Ace¡¯s body remained ramrod, like an unyielding spear. His eyes were frigid and unmoving as he glared at O¡¯Brien, entirely unwilling to back down. He didn¡¯t care that this was a man who was capable of killing him with a mere wave of a hand; all he wanted was to reap the life of the man who dared force himself onto his mother. Ace wasn¡¯t the only one who dared to glare fearlessly at the crimson-haired War God. Whether it was Amira, Leona, Wukong, Lazerim, or Kimika, each of them radiated a thick bloodlust as they glared at O¡¯Brien. Milianna may have been Ace¡¯s mother, but she was still beloved by each of them. Even Linley looked up coldly, though his frigid killing intent was focused on those from the former Radiant Church. Though his mother didn¡¯t die in the end, he would never forgive them. Especially after learning that because of their actions, his mother ¨C whose talent as a mage with a pure soul didn¡¯t lose out to Wharton¡¯s talent as a warrior ¨C would find it almost impossible to become a saint through natural means. Those watching in the surrounding area all flew back, giving the two groups space. Most knew that the chances of a fight truly breaking out in front of the home of their Yulan Plane¡¯s reigning overlord were virtually non-existent. Still, the tension in the air made most forget that fact. With tensions running that high, all it would take was the smallest of fuses, and none of the experts not involved wanted any part of it. Fortunately, before things could escalate any further, a figure emerged from the depths of the metallic lifeform. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Amidst the oppressive shadows, he stood tall, his dark skin a stark contrast to the glistening white robe he donned, which billowed and whispered with the wind as if the latter acknowledged and rejoiced in his presence. His light brown eyes, almost golden under the scarce rays of light that filtered through the twisted branches, held an enigmatic gleam as he calmly scanned the experts in the surroundings. His long dreadlocks, as black as the abyss from which he emerged, were tied back into a ponytail, each lock seemingly able to absorb what little light there was and reflecting it in a subdued shimmer. They swayed as he moved, much like dark serpents winding through the air. What was truly odd, though, was the weapon to his back. A two-meter-long glaive with its crystal-white shaft and silver hilt out of place in this foreboding forest. Its blade, a mesmerizing fusion of silver and gold, appeared sharper than any weapon should rightfully be, as though it was capable of tearing through the very fabrics of reality that bound their world. Still, what was strange was the way in which it clung to his back. It wasn¡¯t tied using any materials, nor was it held in place using his aura. It was almost as if it was choosing to be there of its own free will. An aura, mysterious and profound, clung to him like a second layer of skin. It easily sliced through the palpable tension caused by the two opposing groups, its sharpness almost tangible, yet its touch strangely light and gentle. His steps were casual, lazy even, and yet they still carried a measured precision that prevented others from ignoring them. This man was the Yulan Continent¡¯s invincible mortal ¨C Aiden Rohault. And despite the suffocating atmosphere, he wore a serene smile, a beacon of calm in the midst of the sinister shadows. A smile that seemed intent on defying the imposing malevolence that pervaded the already eerie air of the Forest of Darkness. Even Ace and O¡¯Brien, the two closest to boiling point, instantly felt their tempers all but doused, unable to focus on anything but Aiden. It had been a few months since Ace had last seen his master. Before leaving last time, Aiden had already told his only disciple that he wouldn¡¯t see him again until he entered the ruins, as he planned on staying by Beirut¡¯s side so that he could finally have all the injuries his soul had sustained from his repeated use of [Imposing Devourment] healed. The only reason Aiden began drinking in the first place was to dull the never-ending pain he was forced to suffer. As such, Ace expected his master to experience significant changes. Still, not even he was expecting the changes to be this drastic. It was like he was looking at a completely different person. ¡®So this is the real Aiden Rohault; this is my master.¡¯ O¡¯Brien and Catherine were no less shocked by Aiden¡¯s changes. Still, although they were surprised by the difference in his aura, what really shocked them was the faint but all too real threatening feeling they could sense subtly lock onto them as if to warn them not to overstep. It was the sort of feeling they would expect to feel from someone of their level. Had it been Cesar, they wouldn¡¯t have been so surprised, but for it to come from Aiden¡­ ¡°Lord Beirut has tasked me with the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods this time,¡± Aiden smiled calmly as though he hadn¡¯t sensed the previous air of tension. ¡°Those of you who intend on entering and are already at the saint realm are to move to my right. All mortals who intend to enter should move to my left. As for those who don¡¯t intend to enter, please stand back.¡± Aiden¡¯s tone was polite and could even be described as gentle. Still, hidden within was a commanding aura that left no room for discussion. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of those entering were saint-level experts. What was surprising, though, was that aside from those from Ace¡¯s group, there was another mortal who intended to enter. A dark-haired woman with enchanting navy-blue eyes calmly stood at the front of the group of mortals; her brown and navy leathered attire glistened faintly in the dim light that filtered through the canopy of ancient trees. She held the obsidian body of her sheathed, flexible, long sword in her milky white, dainty hands. Despite remaining covered in its sheath, all those present could feel from the aura it radiated, that it was definitely a Divine Artifact. She appeared no older than 20, yet she remained unmoved by the questioning and curious stares she was receiving from all those experts present. Instead, she simply stared at Aiden as though she were sizing him up whilst waiting for him to declare what would happen next. Despite being so young, it was clear from her aura that she, like Wukong, had reached the middle stages of the ninth rank as both a warrior and mage. Still, as surprising as it was for there to be another mortal who was of no relation to the Yin-Yang Pavilion to even attempt to enter, the thing that caught the attention of Aiden was the bird perched on her shoulder. Its feathers were a glistening white and shone with a radiance that not even the darkness of the forest could affect. Its frigid but sparkling violet eyes scanned the surroundings, not bothering to hide its disdain as it looked at those around. Ace had already noticed them when he arrived. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he looked at the bird on her shoulder. Divine Beasts were supposed to be rare among magical beasts, with only one being born every thousand years, yet everyone could only sigh in amazement as this new generation had already given birth to 3 Apex Divine Beasts, but from the power hidden within the early saint-level aura this bird was emitting, it looked like there would have to be another addition to that list. Both Ace and Aiden could sense that this proud white-feathered crow was also an Apex Divine Beast. Book 7: Chapter 6 – True Overlord In the depths of the ominous Forest of Darkness, outside the imposing black metallic castle belonging to Lord Beirut, the invincible mortal ¨C Aiden Rohault ¨C stood before a myriad of powerful saints, each of whom could be said to stand at the peak of their continent, with an enigmatic smile, his eyes fixed on the mysterious young woman that had captured the attention of all those present. "You should be Yunaia Qingya, right?" Aiden''s voice carried a tone of familiarity. "Lord Beirut already told me about your entering." The mention of the name "Qingya" sent ripples of surprise through the assembly of experts who had gathered here. Until now, the only Qingya anyone knew of was Aiden''s wife, Arianna. The revelation that there were more living descendants of this renowned family piqued their interest. Even Ace and his group couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at this revelation. Beirut had hinted at the presence of other Qingyas, but the speed at which they had encountered one of them surprised them all. However, they now understood where this woman¡¯s courage to enter the ruins stemmed from. If there was a lineage with the ability to enter the formidable trials of the Necropolis of the Gods as a mortal, it was those of the Qingya family. "Lord Beirut stated that my grandmother and I would be permitted to return as long as I can reach the 12th floor,¡± Yunaia Qingya''s gaze remained indifferent as she coolly replied. ¡°Is that still the case?" Aiden nodded, acknowledging her inquiry. "Indeed, it is." With a serene demeanour, Yunaia drew a flexible long sword from her side, a weapon that seemed to resonate with the air around her. She faced Aiden, the master who would evaluate her worthiness to venture further into the Necropolis of the Gods, with calm and unwavering eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Aiden flashed an approving smile upon seeing that before turning to address the others. His voice resonated with authority as he began to explain. "This marks the first time the Necropolis of the Gods has opened its doors to mortals. However, for a mortal to gain entry, they must demonstrate a minimum level of power ¨C a strength equivalent to that of an expert at the early stages of the saint realm." As Aiden spoke, he summoned a large humanoid Deathgod golem from his interspatial ring, a lifeless puppet crafted with the strength of a weak early-stage saint. This inanimate colossus represented the threshold that Yunaia, as a mortal, needed to surpass. "The challenge is simple," Aiden continued, "to enter, you must have the ability to knock down this puppet." With the signal given, the lifeless puppet charged forward, displaying a speed that far exceeded that of what a mortal should be capable of. Yet, Yunaia remained unwavering, her focus unbroken. With a graceful motion, she gently waved her sword. In an instant, the puppet was sent hurtling away, its massive frame crashing into the walls of the metallic lifeform. What astonished those present wasn''t just the ease with which she overcame this obstacle but the enigmatic energy that had accompanied her strike. ¡®That energy¡­¡¯ Ace thought to himself as he replayed the scene of Yunaia¡¯s attack over and over again in his mind. Like everyone else, Ace couldn''t help but notice the eerie, blackish-blue energy that seemed to emanate from her sword. It bore a curious resemblance to both darkness and water elemental energy¡­ Ace was well aware that individuals could harness multiple elements and even use them in tandem. Olivier''s use of both light and darkness elemental battle-qi during their previous encounter was a testament to this. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. However, Yunaia''s attack appeared to be more than a mere addition; it was as if both elements had genuinely fused, a feat that, by all intents and purposes, should be impossible. What was even more shocking was that the might of her fused energy allowed her power to multiply tenfold. In terms of raw strength, it rivalled some peak saints. And she achieved this without even tapping into the profound mysteries. The full extent of her abilities remained a mystery. Still, everyone present understood that, as a descendant of the legendary Qingya Clan, Yunaia''s comprehension would have undoubtedly reached the profound stage, hiding immense potential yet to be revealed. Aiden¡¯s eyes flickered slightly, but he didn¡¯t say much about the power displayed, instead choosing to carry on with the initial assessments. ¡°Congratulations, Yunaia,¡± Aiden smiled warmly. ¡°You may now wait with the other saints whilst we complete this portion of the tests.¡± Without another word, the white crow, who hadn¡¯t budged from Yunaia¡¯s shoulder this whole time, suddenly leapt off before growing drastically in size, allowing the dark-haired young woman to hop on its back. Ignoring the stares of the other curious saints, Yunaia and her Divine Beast flew over to a secluded corner, patiently waiting. ¡°Which one of you brats is next?¡± Aiden smiled at Ace, Linley, and the others as the Deathgod Golem flew back towards the centre without so much as a scratch on it, causing all those spectating to sigh in amazement. Before any of the others could voice their response, Wukong stepped forward with a fiendish grin as he summoned his trademark white bo-staff. ¡°This king wants to see how tough this Deathgod Golem really is!¡± Then, before Aiden could signal the match to begin, Wukong, with a casual flick of his wrist, summoned his crystalline white bo-staff, gleaming with an otherworldly radiance, before unleashing his unparalleled speed as he charged at the unprepared golem. He seemed to defy the laws of space and time, appearing in front of the Deathgod Golem in the mere blink of an eye. It wasn¡¯t until they heard the ape-like young expert¡¯s devilish laugh that many even realised he was already on top of his opponent. The sound of Wukong¡¯s laughter was suddenly drowned out by the thunderous roar of the sound barrier being shattered as he thrust his staff forward. Still, what truly left the spectators in awe was how Wukong''s staff seemed to become the embodiment of thunder and lightning ¨C violent, unwavering, and seemingly unstoppable. The moment of impact sent shockwaves of power rippling through the battlefield. The puppet, once again, was sent hurtling through the air. This time, it moved with a speed that rivalled even some saints'' ability to follow. The sheer force of Wukong''s strike was nothing short of astonishing. While the crowd marvelled at this extraordinary display of power, Ace, Aiden, and those associated with the Yin-Yang Pavilion remained unfazed. It was as though they had anticipated such a feat. Their calm demeanour stood in stark contrast to the astonishment that gripped the other onlookers. They couldn''t help but envy the mastery of ¡°Concepts¡± demonstrated by those associated with the Pavilion, a secret knowledge they knew would never willingly be shared with outsiders. Amid the spectators, Yunaia''s navy-blue eyes widened in genuine surprise as she witnessed Wukong''s astounding power and the profundities hidden within that single strike. It was then that the voice of her familiar, a white crow she stood upon, entered her mind. "I never expected there to be a mortal capable of such power," the crow remarked. "That monkey''s strength should be no weaker than a peak saint. He can¡¯t compare to us, but still, he¡¯s not bad." Yunaia, reprimanding her beast partner, replied sternly, "Any mortal who dares to enter the Necropolis of the Gods isn''t one to be underestimated." She continued, emphasizing the gravity of their situation. "Oscar, remember, we can''t afford to underestimate anyone when we enter the Necropolis of the Gods. If we fail, we''ll forever be stuck in that desolate hell hole." The white crow nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of their quest and the challenges they would face within the Necropolis. At the same time, the young and handsome Olivier Akerlund watched with narrowed eyes. What was going through his mind as he saw the power of his former rival, only he knew. Still, whatever it was caused him to clench his pale fists so tight that a faint cracking sound could be heard as it trembled slightly beneath his sleeve. ¡°What the hell is this thing made of?¡± Wukong complained as he watched the giant golem climb up completely unharmed by the power of his last attack. ¡°This King¡¯s Storm-Fiend Staff Art should¡¯ve at least put a dent in it!¡± ¡°You should forget about harming the Deathgod Golem at your level,¡± Aiden smiled helplessly. ¡°Though this is the weakest model, it was still designed for Demi-Gods. If not for Lord Beirut reprogramming it to have the power of an early-stage saint, none of you would be able to last a single move.¡± Aiden¡¯s words caused the spectators to stare in disbelief. It had to be remembered, until recently, the two most famous experts of their Yulan Continent were two Demi-Gods. For Beirut to own such a powerful puppet¡­ It was no wonder he was considered the true overlord of their material plane! Book 7: Chapter 7 – Burial Grounds One by one, the mortals went up to challenge the Deathgod Golem, and without fail, each of them was able to pass the assessment with ease. Bebe, the Godeater Rat, used its impressive speed and the sharpness of its claws to show that he had more than enough power to devastate just about any saint at the early stages. Linley, after dragon-forming, didn¡¯t even have to utilise the power of Concepts or the Profound Mysteries. A single punch from his azure-coloured dragon-scaled fist was more than enough to send the golem flying. Leona, not wanting to be outdone by Bebe, casually used her father¡¯s technique [Divine Descent], summoning a giant paw-shaped flame print to once again send the puppet flying. The shocking thing was that they could sense Leona¡¯s insights into the Laws of Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire was only half a step from the level of a Prime Saint. Each mortal was more impressive than the last, causing the saints to sigh in amazement, understanding that this really was the golden generation. Another person who caused quite the shock was Amira. Though everyone from the sect could be considered a genius among geniuses, when one thought of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, they would instinctively think of Ace, Arianna, and now, because of the discovery of Concepts, Aiden. They cast quite the shadows, making it all too easy for others to overlook the rest of the members. It was why when Amira showed off the might of her Viz bloodline and her incredible comprehension, the onlookers could only watch with their jaws dropped. It was but a single strike, but whether it was speed, power, comprehension, or skill. Each aspect had reached a monstrous level. Many guessed that whilst she may not quite be a match for Ace, she wasn¡¯t far off at all. Still, the person everyone was waiting to see in action was the legendary ¡°Son of Heaven¡± himself. As the last of the mortals, Ace felt everyone¡¯s eyes on him. Still, his expression remained light as he waited for his master¡¯s signal. ¡°You ready, brat?¡± Aiden smiled. Ace didn¡¯t hurry to respond, instead choosing to summon his new glaive ¨C Godslayer. As though it had a mind of its own, Godslayer began to hum in excitement. ¡°Soon, I¡¯ll allow you to taste the blood of your first deity,¡± Ace uttered lightly as he stroked the shaft of his navy-coloured glaive, watching as the colour darkened until it was jet-black. ¡°Until then, I promise to let you stay by my side.¡± As Ace¡¯s voice waned, many of the spectators suddenly paled. Between O¡¯Brien¡¯s surging killing intent and the sudden spike in temperature, it became extremely hard for most to even breathe. ¡°Calm down,¡± Catherine said lightly seeing O¡¯Brien¡¯s eyes redden and his body tremble from anger. ¡°This is the home of Lord Beirut.¡± The crimson-haired Demi-God didn¡¯t respond with words. Still, he appeared to have heard, because after Catherine spoke, O¡¯Brien took a deep breath to calm his wrath and directly closed his eyes not daring to look at Ace anymore for fear of what he would do. Both Yunaia and her familiar, the white crow, watched this scene calmly whilst communicating mentally. ¡°This boy Ace is even more arrogant than me,¡± Oscar said, his words laced with disdain. ¡°To threaten a deity in public, as a mere mortal of the seventh rank. He really thinks too highly of himself!¡± Yunaia heard Oscar¡¯s words, but she didn¡¯t respond. Even though she told herself she wouldn¡¯t underestimate others, she felt that Ace¡¯s words were beyond arrogant, to the point where she couldn¡¯t help but look down on him. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She was a genius who had reached the mid-stages of the ninth rank before turning 20. If not because she wanted to focus on her comprehension before making another breakthrough, it would¡¯ve been easy for her to become a saint before 20 ¨C a feat which had never been seen or heard of throughout the whole of the Yulan Plane¡¯s known history. To this day, she had never met anyone of her generation who could match up to her. And although she was surprised by the talent shown by Linley, Amira, Wukong and the others, from what she saw, even Wukong ¨C the strongest among them was a level below. Even with her pride as an unrivalled genius, the likes of which was only seen once in a million years, she wouldn¡¯t dare to threaten a deity in such an arrogant manner, even if she couldn¡¯t stand them. In her eyes, even if she was confident she would surpass them in due time, a deity was still a lofty figure who deserved respect. One should only disrespect them if they had surpassed them in at least one area, something that not even she, with all her talent and ability, had done. As far as she was concerned, the only reason Ace dared to do this was because he likely had a little bit of talent which made him conceited and most importantly, he knew O¡¯Brien wouldn¡¯t dare to offend Beirut. Still, the youth who caused this reaction appeared utterly calm, his focus still on the hardened glaive in his hands. Speaking of ¡°Godslayer¡±, after hearing Ace¡¯s words, not only had its hum gotten louder, but its usually gentle red hue had suddenly intensified as its blade seemingly gotten sharper. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Ace nodded slowly toward his master as he willed his flames to coat his weapon. ¡°Those flames¡­¡± Oscar¡¯s eyes suddenly constricted as he stared intently at the flames coating Ace¡¯s weapon. ¡°Has he?¡± It wasn¡¯t just the Divine Beast; even Yunaia could only stare in disbelief at Ace¡¯s fiery mage force. Although she was a Qingya descendant, Yunaia was raised in a certain place. A location which was far more brutal with experts far stronger than those here on the Yulan Continent. There, if one wanted to travel on their own, they needed to at least have the power of a saint, and even then, they were at the bottom of the barrel. It was a place where, unlike here, Demi-Gods could be seen regularly. There were even a few High Gods scattered around ¨C albeit not very many. That was to say, she was clear on the levels of comprehension as well as the various profound mysteries of each of the elements. The moment she saw the compressed flames, she instantly understood, that Ace, a youth she had just looked down on, had comprehended a complete profound mystery. Even if that was the full extent of his insights into the laws of fire, in terms of comprehension, he was still able to stand on equal ground with the average Demi-God. But before she could get over her initial shock, Ace made his move. She focused intently on the dark-haired teen as he took what seemed to be the most ordinary of steps, a movement so subtle it could easily be overlooked. Yet, the moment Ace¡¯s foot touched the ground, the world around him transformed. The flames beneath him erupted with an intensity that defied reason, blazing forth three times in an instant. The sheer power of this sudden inferno left a small crater in Ace¡¯s previous position, a testament to the explosive force he had harnessed. But what truly captivated Yunaia and everyone present was Ace himself. As if the laws of space and time didn¡¯t apply to him, Ace appeared almost instantaneously in front of the humanoid puppet. His glaive, an extension of his very being, moved forward with a purpose that perfectly embodied the explosive and untamed might of fire. The tip of his Haki-hardened glaive met the puppet¡¯s chest with a resounding impact, sending shockwaves through the air. In that singular, awe-inspiring moment, Ace¡¯s strike connected flawlessly, and the puppet was sent hurtling through the air, its form disrupted by the unstoppable force of the attack. It was a testament to Ace¡¯s incredible prowess, and it left all witnesses stunned in silence. A faint smile appeared on Aiden¡¯s face upon seeing that. Others may not be able to see, but how could he, as the person who founded the path of Concepts, not see that his usage of concepts had become even smoother and more refined? That by itself wasn¡¯t enough to give him a significant leap in strength, but it was proof that Ace hadn¡¯t relaxed with his training since his leaving. Whilst everyone was staring at Ace¡¯s back, lost in thought, Aiden walked over to a small, unassuming doorway beside the metallic lifeform. ¡°The entrance to the Necropolis of the Gods is right here,¡± Aiden explained as he slowly opened the door, which was strangely similar in nature to the Gol Clan¡¯s Pocket Dimension. ¡°All of you may now go in, but before you do, let me warn all of you who have entered in the past. The insides have changed slightly. There are currently more treasures than ever before, but the dangers inside have reached a level that has far exceeded that of previous years. If there are any among you that are even slightly hesitant, I suggest you pull out now.¡± Ace, along with those in his group, were the first to react, unhesitantly moving towards the door. One by one, Kimika, Wukong, Linley and the others entered one after the next. Finally, just as it was Ace¡¯s turn, under the eyes of the crowd, he fearlessly looked up towards the two Demi-Gods of the Yulan Empire and pointed the tip of his glaive straight at O¡¯Brien. ¡°If in ten years you dare to enter, I assure you, the Necropolis of the Gods will be your burial grounds.¡± Book 7: Chapter 8 – Restructuring of the Necropolis The mesmerized audience of experts watched in stunned silence as Ace, unwavering and resolute, entered the spatial passage that led to the Necropolis of the Gods. He didn¡¯t even spare a glance back at those behind him, nor did he give O¡¯Brien, the self-proclaimed God of War, a chance to respond. It wasn¡¯t until Ace had completely vanished into the passage that O¡¯Brien¡¯s rage finally erupted. Overwhelmed by anger and frustration, he abandoned all semblance of reason. Ignoring the fact that this was the domain of Lord Beirut, he unleashed a devastating wave of killing intent accompanied by a furious roar. His uncontrollable fury knew no bounds as he unleashed his full might, and he directed it towards the entrance of the Necropolis of the Gods. Catherine, recognizing the impending catastrophe, desperately wanted to stop O¡¯Brien, but time seemed to slip through her fingers like grains of sand ¨C by the time she was ready to react, it was already too late to intervene. The fiery pillar of destruction hurtled toward the entrance, a relentless force that threatened to engulf it. However, it was at this critical moment that Aiden, the master of glaivesmanship, made his move. His actions were executed with the fluidity of the wind itself. A glaive, previously at rest on his back, soared into his grasp as if guided by an invisible hand. Then, in a calm and calculated motion, he slashed through the incoming conflagration with such finesse that it shattered into scattered embers, harmlessly dissipating in the air. Witnessing Aiden¡¯s effortless counter, the assembly of experts could only stand in dumbfounded awe. They had already heard rumours of Aiden¡¯s power ¨C likened to that of a prime saint. But Aiden¡¯s display hinted at an incredible level of strength, one that infinitely approached the threshold of deities. Even though the attack wasn¡¯t aimed at him, Aiden¡¯s ability to effortlessly thwart it implied that his power was leagues beyond the ordinary. As though he couldn¡¯t sense the shock of the nervous spectators, Aiden remained composed, his expression neither warm nor cold. Still, there was an underlying weight to his presence, a subtle chill that conveyed his meaning. His words were delivered lightly but carried immense gravity, ¡°Consider this your final warning; any further acts of violence will be met with the appropriate response.¡± O¡¯Brien, though still seething with anger, understood that his temper had nearly just cost him his life. With a resentful and slightly unwilling snort, he hastily retreated, distancing himself from death¡¯s door. As the tension diffused, Yunaia, who had observed the entire spectacle from the back of her Divine Beast, contemplated the strength she had witnessed. It had shattered her belief in her own unrivalled power among mortals. Still, instead of allowing it to get her down, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a newfound vigour and curiosity about the challenges that lay ahead. With a soft murmur, she directed her loyal companion, Oscar, the white-feathered crow, to carry her toward the entrance. Her eyes still trained on Aiden, who merely flashed her a calm smile as she passed him by, until she, too, disappeared into the spatial corridor, embarking on her journey into the Necropolis of the Gods. As Yunaia stepped through the doorway, she couldn''t help but notice the strange vibrations that coursed through her for a fleeting moment. She had barely blinked, but upon opening her eyes, she found herself no longer in the Forest of Darkness. Instead, she stood on a vast and nearly empty grassland. Above her, instead of the usual skies, stretched the multicoloured expanse of chaotic space. However, what truly captured her attention was the elemental essence saturating the surroundings. Her homeland had been devoid of elemental essence, making cultivation for mortals nearly impossible. Only those with influential family backgrounds or access to special treasures could hope to cultivate. Fortunately, her grandmother had provided her with such an opportunity. Yet, growing up in such a barren environment, the sheer density of elemental essence in the Necropolis of the Gods, which exceeded that of the Yulan Continent by at least fivefold, left her both shocked and excited. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The urge to sit down and meditate was almost overpowering, but before her enthusiasm could carry her away, a lazy and slightly impatient voice interrupted her thoughts. "Will you hurry up, girl?" a devilishly handsome green-haired youth called out. "With you and that little bird of yours, there are finally ten of you who have entered." Yunaia turned her gaze to the source of the voice and noted that Ace and his group of eight were already gathered, patiently waiting. However, it was the mysterious youth who had called out to her that truly intrigued her. Although he made no overt displays of his aura, Yunaia could sense that he was a genuine expert, far surpassing individuals like O''Brien and Catherine in strength. With a respectful bow and a silent command to her white-feathered crow ¨C Oscar ¨C Yunaia approached the green-haired youth. "Finally, now that the first ten of you have arrived, I can begin the explanation," the enigmatic deity said slowly. "Given your obvious ages, none of you would have had the chance to enter the Necropolis of the Gods when the lower levels were last opened. Nevertheless, even if you had, it wouldn''t matter. Lord Beirut sought the assistance of the esteemed Sovereign who stands behind him to modify the Necropolis''s layout after he apparently encountered an impressive group of young talents who could benefit from such an opportunity." Hearing that, Ace¡¯s eyes flickered with an almost imperceptible light. Still, he didn¡¯t say anything, allowing for this mysterious deity to continue his explanation. "I never would''ve guessed those ''brats'' he mentioned were a bunch of mortals,¡± The green-haired youth''s gaze drifted over Ace and the other mortals in the group as he spoke. ¡°Nevertheless, that''s none of my concern. Anyway, my name is Tarosse, and I will be the overseer for this opening of the Necropolis of the Gods. As such, allow me to explain the new structure. This time, every three floors make up one layer. The first floor of each layer serves as a test of sorts, similar in nature to the trial the mortals among you faced outside. In each of the ten tunnels behind me, there''s a Deathgod Golem blocking the path to the higher levels. To access the higher floors, you don''t necessarily need to defeat the Golem; you just have to find a way past it. Take that as you will,¡± Tarosse shrugged casually before continuing with his explanation. ¡°The first floor of each layer is an individual assessment, allowing only one person to enter at a time. Don''t worry, though; if you find it impossible to advance, you can return to the resting point, where you can focus on improving your strength before attempting again. Additionally, the power of each first-floor Golem increases significantly as you ascend. The Golem on the first floor of the first layer has the strength of a relatively powerful early-stage saint, while the one on the first floor of the second layer matches that of a top-quality middle-stage saint. The third layer¡¯s first-floor Golem is on par with a top-ranking peak saint, and the Golem on the fourth layer has the power of a formidable prime saint. And just like the Golem¡¯s outside, although their power is limited, the materials they¡¯re made from make them indestructible to anyone who doesn¡¯t have the power of a High God. Next, the second floor of each layer. Now, this is the floor that houses the real danger. Each one is swarming with tens or even hundreds of thousands of saint-level entities that attack outsiders on sight. Furthermore, these floors house several prime saints, each armed with formidable treasures to enhance their power." At the mention of the overwhelming number of powerful enemies on the second floor, unease rippled through the gathered experts. Forget them; even individuals of Mathias and Lauriella''s calibre would struggle when faced with such odds. "To advance to the next level, you merely have to navigate your way to the central area where the staircase leading to the next floor is situated," Tarosse elucidated. "But here''s the silver lining; the second floor of each stage boasts ample space. While you are still likely to encounter groups of adversaries, rest assured, you won''t face them all simultaneously. Furthermore, despite it being the various prime saints guarding the best treasures, numerous other hidden treasures await discovery on these floors. So, rushing to the next stage may not always be the optimal choice. As for the third floor of each layer, it functions as a designated rest zone. Here, you won''t encounter any trials placed by Beirut and the Sovereign, making it an ideal environment for meditation and deepening your understanding of the laws. Still, although it was designed to serve as a refuge for those struggling to defeat the various Golems, you may still face threats from other explorers. Additionally, keep in mind that elemental essence purity escalates significantly with each layer. For instance, the elemental essence on the third floor of the third layer is nearly a hundred times purer than what you sense here. Ooh, and regarding the fourth stage, although technically speaking, it too features a third floor, should you be fortunate enough to reach that point, exercise caution and thoughtful consideration, for it marks the twelfth level of the Necropolis, also known as the first floor of the deity levels.¡± Book 7: Chapter 9 – Second Floor "Okay, okay, that''s enough of the chitchat," Tarosse concluded, having said all he was prepared to. "The rest you''ll naturally discover upon entering. Whenever you''re ready, feel free to proceed." With that, Yunaia gracefully dismounted Oscar''s back. Together, they ventured forward, entering their respective tunnels without hesitation. Meanwhile, Ace and his companions were on the brink of stepping into the passage when they noticed Linley gazing into the distance with a perplexed expression. "What''s up with you?" Ace inquired, his curiosity piqued. "Is something wrong?" Linley hesitated for a moment before responding, his voice tinged with confusion. "I can''t quite put my finger on it, but it feels as if something is beckoning me. It''s reminiscent of the sensation I felt when encountering the Azure Dragon all those years ago..." Ace and the rest of the group followed Linley''s gaze, attempting to discern the source of his unease. Yet, despite their collective efforts, whether it was Ace, whose soul was the most powerful of those present or Bebe, who had an innate connection to the young Baruch Patriarch, none of them could perceive anything out of the ordinary. With a determined resolve, Linley decided to put aside his uncertainties. "It¡¯s not important now," he affirmed, squashing his lingering doubts. "In a place like this, distractions can be deadly. To uncover more, I''ll just have to ascend to the higher levels." With these words, he took a step forward, leading the way into the passage to the Necropolis of the Gods. Ace and the rest of the group exchanged understanding glances before nodding and following Linley''s resolute stride. Before completely disappearing into the passage, Ace turned back to look at Amira and the others. ¡°Be careful!¡± The first batch of Deathgod Golems only had the power of an early-stage saint, so he was confident that no one in their group would struggle much at all. Still, upon exiting, they would have reached the second floor, and according to Tarosse''s description, that was a location fraught with danger. Whether it was Wukong, Kimika, or Lazerim, they were all extremely powerful. As such, he wasn''t particularly worried about their safety, but Amira and Leona were different... One was his familiar and long-time partner; the other was his... Well, it was complicated. Still, although in terms of talent and potential, they were almost without peers, unfortunately, they hadn''t had enough time to truly live up to their potential. He knew they were far from the weakest entering this time, but he''d be lying if he said he wasn''t worried. "We''ll be fine,¡± Amira, perceptive as always, picked up on Ace''s concern. She reassured him with a confident nod. ¡°See you on the other side." With those parting words, Ace entered the passage, the group vanishing from view as they entered their respective tunnels. Upon entering his designated tunnel, Ace found himself in a vast underground cavern. At the far end of the cavern, an imposing Deathgod Golem stood guard, blocking access to the stairway leading to the next floor. As Ace confidently entered the cavern, the Deathgod Golem sprung to life, hurtling toward him with menacing intent. Unperturbed, Ace continued to stride forward as if he hadn''t even noticed the approaching adversary. It was only when the Deathgod Golem was on the brink of striking distance that Ace sprang into action.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Like a dormant volcano unleashing its fury, Ace''s glaive surged forward with astonishing speed and power. The crimson streak it left behind sliced through the air, striking the puppet squarely in the chest and propelling it in the opposite direction with double the velocity it had approached. Remarkably, despite delivering such a devastating blow, Ace''s unhurried gait remained unbroken as he continued his leisurely walk toward the exit. Similar scenes played out in the other tunnels as the initial group of ten adventurers made their way through. To the rest of the Continent, saints were regarded as lofty, almost godlike figures. Still, facing these ten individuals, it was clear that it would take far more than the power of an expert at the early stages of the saint realm to pose a challenge of any kind of significance. Exiting the passage leading to the second floor, Ace found himself in the midst of a scorching desert, an inviting oasis with crystal-clear blue water standing before him. The surreal landscape was dominated by numerous towering volcanoes, their peaks seeming to pierce the very heavens. Yet, what struck Ace most profoundly was the lingering scent of blood that tainted the air, accompanied by an eerie undercurrent of bloodlust that permeated the sweltering atmosphere. After a brief moment of initial surprise, Ace selected a direction and began his purposeful march. Just moments after he arrived on the second floor, he had already sensed the presence of Leona, located dozens of kilometres away. Their spiritual bond allowed them to always remain aware of each other''s whereabouts as long as they were within the same plane of existence. The strange thing, though, was that Ace was moving in the complete opposite direction of his familiar. Although he still couldn¡¯t understand how or why, Ace and Amira also shared a similar connection, though not as keen as his one with Leona. Regardless, it was Amira''s location he was moving towards. It wasn¡¯t that he thought Amira was more important; it was simply because, as their connection was clearer, Ace was able to communicate directly with Leona. As such, he knew that Leona was fine and slowly making her way towards him. On the other hand, although he could sense Amira was also making her way towards him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see if she got herself surrounded or hurt. Unfortunately, before he could reach Amira, Ace found himself encircled by a group of more than twenty demonic creatures. Though an early saint might not pose a significant threat to his current power level, facing twenty of them simultaneously was an entirely different challenge. Although he had never entered the Necropolis of the Gods in the past, thanks to Arianna¡¯s family records, he was able to get his hands on a lot of information from previous years. In particular, the beings that called the ruins home. As soon as he saw the semi-humanoid-shaped creatures with bodies made from pure, scarlet-coloured lava wrapped by faint wreaths of flame, he instantly recognised them as Magma Demons. However, Ace greeted the situation with enthusiasm. "You lot will serve as a good warm-up for what lies ahead in here," he grinned wickedly, morphing into a blazing crimson blur as he charged headlong into the small army of Magma Demons. His glaive danced through the air with fiery grace, each thrust breaking the sound barrier with a resounding roar. The pained cries of the demons faded into insignificance as Ace systematically dismantled them, leaving behind a trail of fallen adversaries. As the last Magma Demon fell, Ace''s insatiable appetite for battle remained unsated. Amira, who had yet to encounter a worthy opponent, couldn''t help but feel a hint of envy. "Seems like you were having fun," Amira commented, her tone laced with jealousy. Ace offered a wistful smile before releasing a helpless sigh. "Perhaps a little. But I could¡¯ve done with there being a few more of them." "You''re just greedy," Amira playfully retorted. "I haven''t even had a chance to fight since reaching the second floor." Ace relented with a nod. "You can take on the next batch when the opportunity arises." Amira''s pouty expression persisted. "Who knows when that will be? Haven¡¯t you noticed how stable this world is? I can barely extend my spiritual essence half a meter beyond my body." "I''ve noticed," Ace acknowledged. "I can only extend my spiritual essence about five meters around my body. Even with my [Observation Haki], I can only expand it to 100 meters without compressing it." "100 meters?" Amira queried, a dangerous light flickering in her eyes. "Are you showing off?" "Of course not. I wouldn''t dare!" Ace replied, raising his hands in mock surrender. However, before he could continue their conversation, he sensed something which caused him to pivot his head in the direction where Leona was located; his eyes suddenly filled with worry and a trace of coldness. Without the need for words, both Ace and Amira unhesitatingly took off, their bodies appearing as mere blurs as they raced toward their companion. Book 7: Chapter 10 – Son of Heaven Vs. Empress of Darkness Far off in the direction that Ace and Amira were urgently heading, a striking woman with milky-white skin and jet-black hair and eyes donning a form-fitting white leather armour that accentuated her voluptuous figure hovered in the air. Her gaze was fixated on the severely injured body of Leona, Ace''s Divine Beast partner. Leona, a lioness with obsidian fur tinged with a hint of crimson, who was larger than most horses. Despite her grievous wounds, she met Shelia''s gaze with cold indifference, refusing to bow her head in submission. Shelia let out a light sigh, her hand lightly gripping her spear as she spoke, "It''s unfortunate that you''ve already forged a bond of equals with Ace. Otherwise, I would have spared your life had you agreed to follow me." In response, Leona let out a defiant roar, her feline eyes filled with clear disdain. Though she couldn''t comprehend Leona''s roar, Shelia gleaned its intent by reading the almost human-like expression on the lioness''s face. "I concede that your partner is undoubtedly the most gifted human I''ve ever encountered," Shelia explained. "However, it is precisely for that reason that we of the New Yulan Empire cannot allow him to live any longer. Had all of you chosen to remain within your territories, we might have hesitated to take action. But since you arrogantly entered the Necropolis of the Gods, we are determined to ensure that each member of the Gol and Baruch Empires meets their end within these ruins!" Shelia raised her spear, poised to end the life of the Divine Lion once and for all. Upon seeing this, Leona''s fiery aura erupted as she prepared to make her final stand. As a beast unable to wield weapons as effortlessly as humans, she was yet to begin comprehending the ''Concepts'' of fire. Nevertheless, she relied on her powerful body and her mastery of profound mysteries to give her the power of a weaker peak saint despite merely being at the eighth rank. And thanks to her unique bond with Ace, she was able to rapidly absorb his comprehension of profound mysteries. Whilst she presently focused on but a single profound mystery, her understanding of the ''Essence of Fire'' had already surpassed her father''s, reaching the peak of the peak saint realm, a mere half step from matching that of a prime saint. Unfortunately, Shelia''s comprehension was at a similar level. Coupled with the fact that Shelia, the dark-haired leader of the Cult of Darkness, was both a warrior and mage at the peak of the saint realm, it was no surprise that she easily dominated the young lioness. However, even knowing she was outmatched this time, Leona remained unwilling to submit, even in her final moments. But just as she prepared to make her last stand, Leona''s aura suddenly dissipated. Leona watched as Shelia lunged toward her, spear poised to pierce her skull. However, instead of panic or fear, an air of calm and almost teasing amusement graced Leona''s feline lips. A sense of foreboding washed over Shelia, but she brushed it aside as the lion''s final desperate attempt to stall for time. "DIE!" Shelia screamed as her black battle-qi-coated spear sliced through the air. But just before she could complete her attack and end her target''s life, the hairs on her neck stood on end. Her battle-honed instincts, sharpened on countless battlefields, warned her of impending mortal danger. Shelia acted on pure instinct, using the momentum of her spear thrust to pivot and face the imminent threat from behind. As she spun around, her abyss-like eyes constricted when she saw a familiar jet-black glaive enveloped in crimson flames hurtling toward her at blistering speed. She had almost no time to defend properly, only managing to raise the shaft of her spear in time to deflect the glaive''s tip from piercing her heart. However, her hasty block was insufficient to fully evade the imminent peril. The diverted glaive, knocked off target, pierced through the collarbone of her left shoulder before shooting off into the distance. At the same time, Shelia herself felt as though she had been struck by a speeding truck, the impact''s force jarring her insides before propelling her back like a shooting star. "Damn," Ace muttered lightly. "I was hoping to finish that old wench with that strike!"Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Though his voice sounded calm, the icy killing intent he radiated betrayed his rage. Leona was not just his familiar; she was family. If he had been even a second slower, she would have perished. How could he not be furious? "Seeing as your little Cult is so determined to cross my bottom line," Ace declared coolly, waving his hand to summon "God Slayer" back to his side. "I''ll ensure that every one of you who dared enter the Necropolis pays the price... Starting with you!" "With just the three of you?" Shelia asked calmly as she slowly floated back towards Ace, disregarding the fact that she could only use her right arm in her current state, paying all but no attention to Amira, who stood over Leona''s severely injured body, using her insights into the profound mystery of purity to heal the black-furred lioness. "No," Ace replied indifferently as he ascended into the air to confront his opponent. "Just me." Shelia gazed deeply at the black-haired young man before her, memories of their first encounter stirring a faint sense of regret within her. If she had known things would unfold like this, she would have chosen to eliminate him outright instead of attempting to control him. Nevertheless, dwelling on unalterable past choices was futile. Shelia took a deep breath, clearing her mind of distractions as she assumed a one-handed battle stance. Her shadowy battle-qi enveloped her body and weapon. "If you had abandoned your little pet to die and fled, you might have lived a few more days," Shelia remarked indifferently. "But since you seem so determined to meet your end, allow me to¡­." Before Shelia could finish her sentence, Ace, whose entire body was now jet-black, executed three near-simultaneous, ground-shaking kicks, creating giant explosions with each one. In an instant, he appeared in front of Shelia. Ace, no longer interested in her ceaseless chatter, had grown weary of listening. All he desired was to see her head beneath his feet. The battle between Ace and Shelia erupted in a blaze of fiery fury and eerie darkness. Ace unleashed his self-created "Blazing Glaive Art," a martial art that incorporated the very essence of fire into each of his attacks. His glaivesmanship was a symphony of wild, passionate, and explosive strikes, every movement dripping with the very essence of fire. Shelia, already injured and with only one good hand remaining, faced the relentless assault with unwavering determination. Her shadowy battle-qi enveloped her weapon as she countered Ace''s blows, but her disadvantage was evident. Each clash sent shockwaves through her body, testing the limits of her endurance. Ace''s mastery of Observation Haki gave him a profound advantage, allowing him to peer into the immediate future, predicting Shelia''s every move before she executed it. His movements were a dance of anticipation and a flawless combination of offence and defence. He dodged each of Shelia''s strikes with uncanny precision and attacked positions she attempted to move into before she even finished moving there. It was this incredible ability that allowed him to slowly but surely suppress the former Empress of Darkness, not giving her a moment to catch her breath. Shelia, despite being a warrior at the peak of the saint realm, struggled to keep up. Ace''s relentless onslaught pushed her to her limits, and she was barely holding on. Her every action was an intricate balance between survival and exhaustion. She had long since heard the rumours of Ace¡¯s prowess after incorporating the ¡®Concepts¡¯ of fire into his glaivesmanship; she had even seen a glimpse of it when he took on the first Deathgod Golem. Still, she refused to believe that it would give him the ability to oppose her, even with her injuries. She was a peak saint as both a mage and a warrior whose insights into the laws of darkness were a mere step away from that of a prime saint. Even with her injuries, she was no weaker than peak saints like her husband. And yet, Ace, a boy whose cultivation had only just reached the seventh rank, was able to force her to this point¡­ Calling it shocking was an understatement. It should be impossible! And yet, the proof was laid out right before her eyes. One of the most shocking parts about Ace¡¯s strength was the power of his body. Despite being a human, Shelia could sense that in his current state, Ace¡¯s physical ability was faintly approaching that of a warrior at the peak of the saint realm. He really was like a humanoid Divine Beast. The secrets behind Ace¡¯s powerful body could be separated into four parts: Firstly, after using [Imposing Devourment] to break through to the seventh rank, the normal power of his body had improved so that it matched that of a weaker magical beast. Still, at most, that allowed his body to match that of an ordinary human warrior¡¯s at the middle stages of the seventh rank. Second was his [Armament Haki], which, when used, raised his warrior realm by one full realm to the middle stages of the eighth rank. Third was the power of his soul using [Impose]. It had to be remembered that right now, Ace¡¯s soul had already reached the level of a prime saint. When he used [Impose], he was able to once again increase his physical ability, bringing it to the level of a warrior at the early stages of the saint realm. Lastly was his pseudo-battle-qi. Once again, because of the power of his soul, despite only being a mage at the early stages of the seventh rank, his spells had the power of a magus at the middle stages of the saint realm. When combined, it gave Ace heaven-defying physical abilities faintly surpassing that of even Apex Divine Beasts like Leona. As the battle raged on, Ace''s fiery attacks intensified. He forced Shelia back, step by step, until finally, he sent her flying with a powerful strike that sent her crashing into a massive tree. She collided with it with a bone-rattling thud before slumping to the ground. Ace looked down at her from above, exuding a silent air of dominance like a young god of fire. "To try and compete with me in close quarters in your current state is nothing but foolishness," he declared with unwavering confidence. "I suggest you bring out your true power now before it''s too late!" His words hung in the air, a challenge to Shelia to reveal her full potential before their battle reached its climactic conclusion. Book 7: Chapter 11 – Explosive Conclusion Shelia, despite her bloodied and battered appearance, calmly stood back up, displaying a cold resolve that seemed to overshadow her serious injuries. Her abyss-like eyes gleamed with a cold light as she responded to Ace''s challenge. "If you insist." As the sound of her voice faded, her previously black battle-qi took on a subtle but noticeable purple hue, signifying a deeper connection to the laws of darkness. Ace''s eyes flickered when he observed this change. Until now, Shelia had relied solely on her prowess as a warrior, underestimating her young opponent. But now, she was tapping into her insights into the laws of darkness for the first time in this battle. Ace was only mildly surprised, quickly realising that, like her daughter, Shelia had gained insight into the profound mystery of evil. However, in terms of the depth of comprehension, she lagged far behind him. Yet, due to the disparity in cultivation levels, Ace knew he couldn''t afford to underestimate her. "[Devil Armour]," Shelia uttered coldly as her aura shifted, causing a blackish-purple energy to envelop her form. Ace observed as Shelia transformed into a devilish figure, towering over two meters tall, complete with two menacing horns and flickering blackish-purple skin. Although he sensed a greater threat from her now, Ace remained unfazed. He possessed the ability to interrupt Shelia''s transformation, but he chose to use her newfound power as a means to test his own strength. In the treacherous environment of the Necropolis of the Gods, Ace knew that the challenges he would confront had the potential to end his life in an instant. To safeguard not only himself but also those he held dear, he needed to rapidly increase his strength. And what better opportunity to do so than by facing off against the injured leader of the Cult of Darkness? As their eyes locked, sparks seemed to fly between Ace and Shelia. Then, without hesitation, both warriors surged forward simultaneously, their palpable killing intents igniting the air around them. The battle between Ace and the transformed Shelia unfolded with a frenzied intensity. At the beginning of their clash, Ace found himself easily overpowered and suppressed by Shelia''s monstrous physical abilities. She stood like a mythical beast in a semi-humanoid form, her two-meter-tall frame exuding an overwhelming presence. Shelia''s spearmanship, though exceedingly simple, gained her the upper hand due to her incredible physical prowess. Each of her spear strikes was like the furious blow of a celestial giant, shattering Ace''s fiery aura with ease. Ace felt his energy depleting rapidly with each clash. Every time Shelia''s simple yet incredibly powerful spear strikes managed to land, they easily tore apart his fiery skin-tight aura, leaving him vulnerable, forcing Ace to spend a substantial portion of his energy instantly incinerating the corruptive energy that Shelia''s attacks carried as her insights into the profound mystery of evil had made her energy highly poisonous, adding a perilous dimension to their battle. Still, his eyes never wavered. He ignored his injuries and ever-growing fatigue, focusing solely on honing his ¡°Blazing Glaive Art¡±. It was because of his incredible skill level that allowed him to barely hang on against Shelia''s relentless onslaught. However, as the battle raged on, Shelia became more frantic with her attacks. She sensed that Ace was making noticeable improvements despite his rapid exhaustion. Determined to defeat him swiftly, she pressed forward with frantic determination, unwilling to allow Ace to improve any more. Unfortunately, as the duel continued, Shelia''s desperation only seemed to grow, fuelled by the realisation that Ace''s improvement was outpacing her efforts to defeat him. By the time she fully comprehended his rate of progress, Ace had reached a point where he could not only hold his own but engage her in a fierce and balanced exchange of blows. The battlefield crackled with fiery energy and the palpable tension of their relentless struggle. Amira had just finished treating Leona''s injuries, her gaze fixed on the intense battle between Ace and Shelia. With each passing moment, Ace''s injuries accumulated, and Amira couldn''t help but watch with a mixture of worry and a hint of infatuation. As a practitioner who had suffered the corrosive effects of the profound mystery of evil in the past, Amira knew firsthand the excruciating pain that Ace must be enduring. Yet, his unwavering focus on the battle and his determination to prevail despite the pain were simply captivating. Her attention was so absorbed by the fight that she almost didn''t notice the low growl emanating from Leona beside her, warning her that something was amiss.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. In the confines of the Necropolis of the Gods, where their spiritual essence was greatly restricted, Leona''s heightened senses, particularly her sense of smell, still remained sharp. She had detected the approach of the Magma Demons before anyone else. Soon after Leona''s warning, a faint rumbling on the searing hard ground beneath their feet confirmed her suspicions. Ace''s battle was like a beacon, signalling their presence to the native creatures of the ruins. Amira understood the impending danger and quickly made her decision. She turned to Leona, summoning her twin katanas with determination in her eyes. "C''mon, Leona," Amira said, her voice resolute. "You and I will deal with these Magma Demons." With resolve in her heart, Amira activated her Viz bloodline, conjuring a massive phantom of an angel that mirrored her appearance. This transformation instantly boosted both her warrior and mage cultivation by a whole level, propelling them to the late stages of the eighth rank. With newfound power surging through her, Amira''s feet barely touched the ground as she transformed into a streak of light. She charged fearlessly into the approaching horde of over 50 Magma Demons, ready to face the threat head-on and ensure Ace''s safety. Amira and Leona faced the oncoming horde of fifty Magma Demons, each of which was at the early stages of the saint realm. The intense battle that ensued was a testament to their determination and strength. Amira wielded her twin katanas with grace and precision, executing the "Bright Stance" of her self-created "Bright Sky Sword Art." Her attacks were swift and precise, resembling the embodiment of light itself. Each strike was like a ray of pure energy, cutting through the Magma Demons with incredible speed and accuracy. Her attacks radiated a sense of purity, seemingly wanting to illuminate the already bright dimension of the Necropolis of the Gods, as though she was silently declaring that her light would always shine brightest. Though Amira wasn''t as powerful as Ace, she displayed remarkable skill and control. She moved gracefully through the battlefield, engaging multiple Magma Demons at once without being overwhelmed. Her movements were a dance of light and steel, and her enemies struggled to keep up with her blinding speed. Leona, in her Divine Beast form, fought with a savage and primal style. She utilised her immense physical strength and searing flames, tearing through some with powerful swipes of her claws, incinerating others with her crimson flames, and snapping her jaws with deadly accuracy. Her attacks were brutal and effective, leaving no room for mercy. While their fighting styles couldn''t have been more different, Amira and Leona complemented each other perfectly. They seemed to share an unspoken understanding, covering each other''s flaws and weak spots. Amira''s precision and agility allowed her to protect Leona from any creatures that slipped past, while Leona''s brute force and durability held the front line against the Magma Demons'' relentless assaults. Together, they formed a formidable team, creating a deadly synergy that carved a path through the Demons. Their goal was clear: to protect Ace, who was locked in a fierce battle behind them. In the final moments of their intense battle, Ace and Shelia were both severely injured, their bodies battered and their strength waning. Ace, in particular, appeared to be on his last legs, his body covered in a myriad of corroded stab wounds, but the fire in his eyes burned just as brightly as ever. Shelia, on the other hand, was filled with a mix of emotions. Part of her desperately wanted to rid the world of Ace''s presence once and for all, to fulfil her duty to the Cult of Darkness. Yet, another part of her couldn''t help but admire Ace''s incredible talent and determination. Experiencing Ace''s abilities firsthand was a revelation. She had heard about his talents and witnessed the results in person, but being in a battle with him was an entirely different experience. She had never encountered a talent like Ace before, and she doubted the world would ever see another of his calibre again. In an alternate reality, she wished that Ace had been born into her family instead, that their destinies were different. However, with their histories and the conflicts between the Cult of Darkness and the Gol Empire, there were only two possible outcomes: victory or defeat. For her family, for the exalted Sovereign of Darkness, she couldn''t afford to lose. On the other side, Ace''s resolve was unwavering. The Cult of Darkness had crossed his bottom line one too many times, and now that his strength had reached its current level, he was determined to exact vengeance. With their injuries and fatigue weighing them down, Ace and Shelia shot forward for the final clash. As they entered striking range, Shelia thrust her spear with all her might, invoking her ultimate technique, "[Devilish Destroyer]." A purplish-black spear light shot forward, carrying destructive force that threatened to annihilate anything in its path. The faint howling sound it produced seemed to attack the very souls of those who heard it. Simultaneously, Ace unleashed his ultimate technique, "[Myriad Point Convergence]." In an instant, he struck four times with blinding speed, each thrust accurately striking the tip of Shelia''s spear. The strikes appeared to converge into one, hitting their mark simultaneously and releasing devastating explosions of fiery energy. During his fight with Linley, Ace had only been able to perform three simultaneous strikes when using [Myriad Point Convergence], but now, after his battle with Shelia, not only had his [Blazing Glaive Art] been further refined, his insights into the fused mysteries of fire essence and explosions had also deepened significantly during his battle with Shelia. His comprehension of the ''Concepts'' and ''Profound Mysteries'' of fire seemingly able to work hand in hand, allowing him to refine one with the use of the other. The impact of their ultimate techniques created an explosion so colossal that even Amira, Leona, and the nearby Magma Demons struggled to maintain their footing. The shockwave rippled through the first floor of the Necropolis, threatening to consume everything in its path. Book 7: Chapter 12 – Six Months Amira''s frantic cry pierced the chaos left in the wake of the explosion. With Leona''s powerful strides and Amira''s incredible speed, they reached Ace''s battered form in a matter of seconds. Amira knelt beside him, her heart pounding with fear and concern. Ace''s body was scorched and battered, his clothes in tatters. His breathing was laboured, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The malevolent energy of Shelia''s profound mystery of evil had left its mark, and Amira knew that they had to act quickly to counter its corrosive effects. Leona stood guard, her obsidian eyes scanning their surroundings, daring the Magma Demons to come closer. The Divine Lioness emitted a low, warning growl, but the demons weren¡¯t willing to let go of such an excellent opportunity. Upon spotting the Magma Demons¡¯ continued approach and understanding that Amira couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted, Leona¡¯s killing intent soared to the heavens. Without hesitation, she charged into the oncoming demons, fearlessly taking on all that remained by herself. Amira, trusting Leona to handle the Magma Demons, focused all her attention on the severely injured dark-haired teen in her embrace. Gently cradling Ace''s head, her hands glowing with a soft, healing light. She channelled her profound mystery of purity, working to counteract the malevolent energy that threatened to consume Ace from the inside and slowly stabilise his condition. A soft groan escaped Ace¡¯s lips as Amira''s healing energy flowed through him, mending his damaged body. Despite the agony, he managed a weak smile when he saw the worry etched on Amira''s face. "I guess I overdid it a bit," Ace rasped, his voice strained. Amira couldn''t help but roll her eyes, though the relief in her eyes was undeniable. "You think? You''re lucky to be alive, you idiot." ¡°It wasn¡¯t luck,¡± Ace replied through laboured breaths. ¡°I already told you I¡¯d win, remember?¡± Hearing that, Amira couldn¡¯t help but think back to the moments before they arrived on the scene. Ace had told her that no matter what happened, she shouldn''t interfere; she should just trust him as he wouldn''t lose. Recalling that, Amira turned her gaze to Shelia¡¯s lifeless body, or rather what remained of it. Shelia, the leader of the Cult of Darkness and former Empress of Darkness, not only had ceased to breathe but she was also left with only half a body. The rest had been incinerated by the devastation of Ace¡¯s [Myriad Point Convergence]. It had to be mentioned that, although the might of the technique had increased drastically after going from three to four simultaneous explosions, in terms of raw power, it was still marginally inferior to Shelia¡¯s [Devilish Destroyer] ¨C a technique that Shelia had spent the majority of her time as a saint perfecting. If not for Ace using his [Conqueror¡¯s Haki] at the last moment, effectively disrupting the flow of her technique slightly, the outcome of the final clash would¡¯ve ended up very differently. Ace''s triumph over Shelia, a formidable powerhouse of their continent, was a remarkable feat that would have made waves if known beyond their group. His sense of accomplishment was well-deserved. However, Amira''s primary concern was Ace''s well-being. She couldn''t help but be grateful that she had taken the time to comprehend the profound mystery of purity. Without it, Ace''s recovery would have been uncertain, and at the very least, it would have taken much longer. Fortunately, not only had Amira started comprehending the profound mystery of purity, she even had experience using it to counteract the profound mystery of evil. There was a drawback, though: the gap in cultivation level and comprehension of their respective mysteries between her and Shelia meant that it took hours to stabilise Ace enough to move him without risking further harm. During this time, Leona stood watch, guarding them against potential threats. Thankfully, with her current strength, she was more than capable of fulfilling this role.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Leona, it''s time to go," Amira said, gently lifting Ace, who had long since lost consciousness, and putting him on the large and muscular back of the black-furred lioness, disregarding the pile of defeated Magma Demons Leona had dispatched. "We need to find a safe place for Ace to recover in peace." While the ordinary Magma Demons, being early-stage saints, posed no immediate danger to the group, Tarosse''s warning about several prime saint-level creatures that called the second floor of the Necropolis weighed heavily on their minds, say nothing of their long list of human enemies that had likely entered the second floor by now. Amira and Leona eventually found shelter in a small cave they had to create to secure their seclusion in this part of the Necropolis of the Gods. Fortunately, the unique properties of this space limited spiritual sensing, ensuring their hideout remained undiscovered throughout the entire week they spent there until Ace had regained enough strength to move around on his own. During their stay in the cave, Ace was compelled to observe bed rest, unable to wield his glaive for practice as he would have preferred. However, he could still engage in meditation, allowing him to integrate the insights gained from his intense battle with Shelia, further advancing his strength. As for Leona, she had developed an even stronger determination to grow more powerful after her near-death experience, followed by Ace''s rescue. Even though she remained in the cave, she diligently absorbed Ace''s insights into the essence of fire. The only thing that left her frustrated was the mysterious limitation she faced. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to absorb Ace''s insights into the fused mysteries. In fact, aside from the essence of fire, she was unable to comprehend any of Ace¡¯s other insights. A peculiarity that puzzled both Leona and Ace. Unfortunately, their unique ability to share insights was a phenomenon unheard of, even by the likes of Lord Beirut. They didn¡¯t know whether Leona could only absorb one profound mystery at a time or if there were other reasons at play. Regardless, Leona recognised that her capacity to absorb Ace''s insights still provided her with a significant advantage compared to other Divine Beasts, whose understanding of natural laws lagged behind their human counterparts. Still, the most notable progress over that week was made by Amira. Her repeated usage of the profound mystery of purity to counteract Shelia''s corrosive ¡®evil¡¯ energy resulted in her improving by leaps and bounds in a short space of time. Once they departed from their cave sanctuary, the trio embarked on a deliberate journey toward the heart of the second floor. Along the way, they encountered numerous gatherings of Magma Demons scattered amidst the ruins, using them as practice and challenges to bolster their strength. Despite being on the second floor, the lower levels of the Necropolis would remain open for the next decade. Therefore, they had no pressing desire to ascend to higher floors. Unlike many older saints who had spent centuries at their current levels, encountering seemingly insurmountable bottlenecks, Ace, Leona, and Amira possessed abundant potential for growth. Plus, the second floor proved to be a treasure trove, offering a myriad of unique ores, mage spells, warrior techniques, and even cultivation aids for mortals making their steady progression well worth it. The only thing they were slightly regretful about was that they hadn¡¯t run into Wukong or the others from the Pavilion. Still, with their strengths, there was little that could pose a threat to them on the lower floors. After six months of relentless effort, their progress was remarkable. Amira had ascended to the middle stages of the eighth rank as both a mage and a warrior. Although she hadn''t made a decisive breakthrough in terms of comprehension, her progress was still steady and constant. She had even begun developing the [Sky Stance] of her [Bright Sky Sword Art], utilising the concepts of wind. As for Leona, though she still hadn¡¯t found a solution to her inability to absorb the rest of Ace¡¯s insights, her insights into the essence of fire had reached the prime saint level and was rapidly approaching completion. Additionally, with the aid of cultivation treasures, she had broken through to the ninth rank. If she were to face Shelia again now, even if she couldn¡¯t win, she would at least be able to escape with her life. As for Ace, he was the only member of the group who refused to use the various cultivation treasures to increase his realm, instead choosing to focus on maxing out his comprehension for each level before focusing on breaking through. Still, his progress could only be described as mind-blowing. After spending several weeks observing the eruptions of various volcanoes, not only had his comprehension of the fused mystery of the essence of fire and explosions reached 50%, he had even completely comprehended his second profound mystery. After comprehending the profound mystery of Fire-Body, Ace felt like he had gone back to being a true logia. Not only could he transform his body into flames at will without wasting mageforce, unless one¡¯s comprehension had reached that of a prime saint, it was impossible to even touch him. Still, the thing he was most proud of was that his [Blazing Glaive Art] had improved drastically, to the point where its might had increased two times over. Overall, even though he was lacking somewhat when compared to the prime saints, he could look down on peak saints like Shelia and Byrius ¨C before his last breakthrough. And even though he wasn¡¯t a match for prime saints by himself, when fighting alongside Amira and Leona, the average prime saint could only run away with their tails tucked between their legs. Book 7: Chapter 13 – Flame Tyrant Near the centre of the second floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, three individuals could be seen casually strolling towards another volcano. On the left, Leona, the majestic Divine Lioness. Her immense presence demanded attention, a testament to her newfound strength after breaking through to the ninth rank. She had once again grown in size, now towering over the landscape at a size comparable to a fully-grown elephant. Her muscular frame rippled with power, each sinew and muscle defined with an air of dominance. Her obsidian fur, as dark as the night, gleamed with a red hue radiating a terrifying heat, accentuating her fierce and regal appearance. Her stride was powerful yet controlled, a reflection of her newfound mastery over her enhanced physical abilities. Leona was a force of nature, a guardian of her companions, and as she roamed the second floor of the Necropolis, her imposing figure left an indelible mark, a symbol of her unwavering determination to protect and grow stronger. On the right was Amira, whose beauty seemed to enhance with every breakthrough. Her presence was nothing short of ethereal, a vision of otherworldly grace and elegance. Her mixed-race heritage lent her a unique and enchanting beauty, capturing the attention of all who crossed her path. Her complexion was flawless, akin to polished ebony and smooth ivory merged into one. Her features, delicate and refined, held an air of celestial charm, evoking a sense of awe in all who laid eyes on her. She was adorned in a white leather, tight-fitting armour that accentuated her lean yet undeniably feminine physique. The pristine material clung to her like a second skin, emphasising her lithe curves and graceful form. The armour bore intricate designs, adding an air of elegance to her already angelic appearance. Her golden eyes shone like twin suns, radiating warmth and wisdom. They were pools of brilliance set within her elegant visage, a reflection of her extraordinary inner strength and the depths of her soul. Her hair, a lustrous black, framed her face and cascaded down her back in a stunning contrast to her golden eyes. As she strolled with each elegant step, the soft, ethereal glow of her presence seemed to illuminate her surroundings. Her every movement exuded an aura of purity and grace, a testament to her mastery over the profound mystery of purity. With each breakthrough, her beauty had become more angelic, a living embodiment of celestial allure. In the centre, Ace strode confidently through the desolate landscape of the ruins, his appearance commanding attention and exuding an air of unshakable confidence. After countless battles, all the robes his mother had forced him to take had been torn to pieces or incinerated, a fact he wasn¡¯t particularly unhappy with. As it stood, he donned a pair of loose-fitting black cargo pants, the fabric tucked into his large, imposing black boots, reminiscent of the unwavering father figure from his previous life. But it was his choice of ¨C or rather, lack thereof ¨C tops which was truly reminiscent of his former self. He opted not to wear a shirt, bearing his perfectly sculpted upper body to the world. Each muscle was defined and honed to perfection through rigorous training and countless battles. His chest was broad, and his shoulders were strong, a testament to the physical prowess he had achieved. As he walked, the searing sun beat down on his bronzed skin, casting shadows along the contours of his well-defined abs and chiselled arms. Beads of sweat glistened on his skin, a stark contrast to the rugged terrain he traversed. His posture was relaxed yet poised, exuding an aura of power and determination. Like his master, Ace¡¯s glaive clung to his back, seemingly of its own accord. The only odd thing was that, despite not being in battle ¨C at least not yet ¨C his glaive, instead of its normal navy colour with crimson hue, was instead obsidian in colour, signifying his deliberate use of Haki. Amira asked why he was wasting energy channelling his [Armament Haki] when not in battle; Ace explained that since their weapons were capable of growing with the nourishment of spiritual essence, he figured it should also be possible to nourish it with his Haki as well. Although Ace had no proof to back his theory, due to his current prowess, the strain on him was marginal at best. Plus, constantly doing so also had the added benefit of training his mental dexterity. They had only just neared the volcano when the ground began trembling violently as a colossal Flame Tyrant, stood hundreds of meters tall, emerged from the fiery landscape. Its body formed by countless interlocking lava boulders. The air grew scorching hot as waves of intense heat radiated from its towering figure. It clutched a dark-red battle axe, a Demi-God-level divine artifact emanating an ominous Destruction-type power.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The power it emanated seemed to have surpassed that of the average prime saint. Still, no surprise could be seen on the faces of the trio, only excitement and anticipation. This was already their eighth time challenging the tyrant. Though they were more than capable of going around it, they had decided to set themselves the challenge of only proceeding to the next floor when defeating this monstrous creature. ¡°You three are back again?¡± The Flame Tyrant growled; the sound of its voice thundered across what would soon become a battlefield once more. ¡°You should know by now you¡¯re incapable of beating me!¡± As the Flame Tyrant roared, flames surged around it, creating an aura of inferno that enveloped the battlefield. Its crimson eyes blazed with malevolence as it glared down at Ace, Leona, and Amira, its lips curling into a sinister grin. The giant''s grasp on its blood-red battle axe tightened, ready to unleash devastation upon its foes. Ace, Leona, and Amira stood their ground, their determination unwavering. They knew they faced a formidable adversary, but their last attempt had been two weeks ago; they had each made significant progress in that time. Amira activated her Viz bloodline, summoning a radiant angelic phantom that mirrored her image, bringing her warrior and mage cultivation into the ninth rank. At the same time, Ace¡¯s [Armament Haki] spread across his body, turning him into what could only be described as an obsidian-coloured titan, whilst a thin, but overbearing, skin-tight aura of crimson flames wrapped around him like a fiery armour. Leona crouched low, her obsidian fur bristling with anticipation, and her feline eyes focused intensely on their colossal opponent as she, similar to her human partner, willed her flames to coat her muscular body, causing the air to crackle from the heat. Seeing that, a snort left the rock-like lips of the Flame Tyrant as it swung its battle axe, sending a wave of destructive force hurtling toward them. Ace was the first to react. His glaive piercing forward with explosive momentum, deflecting the arcing axe over their heads. Amira, using her enhanced agility and speed, moved like the wind, disappearing into the blind spot of the tyrant, who knew better than to take his eyes off the obsidian-skinned little titan. At the same time, Leona¡¯s muscular rear legs rippled with frightening power as she tensed. Then, kicking off against the ground multiple times in an instant, she shot forward like a crimson arrow being released from its bow. Agility was never her forte, but when it came to straight-line speed, because of her undeniable power, her velocity was electric. The Flame Tyrant didn¡¯t have time to blink before Leona was on top of him, and because of Ace¡¯s previous deflection and Leona¡¯s perfect timing, his rocky side was left open to attack. The lioness¡¯ fiery paw tore a chunk of its side off, causing the Tyrant to grunt in pain as lava flew from its wound like blood. Still, as a Flame Tyrant, a king among Magma Demons, its vitality was seemingly endless. In the blink of an eye, the wound had recovered as new lava boulders took shape, replacing the ones just destroyed. Still, the trio continued as though they hadn¡¯t noticed. Ace conjured a blazing tornado of fire that spiralled around his glaive, increasing the might of his [Blazing Glaive Art] as his polearm drew a beautiful arc through the air towards the Flame Tyrant¡¯s opposite side. The Tyrant prepared to respond to Ace¡¯s attack, meeting fire with fire, when it suddenly stumbled forward, feeling a sharp pain assaulting its rocky ankles. It only saw a brief flicker of light before Amira¡¯s figure disappeared, swiftly leaving its attacking range. It was just as the Tyrant was at its most vulnerable that Ace¡¯s strike met its mark, causing molten rocks to splinter and explode. It bellowed in pain as the flames scorched its form. In a frenzy, the Flame Tyrant activated its Bloodlust ability, a surge of dark energy originating from its battle-axe engulfing it. Ace and his partners had already surpassed the Tyrant in its ordinary state. It was this transformed state that had given them trouble time and time again. After activating the Bloodlust ability of the axe, the already impressive physical power of the Tyrant skyrocketed. Fortunately, when in this state, though the Tyrant¡¯s physical ability improved, its intelligence suffered. Its movements grew erratic and frantic but easily predictable. It swung its battle axe with relentless fury, forcing the trio into a defensive formation, with Ace being forced to take the brunt of its attacks, meeting its tyrannical attacks with the explosive and wild but oddly elegant strikes of his [Blazing Glaive Art]. It was because of this that Amira was able to counter with swift and precise strikes from her katanas, aiming for the Flame Tyrant''s joints and vulnerable spots, whilst Leona lunged at its legs, tearing through the lava boulders with her claws and fangs. The last time they fought, the trio had been forced to flee in a sorry state, but after their most recent improvements and the trio''s increased coordination and synergy, they were able to deflect and counterattack with precision, exploiting the moments of vulnerability in their adversary''s berserk state. As the battle raged on, the Flame Tyrant''s once formidable body began to weaken. Its flames flickered erratically, and its movements grew sluggish. Seeing that, Ace¡¯s eyes flickered with excitement as he saw an opening. He stepped forward, his body flickering out of the way of the incoming axe, seemingly teleporting directly in front of the enormous head of the Flame Tyrant as he roared, ¡°[Myriad Point Convergence]!¡± Finally, with a final five simultaneous thrusts from the youngster, a giant explosion engulfed the Tyrant¡¯s crazed body, shattering it into countless pieces and scattering it across the fiery landscape. Breathing heavily, Ace, Amira, and Leona stood victorious over what was left of the vanquished Flame Tyrant. An excited glint in each of their eyes as they panted. Finally, it was done! They won; they had actually beaten a being that was not only a prime saint but one more powerful than any of the saints among their enemies. It was because of this that they were filled with confidence, ready to face whatever dared to stand in their way. Book 7: Chapter 14 – Close Call ¡°Looks like this axe was the only treasure the Flame Tyrant was holding onto,¡± Ace said with a hint of disappointment as he casually lifted the Demi-God-level Divine Armament. ¡°Only?¡± Amira rolled her eyes with a helpless shake of her head. ¡°That¡¯s a genuine Divine Armament! Not including us in the Pavilion, the number of people on our Yulan Continent who have Divine Armaments of their own can be counted on two hands.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s true,¡± Ace chuckled sheepishly before casually tossing it to Amira. ¡°Here, you have it. You can give it to your parents or one of the saints of your family¡¯s Rohault Empire.¡± Most would stare wide-eyed at the casual way in which Ace treated the Divine Armament. As Amira said, on the continent, Divine Armaments were impossibly rare, with the only ones to possess one being the various deities. For one to be so casually given away was mind-blowing, to say the least. But one had to remember that the discovery of Concepts allowed Ace to have already created a Divine Armament of his own, despite him only being an expert at the seventh rank. It wasn¡¯t just him and Amira either. All the senior members of the Pavilion now had one, as did Killian. As for the rest of their classmates, it was only a matter of time. In their eyes, offensive Divine Armaments ¨C especially ones at the Demi-God level ¨C weren¡¯t of much use or importance. Hearing that, Amira didn¡¯t think much of it either. Like Ace, she didn¡¯t see a Divine Armament as that impressive. Plus, unlike the top powerhouses of the rising Gol Kingdom, those of her Rohault Empire weren¡¯t talented enough to comprehend ¡®Concepts¡¯ yet. As such, a Divine Armament like the ¡°Bloodlust Battle Axe¡± would mean a lot more to the experts of her Empire. ¡°So what do you guys wanna do now?¡± Amira asked after storing away the axe. ¡°Find another Prime Saint to continue training or head up to the next floor?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head up to the next floor,¡± Ace answered. ¡°We already have the strength to protect ourselves in the face of any threat below the Deity level.¡± Like that, the trio headed straight to the centre of the second floor, no longer making any pit stops to continue their training. Every once in a while, a group of Magma Demons would try and stop them, but with their current power, they were nothing more than a slight hindrance, easily dealt with or directly ignored, depending on their mood. Eventually, they made it to the central region, and what they found when they arrived caught them by surprise. Directly in the centre was a magical door that seemed to lead nowhere whilst closed. But surrounding that was what could only be described as a giant war zone. The ground, which should, by all intents and purposes, be filled with luscious green grass and large, sturdy, cloud-touching trees, was utterly baron and desolate. And scattered on the ground were the remains of a mixture of hundreds of Magma Demons and dozens of human saints, some of whom Ace even recognised as members of the ¡°New Yulan Empire¡±. There were even the remains of nine Flame Tyrants. It had to be understood that even with their incredible rate of improvement, if Ace and his group had come across so many Flame Tyrants at once, they would be forced to flee directly. After all, even without external treasures, each Flame Tyrant held the power of a prime saint. Still, Ace and the others weren¡¯t focused on that. The moment they arrived, they hurriedly moved to make sure none of the deceased were the members of their group. They knew that all of the members of their group had the ability to at least protect themselves on the second floor ¨C including Linley and Bebe. Still, in such a large-scale battle like this, even experts like Kimika and Lazerim could end up falling, especially when surrounded by so many potential enemies. Thankfully, none of their group was among the deceased. But there was a surprising face among the fallen. ¡°Isn¡¯t this that ¡°War Saint¡± fellow,¡± Ace asked as he studied the battered remains of Tulily curiously. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect one of the prime saints to fall on the second floor.¡± Tulily¡¯s body was covered in burn marks, but the most grievous of the physical wounds were the blunt-force traumas that appeared to have deformed his body. They weren¡¯t quite sure who or what did this, but they knew from their last major battle that it definitely wasn¡¯t the Magma Demons or Flame Tyrants.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Me neither,¡± Amira sighed. ¡°But if I had to guess, I¡¯d wager that these three Flame Tyrants were likely guarding a precious treasure, and after defeating them, all the experts broke out into a battle, trying to claim it for themselves.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Ace nodded, agreeing with Amira¡¯s assessment before making his way to the exit. ¡°Still, I¡¯m just glad that it wasn¡¯t any of our friends that died.¡± ¡°I wonder what treasure could¡¯ve caused the death of so many experts,¡± Amira wondered absentmindedly as she followed behind Ace and Leona. ¡°Who knows,¡± Ace shrugged, not too bothered one way or the other, as he held the door to the next floor open for his partners. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out sooner or later.¡± Amira was just about to respond, but after entering the next floor, she suddenly found herself a little distracted. As explained by Tarosse, on every third floor, the purity of the elemental essence would see a large increase, but Amira wasn¡¯t expecting it to double directly. Still, although not by much, it was slightly inferior to that of the pocket dimension. Still, what distracted her wasn¡¯t the elemental essence in the surrounding area, but the experts scattered around, more specifically, one of the experts making their way to one of the ten doors leading to the fourth floor. Maria, the former Princess of Darkness, made it to the third floor a little over two months ago. Unfortunately, she, like many of the other tens of saints who had made it this far, was unable to defeat the Deathgod Golem on the fourth floor, which had the power of a top-tier expert mid-ranked saint. As such, she had been forced to return back to the third floor to continue her training. Thankfully, the elemental essence here on the fourth floor was so incredibly dense. It had to be remembered that although she couldn¡¯t compare to the likes of Ace, Amira, and Wukong, Maria was still a genius among geniuses who had broken through to the saint rank in her 30s ¨C without the help of experts like those in the Pavilion. Since entering the Necropolis, not only had she managed to break through to the middle stages of the saint rank as a warrior, but she had also become an early-stage saint as a mage, and just moments before Amira had entered the third floor, her comprehension had just taken a step forward, giving her the confidence to have another go at the fourth floor. But what she hadn¡¯t expected was that just as she was preparing to head back up to the fourth floor, a chilling killing intent had locked onto her. Subconsciously turning around, she saw a familiar face, which caused her to hesitate on whether to head back up or turn around and confront the little princess of the Rohault Empire. After her recent series of breakthroughs, Maria was feeling particularly confident in herself. Still, her confidence faltered slightly as she thought back to their last confrontation. Although Maria won convincingly, it had to be remembered that not only was the Princess of Darkness over twice the age of her opponent and several realms above her. Plus, she hadn¡¯t won anywhere near as convincingly as she should have done, all things considered. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that of the two of them, Amira was, without doubt, far more talented. Thinking to that point, Maria immediately understood that as much as she had improved over the last six months, Amira had likely improved significantly more. At that point, it became a question of whether Amira¡¯s improvements had allowed her to close the gap enough to surpass her or not. As a saint-level expert, Maria¡¯s thought processing speed was impossibly fast. It had been a mere fraction of a second, but just as she was coming to a conclusion of her own, the decision had been made for her. Maria¡¯s eyes suddenly constricted as she saw the next couple of figures enter the third floor. Without another moment of hesitation, her body moved like a shadowy blur, quickly opening and entering the fourth floor. The door had barely closed when an enormous, 100-meter-plus crescent-shaped sword-light slammed straight into the door. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that Maria?¡± Ace asked curiously as he saw one of the ten doors to the fourth floor slam shut. ¡°Yeah,¡± Amira snorted, clearly displeased, as she glared at Ace. ¡°Because of you, the little snake managed to get away just in time!¡± ¡°Me?¡± Ace asked, taken aback. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°You came up!¡± Amira argued back unreasonably whilst pouting adorably. ¡°If the ¡°Son of Heaven¡± hadn¡¯t made an appearance so soon, she wouldn¡¯t have run so quickly!¡± Ace knew better than to argue with Amira, especially when she got like this. As such, he quickly raised his arms in surrender in an attempt to appease her. At the same time, the various saints were staring at the two newcomers in disbelief, more specifically at the caramel-skinned swordswoman. The power of that last strike was faintly approaching that of a peak saint, and from the looks of it, it appeared to be nothing more than a last-minute casual attack. Had it come from Ace, none of those present would¡¯ve so much as bat an eyelid; after all, everyone was very much clear about Ace¡¯s heaven-defying ability, but for it to come from Amira¡­ It looks like Amira¡¯s progress had been nothing short of miraculous. On the other side of the door, Maria¡¯s back was pressed firmly against the door, her body drenched in sweat as she panted heavily. Though it was a seemingly simple sequence of events, the stress of merely seeing Ace made her heart palpitate, but it was that seemingly casual slash of Amira that caused Maria to feel the threat of death. ¡°Amira¡­¡± Maria muttered in an unwilling daze. ¡°She¡¯s actually surpassed me.¡± Although Amira had improved drastically over the last six months, she would have to use her ultimate technique to barely resist that last strike from Amira. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to run into either of them,¡± Maria voiced as her body shuddered involuntarily before her eyes regained their cold focus as her eyes focused on the Deathgod Golem in the distance. ¡°At least not until I meet up with my parents and the other members of my Cult of Darkness. At that point, it won¡¯t matter how strong they¡¯ve become; I refuse to believe that they¡¯d be able to defeat all of us together!¡± Book 7: Chapter 15 – The Pavilion Vs. The Rest Back on the third floor, Amira, Ace, and Leona calmly stood in the centre of the third floor, staring at a spot just above the door Maria had entered where a white orb could be seen pulsating gently with a soft white glow. According to Tarosse, only one person could enter each Deathgod Golem test at a time, and whilst inside, the usually colourless orb would pulsate, signifying that particular room was in use. If one successfully passed the test and entered the next floor, the orb would flash green, but if the individual failed, the orb would either show a red light saying they failed and lost their life, or the door would reopen with said individual having to flee back to the resting floor. After losing to Maria once, Amira had long since wanted a chance to return the favour. Unfortunately, she had never got the chance until now, and it appeared that she would have to continue to wait. ¡°Damnit!¡± Amira cursed as she noticed the orb¡¯s light turn green. ¡°Looks like she gets to live a little while longer!¡± ¡°No point waiting here any longer,¡± Ace said as he led Amira and Leona to three of the ten doors leading up to the next floor. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get your chance if we hurry up to the next floor.¡± Ace and the others had just approached the door when they heard a familiar-sounding voice. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Ace.¡± Turning around, Ace saw a white-haired young man slowly flying towards them. ¡°Fancy seeing you here, Silas,¡± Ace replied with a calm smile. The young man was Cesar¡¯s grand disciple, Silas. The same prince of killers that Ace had barely managed to defeat a few years ago, back when they were trying to rescue Alissa from the clutches of Sabre. With the new and improved relationship between the Pavilion and Sabre, Ace had seen Silas a few times over the last few years. The last of which was when Silas had ventured over to their Gol Kingdom to challenge Wukong. Of course, Silas had been quickly trounced, but that was to be expected ¨C Wukong was a freak not much less talented than the likes of Ace and Amira. Still, it had to be said Silas was a truly enchanting genius. Back at the time, he was still a ninth-rank warrior, but because of Cesar¡¯s newly gained knowledge, he was forced to focus on his comprehension and mage cultivation. Even though he wasn¡¯t a match for Wukong, he would have been hard-pressed to find an opponent amongst experts at the early stages of the saint realm. And from the looks of things, his strength had seen a giant improvement, with him having broken through to the middle stages of the saint realm as both a warrior and a mage. ¡°What are you doing waiting here on the third floor?¡± Ace asked, knowing full well that with Silas¡¯ ability, there was no way a mere mid-staged saint-level Deathgod Golem could hold his steps. ¡°I¡¯m still too weak to move around freely on the fifth floor,¡± Silas admitted helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m gonna stay here until my comprehension takes another step forward before heading up. What about you? Are you guys gonna head straight up?¡± Silas asked. He had long since given up comparing himself to the true freaks of the Pavilion, with even the like of Amira being able to fight him to a standstill before entering the Necropolis. There was no chance they would be willing to sit around and waste time here on the third floor. ¡°Mmh,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°We wasted enough time on the second floor. By the way, have you seen Kong or any of the others from our group, have you?¡± ¡°Not personally,¡± Silas shook his head as a weird expression appeared on his face. ¡°But from what I heard, they should all be fine.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What¡¯s with that expression?¡± Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen Tulily¡¯s body on the floor before coming up here,¡± Silas replied as the corners of his mouth twitched helplessly. ¡°Apparently, that was done by Wukong.¡± Ace¡¯s eyes widened momentarily with a hint of surprise. The last time he saw Wukong, Kong had been about as strong as he is now ¨C faintly approaching the power of a Prime Saint. Although he had never seen Tulily in action, he had heard the rumours. Not including those from the Pavilion, Tulily, also known as the War Saint, was the Prime Saint with the most devastating offensive power among the humans, being a Prime Saint of the Edict of Destruction. Still, Ace had only been surprised for the briefest of moments. Wukong had delayed breaking through to the saint realm, wanting to comprehend at least one complete profound mystery before doing so. Between the dense elemental essence and the never-ending supply of opponents here in the Necropolis of the Gods, Ace would have been more surprised if Wukong hadn¡¯t made a breakthrough in that time. ¡°I¡¯m guessing Kong finally broke through to the saint realm?¡± Ace smiled happily. ¡°Probably,¡± Silas sighed. ¡°Probably?¡± Amira asked curiously. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Silas nodded, a helpless smile on his face as he understood the gap between him and Wukong was only widening. ¡°Apparently, he managed to defeat Tulily as a ninth-rank mortal.¡± ¡°Looks like he finally comprehended Lightning¡¯s Profound Mystery of Movement,¡± Ace chortled. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the litter of bodies down there was Kong¡¯s work?¡± ¡°In part,¡± Silas nodded. ¡°Apparently, after defeating the three Flame Tyrants, Wukong, Lazerim, and Kimika had been surrounded by the saints of the New Yulan Empire, plus a few others greedy for the treasures dropped. I honestly don¡¯t know what they feed you guys over there at the Pavilion, but in that battle, both Lazerim and Kimika displayed the power of a Prime Saint as well. Still, with Fain, Tulily, and so many other saints encircling your seniors, things were pretty grim. Luckily, Linley and Bebe both arrived just in time to provide them with support. And even though neither of them had the power of a prime saint, both of them had grown to the point where they could be considered experts even among peak saints. But as you can imagine, with such a small group being able to hold so many experts off on their own, many others joined hands to suppress them, feeling threatened. Probably thinking that Wukong and the others would go on to monopolise the best treasures. Whether it was humans or magical beasts, their enemies seemed endless. Even that Desri fellow and his group of saints joined in.¡± Despite knowing that none of their group had died in that battle, Ace, Amira, and Leona¡¯s eyes narrowed, wishing they could have been there to support them in their time of need. ¡°It was then, though, that Wukong apparently made his breakthrough. According to the rumours, although his realm hadn¡¯t improved, his comprehension, like yours, had officially broken through to the deity realm.¡± Silas sighed, not bothering to hide his envy. ¡°After breaking through, Wukong¡¯s power had apparently faintly surpassed that of a normal human Prime Saint, allowing him to dominate and kill Tulily. After that, none of their enemies dared to stay any longer, fearing they would be next.¡± ¡°Those bastards better hope they don¡¯t run into me!¡± Leona growled, a dangerous light flickering in her fiery eyes. ¡°They should hope they don¡¯t run into Kong,¡± Ace laughed. ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± Amira added. ¡°With how petty Kong is, something tells me he¡¯s gonna treat the fifth floor as a hunting ground.¡± ¡°Haha, if we go now, we might still be able to catch part of the show,¡± Ace smiled before turning back to Silas. ¡°Thanks for the info; we¡¯ll see you around.¡± Watching them leave, the corners of Silas¡¯ mouth arced up. He could imagine that Wukong was creating quite the ruckus on the fifth floor right now, but he also knew that things were going to get several times more chaotic with Ace heading up. Part of him wanted to stop his training and head up now, even if for no other reason than to watch the show. Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t an impulsive person. He knew he still wasn¡¯t quite strong enough. Silas had allowed his thoughts to distract him for no more than five seconds when he heard the gasps of the other saints in the distance who hadn¡¯t dared to approach them. Looking up just above the three doors that had just been used, another helpless smile appeared on his face. It took almost five minutes for Maria to pass the Deathgod Golem and head up to the next floor, yet Ace, Mira, and Leona ¨C three mortals ¨C all passed within a few seconds of entering. ¡°Maria, you better pray you don¡¯t run into those little monsters,¡± Silas muttered to himself before sitting down and closing his eyes, determined to use every moment of the next nine and a half years to increase his power. He may be weaker than the freaks of the pavilion, but he was still an elite-level genius who still had his pride. Book 7: Chapter 16 – Cornered As discovered by Silas, Ace and his group had easily passed the test of the fourth floor, allowing them to enter the fifth. Ace ventured alone onto the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, a realm of exquisite beauty that contrasted sharply with the danger lurking beneath its enchanting facade. The moment Ace stepped onto the lush terrain, a breathtaking jungle stretched before him. The foliage was an iridescent green, and the atmosphere hummed with life. Glistening streams flowed serenely through the landscape, and exotic flora bathed the surroundings in a vibrant tapestry of colours. The symphony of nature''s song filled the air, and it was easy to lose oneself in the jungle''s enchanting allure. Yet beneath the breathtaking beauty lay an undercurrent of danger. The fifth floor was not simply a paradise of flora; it was a realm of trials and tests, where the lush landscape concealed perils of unimaginable proportions, a fact that was made clear by the oppressive killing intent that hung in the air like a shroud, a harbinger of the challenges ahead. Ace barely managed to travel three steps when his sharp instincts, honed by countless battles, warned him of the lurking danger. A branch of a towering tree seemed to come alive. One of them, thick as a dragon''s tail, suddenly lashed out towards him. The enormous wooden appendage was an extension of a colossal tree, its power resonating at the middle stages of the saint realm. Ace''s reaction was swift, his instincts guiding him like a shadow. With the grace of a seasoned warrior, he deftly sidestepped the massive branch. It whooshed past him, leaving only a faint breeze in its wake as it sliced straight through Ace¡¯s afterimage. A few meters to the left, Ace¡¯s body appeared, his gaze steady as he assessed his surroundings. His eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned the various trees surrounding him. Though the density of the elemental essence here on the second layer of the Necropolis had more than doubled, so too had the stability of the space. Although he was able to spread his [Observation] a little over 100 meters on the first three floors when uncompressed, here on the second layer, he could barely spread it over 30 meters. As such, although he could sense the dangerous air that loomed over him, he wasn¡¯t able to tell that the trees were alive. Still, as an expert who specialised in the laws of fire, if there was one thing he didn¡¯t fear, it was plant-type lifeforms. As the thick branch snaked towards Ace¡¯s neck with terrifying momentum, Ace didn¡¯t even draw for the glaive stuck to his back. Instead, he casually threw a palm wrapped in a layer of fire out to meet it. The branch had the girth of two adult males and stretched for over 50 meters, whilst Ace¡¯s palm was barely a fraction of the size. But as the two attacks collided, a deafening explosion resounded through the air as the branch was incinerated, but that was just the beginning. Ace calmly raised his hand, slowly pointing at the tree that dared to attack him. A thin crimson beam of highly compressed flames created a sonic boom as it tore through the air, aiming straight for the centre of the sky penetrating tree that towered over him. BOOM! Another explosion ¨C several times louder and more devastating than the last one ¨C enveloped the entire body of the tree. ¡°Looks like this fifth floor was designed just for me,¡± Ace grinned as he looked at the now desolate crater where the giant tree was once positioned. Although his words were a bit of a stretch, he wasn¡¯t completely wrong ¨C Ace really was the worst possible opponent for plant-type lifeforms. Still, he had never been the murderous type. As long as he wasn¡¯t provoked, Ace was too lazy to deal with them, especially as the majority of opponents on this level were merely at the middle stages of the saint rank and were too weak to provide him with the challenges he sought. But as I said, that was contingent on them not provoking him. Unfortunately, the natives of the fifth floor didn¡¯t receive that particular memo¡­This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Within seconds of Ace incinerating his would-be attacker, the sorrowful cries and wails of mourning creatures rang in his ears as all the trees that surrounded him seemed to come to life. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be doing this the hard way then,¡± Ace sighed lightly as he watched the dozen or so branches slicing towards him from just about every angle to prevent him from fleeing ¨C not that he had any intention of fleeing. ¡°[Blazing Pulse]!¡± Ace said as the burning skin-tight armour that coated his body like a second layer of skin pulsed like a beating heart. BOOM! With the fusion of Ace¡¯s mysteries, ¡°Essence of Fire¡± and ¡°Explosion, reaching 50%, not only had the power of his attacks seen a drastic increase in power, but his skill in utilising his explosive flames had also skyrocketed. The technique [Blazing Pulse] wasn¡¯t a technique he had previously come up with; it was merely one he came up with in the spur of the moment to counter the incoming attacks, and yet the effects were still terrifying, all the same. The explosion spread for hundreds of meters, enveloping all forms of life in the surrounding area. Be they sentient or not, all plants, trees, and even the grass in the area had been reduced to ash, turning what was once a lush terrain of paradise into a desolate hellscape void of any signs of life. As the dust cleared, Ace gave a satisfied nod as he assessed the results of his newly-created technique. ¡°Not bad.¡± Ace wasn¡¯t the only one who had run into a bit of trouble upon climbing to the fifth floor. Both Amira and Leona had run into similar situations; only they weren¡¯t able to deal with it quite as easily. Still, with the progress they had made on the previous floors, it would take more than a group of trees and plants with the power of a mid-stage saint to halt their steps, especially Leona. Whilst Amira simply chose to use her incredible speed to escape before she was surrounded, Leona, like her human partner, chose to slaughter her way towards Ace, burning anything that stood in her way. . . . Whilst Ace and his group were in the process of regrouping once more, hundreds of miles away from their current position, two groups were in the process of facing off against one another. On one side was a group of almost two dozen experts from the New Yulan Empire led by two of the Radiant Church¡¯s foremost experts, Commander Lehman and Lord Heidens, and the second disciple of the High Priest ¨C Felicia Wonnerin. And stood across from them were two young men and a black rodent which stood on its rear legs cautiously eyeing the group across from them. The young men were Linley and Olivier, whilst the rodent standing on Linley¡¯s shoulder was, of course, Bebe. Some time ago, Linley and Olivier came across a cottage in the middle of the jungle, which was surrounded by hundreds of sentient trees, each of which was at the middle stages of the saint realm. After spending over six months in the Necropolis, they both understood that a cottage being guarded by so many creatures could only mean one thing ¨C a treasure was located there. Unfortunately, even with their rapid improvements, neither was able to take on so many mid-stage saints at the same time; as such, they decided to form a temporary truce ¨C at least until they managed to clear a path to the cottage. If it had been before the opening of the Necropolis, even with Linley, Olivier, and Bebe working together, there would have been no chance they would¡¯ve been able to clear a path, but as top-tier geniuses, these six months had allowed their progress to be nothing short of miraculous. It took several hours of non-stop fighting, but with all three of them working together, they were finally able to achieve their goal. But before they could even enter the cottage and see what was inside, they were interrupted by the party from the New Yulan Empire. The group from the Empire had long since located Linley¡¯s trio, but even though they weren¡¯t scared of them, they knew they would have to pay a price to take down Linley without harming Bebe, who would undoubtedly stop at nothing to protect his partner and they weren¡¯t willing to pay such a price if they didn¡¯t have to. As such, they decided to wait and let Linley¡¯s group tire themselves out before they eventually made their move. Thankfully, with the stability of the space inside the ruins, Linley and his group weren¡¯t able to sense their auras, meaning as long as they stayed out of sight and smelling range of Bebe, the chances of them being found were almost non-existent. As the group from the Yulan Empire revealed themselves, Linley¡¯s draconian eyes frosted over as he glared at them. More specifically, the two elderly-looking men standing near the centre. ¡°Heidens, Lehman,¡± Linley growled as he willed his azure dragon scales to once again cover his body as he resummoned his twin swords from his storage rings. ¡°Linley,¡± the former Holy Emperor ¨C Heidens ¨C sighed regretfully. ¡°You are, without a doubt, one of the most gifted youngsters our Continent has ever produced. If only you had agreed to join us at the church, we could¡¯ve been the ones to usher in a new era. Unfortunately, you have chosen to foolishly walk down this path of revenge. Now, the only outcome left for you is death.¡± As he said that, Heidens summoned the golden mage¡¯s staff that radiated the aura of a Divine Artifact. Book 7: Chapter 17 – Unlikely Partnerships Sensing the rising tension in the air, Felicia, the most powerful of the experts present from the side of the Yulan Empire, turned her tranquil gaze to the brown-haired youth standing indifferently beside Linley. ¡°Olivier Akerlund, the prodigy swordsman,¡± Felicia said softly. ¡°Your reputation precedes you.¡± Olivier¡¯s ever-indifferent eyes fell on the enchanting woman hovering in the skies before them but didn¡¯t respond. He merely stared at her, calmly waiting for her to continue, not seeming to mind the awkward silence. ¡°My Yulan Empire doesn¡¯t have a problem with you; as such, we would appreciate it if you would refrain from getting involved in what happens next,¡± Felicia smiled, not seeming to mind his lack of response. ¡°In fact, as a citizen of the former O¡¯Brien Empire, you could be considered a member of my Yulan Empire. As such, if you wish, we would welcome you to join us in our exploration of the ru¡­¡± ¡°Not interested,¡± Olivier replied apathetically. Seeing his indifference, one of the other disciples of the High Priest opened his mouth to angrily interject when Felicia raised her hand to stop them. ¡°As expected from the perpetual lone wolf,¡± Felicia replied, her tone as gentle as ever. ¡°How about this then, even if you don¡¯t join our team permanently, what about a temporary alliance? If you help us get rid of Linley, we¡¯ll split the treasures in the cottage 80% to us and 20% to you. What do you say?¡± ¡°Boss,¡± Bebe mentally transmitted to Linley. ¡°This is bad! Even without Olivier¡¯s help, our chances of fighting our way out are slim, but if he joins their side¡­¡± ¡°I know Bebe,¡± Linley sent back helplessly. ¡°But what can we do?¡± ¡°60-40,¡± Olivier replied. ¡°You want 40%?¡± Felicia¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°That¡¯s not imp¡­¡± ¡°I want 60%,¡± Olivier stated directly. ¡°Linley already agreed to split it 50/50. If you want me to jump ships, you need to at least best his offer.¡± ¡°My senior sister offering you 20% is already giving you more than you deserve,¡± the High Priest¡¯s 18th disciple snorted. ¡°Do you really think we fear you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath, Jelnim,¡± Felicia said, staring deeply at the brown-haired youth. ¡°Olivier never had any intention of joining us. It appears his relationship with the Baruch Clan is deeper than we knew.¡± Olivier¡¯s decision had little to do with Linley, but he was never one to explain himself. As such, he simply tightened his grip on the sword in his hand. During his last fight with Ace, his former longsword and family heirloom, ¡°Icedream¡±, had shattered into thousands of pieces. Since then, he had been forced to wield swords of inferior quality, at least when compared to his previous one, but after making it up here to the fifth floor, he was lucky enough to find himself a Demi-God-level Divine Sword that seemed to suit him near perfectly. The hilt of the sword was wrapped in white leather, offering a comfortable and secure grip, and at the pommel, a sapphire gemstone was embedded, gleaming with a soft, ethereal light. It had a slender and elegantly tapered blade, approximately three feet in length, which appeared to be forged from an otherworldly material that shimmered with an iridescent silver hue, resembling that of a flawless moonlit surface. But what made Olivier fall in love with this sword almost immediately was that it seemed to resonate with both the Laws of Light and Darkness, making his attacks when utilising either Law several times stronger. A sword like that ending up in his hands was no different than giving wings to a tiger. ¡°Haha, Boss, this Olivier isn¡¯t too bad after all,¡± Bebe sent mentally as he looked at Olivier with appreciation. ¡°Maybe after all this is done, you should let him join our Baruch Territory.¡± ¡°Let him?¡± Linley asked back, stupefied by Bebe¡¯s words. ¡°Do you really think a pride-filled genius like him would even want to join?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Linley could only shake his head helplessly at his partner¡¯s brazenness. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but turn to the brown-haired young man with gratitude. ¡°Olivier, thank you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you,¡± Olivier said, glancing lightly at the Azure Dragonblood Warrior beside him before turning back to those from the New Yulan Empire, his eyes narrowing slightly. ¡°I¡¯m doing this for me.¡± Olivier¡¯s words led those listening to believe he was merely doing it for a bigger share, but only he knew that only constituted the smallest part of the reason. The truth was, ever since his loss to Ace and Wukong, Olivier couldn¡¯t help but compare himself to them, and not just as far as talent and backing were concerned. Olivier knew that whether it was talent or backing, Olivier was lacking in comparison compared to both Ace and Wukong, but he also knew that wasn¡¯t the only difference between them. After a lot of contemplation, Olivier finally came to a realisation after watching the battle between Wukong¡¯s group and the other saints led by the Yulan Empire. Whilst talent and good teachers definitely played a very large part in their growth, the thing that really forced them to improve so quickly was the constant pressure they faced from seemingly all directions. For most, that sort of pressure would cause you to crumble and collapse, but for those select few who were able to come out on top, it would cause them to grow at an extremely accelerated pace. Forget about Ace and Wukong; even the other geniuses around them ¨C most of whom were no more talented than him ¨C were no exception. It was for that very reason that Olivier decided to unnecessarily provoke the Yulan Empire. As far as he was concerned, if others could do so and survive, then so too could he ¨C The Prodigy Sword Saint, Oliver Akerlund. Understanding that there was no way to convince Olivier to take a step back, a helpless sigh escaped Felicia¡¯s lips before she gave a gentle command. ¡°Kill Linley and Olivier, but make sure not to kill Bebe,¡± ¡°Boss, these bastards are too scared of angering Grandpa Beirut to attack me,¡± Bebe sent mentally as his eyes lit up with excitement at Felicia¡¯s words. ¡°We can use that to our advantage,¡± Nothing else needed to be said; Linley instantly understood that Bebe wanted to go on what would normally be described as a frenzied advance, attacking their group seemingly recklessly. But what made Linley agree wasn¡¯t just the fact that the experts from the Yulan Empire wouldn¡¯t dare to go too far when attacking Bebe, but also because even if they did, they would be hard-pressed to even break the fur on Bebe¡¯s back. After reaching the peak of the ninth rank, Bebe¡¯s defence ¨C which was his best feature ¨C was hard to penetrate, even for peak saints. ¡°Mmh, let¡¯s try it your way,¡± Linley nodded as he watched his opponents hurrying towards them. ¡°But be careful.¡± Getting Linley¡¯s okay, Bebe¡¯s already excited eyes turned faintly bloodthirsty as he turned into a black blur, hurrying to meet the group head-on with Linley and Olivier following right behind him. Felicia, who didn¡¯t appear to be in a hurry to enter the fray, frowned slightly. Despite having a numerical advantage, Linley¡¯s trio were able to fight them to a standstill, with Bebe¡¯s reckless onslaught needing half of their force to simply keep him at bay, with the rest having to be split into two groups to face Linley and Olivier. Compared to when he fought Ace, Olivier¡¯s power had gone through earthshaking changes. Not only had the might of his dual-layered battle-qi increased drastically after breaking through to the middle stages of the saint realm, but he had also gained insight into three separate Profound Mysteries and seamlessly infused all of them into his [Lightshadow Sword Art]. Between that and the effects of his newly acquired Divine Artifact ¨C The Luminous Shadow Blade ¨C he was able to fight a peak saint like Leahman, who was only one step from becoming a prime saint to a standstill, despite only being a mid-staged saint himself. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the constant interference of the other saints, Olivier would likely be the one suppressing the Commander of the Radiant Churches Zealots. On the other side, Linley was fairing no worse than Olivier. After breaking through to the ninth rank in his human form, Linley would become a Peak Saint-level warrior after transforming. Because of that, when using the [Rippling Tide Stance] of his [Serenity Sword Art], he was seemingly invincible in close quarters. Despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, Linley''s masterful swordsmanship gave him a definitive upper hand. His foes, though skilled in their own right, were no match for the precision and fluidity of his strikes. His blade danced through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages that confounded his opponents. Standing on the outskirts of the battle, Heidens hovered, attacking relentlessly from a safe range. In his hands, Heidens held a Demi-God level Divine Mage''s Staff, a rare and potent artifact that amplified the potency of his light-based spells. From a distance, Heidens unleashed a barrage of light elemental spells, each with the potential to obliterate his foes. Beams of pure light sliced through the air, their intensity rivalling the scorching sun. However, Heidens dared not venture too close to Linley. The young warrior''s prowess was simply frightening, and getting within striking distance of his sword was a gamble Heidens wasn''t willing to take. Instead, he relied on his formidable range and the destructive power of his spells to try and kill this Dragonscaled threat to his organisation. Unfortunately for him, Linley, ever agile and alert, deftly evaded the onslaught, his movements a testament to his exceptional combat skills. Book 7: Chapter 18 – Linley Vs. Heidens As the battle continued, Heidens grew frustrated. Linley''s skill and resilience were proving to be formidable obstacles, and the mage''s inability to get close enough to deliver a decisive blow weighed heavily on him. He knew that a single misstep could cost him his life, for Linley''s blade was as deadly as it was graceful. Linley, on the other hand, remained resolute. He pressed his advantage against the seven warriors, his Serenity Sword Art flowing like a calm river amidst the chaos of battle. Each strike resonated with the rippling energy of his [Rippling Stance], a profound technique that seemed to make him impervious to his enemies'' attacks. His adversaries found their strikes dissipating like water upon a stone, their power scattered in futile attempts to harm him. Unbeknownst to them, Linley subtly manipulated the ebb and flow of the battle, inching ever closer to Heidens, who remained perched at a safe distance. The combatants were so consumed by the chaos of the skirmish that they failed to notice Linley''s gradual approach until he was a mere hundred meters away from Heidens, a distance which was virtually nothing to experts at their level. Suddenly, a chilling realisation washed over the mage as he understood the perilous nature of his position. He attempted to retreat, but time was not on his side. In a fraction of a moment, Linley unleashed his ultimate technique, [Frost Wave], at a level far superior to when he last used it against Ace. The power of the technique surged through the air, creating an icy maelstrom that sought to freeze Heidens in mid-air. The mage struggled against the encroaching frost, the cold tendrils wrapping around him like serpents. Desperation seized Heidens, and he unleashed an explosive burst of mageforce to break free of Linley''s icy grasp. However, Linley''s relentless advance continued unabated. Ignoring the attacks of the remaining adversaries, Linley shot towards Heidens like a bullet. With his twin swords held aloft, Linley descended upon the mage, his azure dragon scales absorbing the blows from the other warriors as if they were mere gusts of wind. Heidens, his heart pounding with dread, knew that his chances of escaping Linley''s grasp were dwindling rapidly. In a final, desperate bid to create some distance, Heidens raised his staff, intending to use its force to propel himself away from the encroaching danger. But just as the staff was about to make contact with the young Dragonblood Warrior¡¯s swords, Linley¡¯s cold voice entered his ears, ¡°[Serenity Sword Art: Ten Layered Wave]!¡± Heidens didn¡¯t even have time to react when a cataclysmic force surged through him, threatening to rupture his inner organs. Agony coursed through his body as he grappled with the excruciating pain, realising that his efforts to escape had been in vain. This was the second ultimate technique Linley had created, but where his first was based on the Profound Mystery of Freezing of the Laws of Water, this was based on the Profound Mystery of the Throbbing Pulse of the World of the Laws of the Earth. This was the same Mystery that Killian had begun to comprehend, but where Killian used it to become one with the Earth, allowing him to draw upon its strength to bolster his own, Linley focused more on the pulsating aspect, folding and stacking the vibrations atop of one another, allowing him to create stronger vibrational attacks. Though it was still in its embryonic stages, because of his own physical strength, the might of this attack couldn¡¯t be underestimated. Heidens hadn¡¯t even suffered a direct hit, yet he was forced to cough a giant mouthful of blood as crimson tears began streaming from his eyes. His insides were in so much pain that all he wanted was for the grim reaper to come and claim his life now, but unfortunately, the vitality of a saint was too strong, causing him to suffer pain the likes of which he had never experienced in his long life. As though he could hear Heiden¡¯s inner desires, Linley raised his sword, his eyes filled with hatred as he prepared to put the former Holy Emperor out of his misery, but before he could, a golden beam of light tore through the air, causing faint ripples in space as it moved. Linley¡¯s eyes constricted into pinholes as he seamlessly transitioned from offence to defence, barely parrying the beam of light aiming to pierce the spot between his brows.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You¡­¡± Linley¡¯s cold, draconian eyes focused on Felicia, who slowly lowered her raised index finger. ¡°You¡¯re a prime saint.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t think that you brats were the only ones allowed to make progress here in the Necropolis of the Gods, now did you?¡± Felicia replied lightly. Linley didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, he looked down at his azure-scaled hands. That last strike, though it seemed effortless, the power behind it was astonishing. Although the [Rippling Tide Stance] of his [Serenity Sword Art] had impressive offensive might, where it really excelled was its defence. It allowed him to dissipate the force of his opponent¡¯s attacks with incredible skill, and yet, despite successfully offloading most of the force behind Felicia¡¯s last strike, the remainder of the force that he couldn¡¯t disperse was so powerful that not only were his hands still numb, the scales protecting the web of his hands had been shattered. Linley knew that although he had improved a lot over the last six months, there was still a large difference between him and a genuine prime saint. If he had Bebe¡¯s support, they might barely be able to fight the newly promoted prime saint to a standstill. Unfortunately, both Olivier and Bebe were still locked in arduous battles of their own, leaving the tall task up to him and him alone. Still, he wasn¡¯t one to let the pressures of life hold him down. Taking a deep breath, Linley¡¯s draconian eyes regained their usual calm as he prepared for what would ultimately be the hardest fight of his life to date. Seeing that, Felicia merely smirked slightly. Still, she didn¡¯t hurry to make her move, instead choosing to wait for Linley to make his move. She had only recently broken through to the prime saint level. As such, she was yet to find a chance to go all out and test her new limits, and although she doubted Linley would be able to force her to go all out. He would at least provide her with more of a challenge than the plant-type lifeforms she had faced till now. The moment he had finished exhaling, Linley¡¯s body took off like a bullet, tearing through the air with a violent but undeniable momentum. Still, Felicia was no slouch. Though mages are typically slower than warriors, as a mage of the light element, Felicia¡¯s speed was nothing short of mind-blowing. As fast as Linley was, he remained unable to close the gap between them. In fact, the distance between them actually appeared to be faintly increasing as Felicia weaved through the jungle like a blur, golden blonde hair trailing behind her. Her glistening white robe clung to her body, accentuating her curves as she moved with grace and precision. Try as he may, Linley remained unable to close in, but that was just the beginning. Linley then watched as Felicia raised her dainty little hands, but what really caused his eyes to constrict was the three thick, milky white spears of light that swiftly took shape above her. ¡°[Forbidden Spell: Holy-Light Lance]!¡± Felicia uttered softly, causing the three spears to shoot towards Linley at a speed that dwarfed that of even her own movement speed. This wasn¡¯t Linley¡¯s first time facing a mage, so he was well aware that typically, when going up against saint-level warriors, mages would do their best to utilise their speed to keep away from warriors understanding that their bodies were a lot more fragile, whilst insta-casting lower level spells to bombard the warrior until their powerful bodies were unable to hold on any longer. But Linley had always been lucky in that, not only was he a wind mage who could utilise his wind-style spells to bolster his speed to near-ridiculous levels, but he was also a Dragonblood Warrior whose scales allowed him to ignore the attacks of most saints. Unfortunately, Felicia wasn¡¯t like most saint-level mages. Not only was she slightly faster than Linley, but as someone who specialised in the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Light, her ability to manipulate the shape and size of her element was nearing perfection. As such, whilst most saint-level mages would be forced to insta-cast spells of the ninth rank to bombard their opponents, she was able to do so with forbidden spells, and although the might of said spells took a slight hit, it only dropped from the level of a prime saint forbidden spell to that of a mage at the peak of the saint realm. With his back against the proverbial wall, Linley was forced to employ the [Rippling Tide Stance] to its limits. Each defensive manoeuvre flowed seamlessly into the next as if his entire body had become an extension of his azure dragon scales. He became like water, his movements fluid and unpredictable, adeptly evading and parrying Felicia''s onslaught. Unfortunately, Despite his skilful defence, Linley found his azure dragon scales gradually giving way under the relentless assault of Felicia''s spells. With each attack, the scales shattered, revealing the vulnerable flesh beneath. His injuries began to worsen, his body suffering the consequences of Felicia''s relentless assault. His situation was rapidly going from bad to worse, but there was nothing he could do. In the distance, Bebe¡¯s already crazed attacks became all the more frantic as he desperately wanted to help his boss, but how could his opponents just let him go? Olivier¡¯s position wasn¡¯t much different; although he was in a good position, able to slowly control the flow of the battle, it wasn¡¯t to the point where he could ignore the attacks of so many peak saints to rush to Linley¡¯s side, not without paying a large price. Briefly glancing over at Linley¡¯s side and then down at the sword in his hands, a resolute light flashed in Olivier¡¯s eyes as he called out to Bebe. ¡°Bebe!¡± Olivier hollered. ¡°Leave them to me - you go and help your boss!¡± Book 7: Chapter 19 – Olivier’s Final Stand Olivier¡¯s words caused not just Bebe but all those in the surrounding area to falter momentarily. It had to be remembered that Olivier was already facing a group of half a dozen or so peak saints, including an expert like Leahman, and although he held the advantage, it was only a slight advantage. Forget the 10+ experts surrounding Bebe; if only one more peak saint were to join the battle against Olivier, he would undoubtedly find himself on the losing side. Still, Olivier had never been one to make jokes, especially not in a scenario like this, a fact that Bebe knew all too well. As such, after taking a deep look at the cold-faced brown-haired youth, Bebe turned into a blur attempting to escape his encirclement, but how could those surrounding him simply allow him to escape after all their efforts till now? One of the nearer experts unhesitantly moved to block the path of the young Godeater Rat, but before he could, the eyes of the surrounding saints suddenly constricted as they watched the head of their colleague roll from his shoulders as the rest of his body suddenly collapsed, falling from the skies, crashing heavily into the ground. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that your opponent was me now?¡± Olivier voiced coldly. As shocked as he was, Bebe knew he didn¡¯t have time to stop and stare. He could sense Linley¡¯s condition worsening by the second. Instead, he merely nodded to show his appreciation before turning into a black light, his body shooting off into the distance. Bebe might not have had the time to wonder what was going on, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for the saints of the New Yulan Empire. In fact, that was all they could do in their position. Not a single one of them dared to move lightly ¨C the energy Olivier was currently radiating was simply terrifying. It made each of them feel like mere ants. Olivier¡¯s body was now covered in a blackish-gold skin-tight battle qi that appeared to be a fusion of the Laws of Light and Darkness. ¡°Yo¡­ You¡­¡± Lehman stammered in disbelief. ¡°How did you¡­¡± The former commander of the Radiant Churches Zealots didn¡¯t even have time to finish his question before he leapt back, his body turning into a flash of light as it moved. Till now, the only known person who was able to fuse two separate elements into one was the mysterious Yunaia Qingya, but here was Olivier, somehow able to do the same thing; whilst Yunaia was merely a warrior of the ninth rank, Olivier was a mid-staged saint. When Yunaia fused her water and darkness battle-qi, her power went from a warrior of the ninth rank to a peak saint, but when Olivier did it, his battle qi went from the middle of the saint realm to what could only be described as a ? step Demi-God. His current power may not be quite as powerful as the Divine Energy of a Demi-God, but it was infinitely close. Unfortunately, unlike Yunaia, who appeared able to control her fusion freely, Olivier¡¯s ability to do so stemmed from his Divine Sword ¨C the Luminous Shadow Blade. He didn¡¯t know how or why this blade was able to create such heaven-defying effects, but he wasn¡¯t complaining. The only bad thing was that at his current level, he could only maintain this state for 30 seconds at most. If only he could maintain it for a little while longer, he believed he would¡¯ve been able to defeat and potentially even kill Felicia. Unfortunately, 30 seconds wasn¡¯t quite long enough to defeat a prime saint like that, especially as he could sense that Felicia, for some strange reason, appeared to be even stronger than the average prime saint like Fain and Desri. As such, he decided to do the next best thing ¨C slaughter all the other saints on their opponent¡¯s side, allowing Bebe to go and support Linley.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He didn¡¯t know if the combined efforts of Bebe and Linley would be able to fight off the High Priest¡¯s second disciple, but it was the best option they had in their current situation. Knowing he couldn¡¯t maintain this form for long, how could Olivier be willing to waste time talking to Lehman and the others? Without saying another word, Olivier began what could only be described as a one-sided massacre. His body flickered about the battlefield, moving from one expert to the next. Delivering each one, no more than a single strike, before moving on to the next target. Whether it was Lehman or his colleagues, the moment Olivier revealed his incredible transformation, they all moved to escape in different directions, making it that little bit harder for Olivier to chase them all down. But Olivier had always been an expert known for his speed. Even before his transformation, despite being in the middle stages of the saint realm, his speed had already surpassed the vast majority of peak saints, let alone now¡­ After a little over 20 seconds, he had already killed most of his targets, with only two having fled several miles away. A cold smirk suffused Olivier¡¯s handsome face as his body turned into a streamer chasing after Lehman and one of Felicia¡¯s junior brothers. Had they travelled in separate directions, one of them might have been able to escape, but with them moving together¡­ Within five seconds, Olivier had closed the gap to a distance of no more than a kilometre, and the gap was still rapidly closing. ¡°We can¡¯t escape!¡± Kurma ¨C the High Priest¡¯s 17th disciple ¨C said unwillingly. ¡°We have to fight him head-on.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Lehman nodded, a fierce light shining in his eyes as he turned to face the incoming monster. ¡°I refuse to believe he can maintain this form for much longer!¡± Seeing his targets deciding to risk it all and face him head-on, the corners of Olivier¡¯s lips curled upwards, forming a perfect curve. In truth, their decision was the right one. Even though Olivier could only continue on like this for another few seconds at most, it was more than enough time to kill them both if they simply focused on escaping, but by choosing to fight head-on, they simply had to survive Olivier¡¯s next attack, and Olivier would essentially be a lamb to the slaughter, but with Olivier¡¯s current power, forget killing Olivier, simply surviving would be a tall task. Lehman suddenly let out a furious howl as a three-metre-long staff suddenly appeared in his hands, whilst the seal of white fire on his forehead instantly lit up, causing his power to multiply. At the same time, Kurma ¨C who had just finished the fastest incantation of his life ¨C thrust his magic staff forward and bellowed, ¡°Dimensional Edge!¡± Creating a 5-meter-long azure blade of wind that shot forward alongside Lehman towards Olivier, causing faint ripples in space as it moved. ¡°[Lightshadow Sword Art: Sword of the Aurora]!¡± Olivier roared unwilling to be undone. The blackish-gold aura covering Olivier¡¯s sword suddenly expanded as the sword light pierced forward, blinding those who laid eyes upon it. As the three attacks met, an earthshattering explosion resounded in the skies of the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods. Being in the centre of it, both Olivier and Lehman were forced to face the brunt of it, but whilst Olivier was still being protected by his fused battle-qi, allowing his body to escape with minimal damages, Lehman¡¯s body was almost completely disintegrated ¨C the might of three ultimate techniques being too much for his body to bear. And although Kurma was over 100 meters behind Lehman and still rapidly retreating, he wasn¡¯t able to escape quickly enough. Had he been a warrior, he might have been able to resist the blast with just the strength of his body; unfortunately, with him being a mage whose mageforce had all but bottomed out, his fragile body was unable to bear the impact of the blast, causing blood to begin to pour out of all of his orifices as the light faded in his eyes. Of the three, two had died immediately, leaving Olivier the ultimate winner, but before he could lower himself to the ground, anticipating the drawback of that forbidden technique, his body suddenly shuddered as he clutched his head, howling in pain. As a warrior with a wealth of experience, Olivier had faced more than his fair share of life and death tribulations, many of which he had stared death directly in the face. Even still, it was rare for him to release more than a pained grunt, but the pain he was currently experiencing was like nothing he had ever experienced. It felt like his soul was being incinerated piece by piece, but what truly terrified him was the fact that he could feel what was left of his battle-qi and spiritual essence being devoured by none other than his own sword, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He even tried to throw the sword away, but in that moment, it seemed to genuinely have a mind of its own, choosing to actively stay attached to Olivier¡¯s sweaty palms. Olivier directly lost consciousness, his last thoughts being that of regret. Partially regretting having ever picked up this cursed blade in the first place, but more importantly, he regretted that he would die before ever getting the chance to become a true expert. Book 7: Chapter 20 – Linley And Bebe Vs. Felicia At the same time, a few miles away from where Olivier had just lost consciousness, an epic battle was taking place. Linley couldn¡¯t remember the last time he had been in such a bad position. His once radiant azure scales had dimmed considerably, or at least what was left of them. He was a bloodied mess, but the fire in his eyes still burned bright as he continuously waved his swords to defend himself. ¡®This Linley¡­¡¯ Felicia sighed to herself in amazement as she continued to bombard him with spell after spell. ¡®Even now, his swordsmanship is improving at a visible speed.¡¯ Despite being put firmly on the back foot, the defensive ability of Linley¡¯s [Rippling Tide Stance] was becoming more and more airtight. Till now, because Linley rarely ever met an opponent who could force him into a corner like this, he had focused primarily on the offensive nature of the [Rippling Tide Stance], but it was only now that he realised how foolish that was. He always knew that the defensive aspect of his [Rippling Tide Stance] was impressive, but it was only now that he realised that it was actually much better suited to defence. After coming to that realisation, Linley forced himself to forget everything he thought he knew about the Concept of water and start again, focusing primarily on its defensive nature. As such, he was able to bring his swordsmanship to a whole new level. Unfortunately, it appeared that Felicia hadn¡¯t been going all out before that point either. Linley¡¯s new and improved sword stance brought his strength to the level of a prime saint ¨C albeit reluctantly ¨C and yet, in response, Felicia simply increased the might of her spells, a feat that shocked Linley to no end. Having previously received the complete list of Laws and their respective Profound Mysteries from Ace, Linley was easily able to discern that Felicia had become a prime saint by comprehending the Law of Light¡¯s Profound Mystery of the Essence of Light to over 90%, and though impressive, it wasn¡¯t shocking, but the moment he achieved his own breakthrough, Felicia revealed a might that, whilst unable to compare to a Demi-God¡¯s, had clearly surpassed what one should expect from your average prime saint. ¡°You¡­¡± Linley continuously waved his swords in a graceful manner, futilely attempting to dispel the force of each light blast as he suppressed the shock in his heart. ¡°Fused Mysteries¡­¡± ¡°Fused mysteries?¡± Felicia muttered curiously, having clearly heard Linley¡¯s shocked words. ¡°So that¡¯s what it¡¯s called, huh?¡± Like most of the other experts on the Yulan plane, Felicia¡¯s understanding of the progression of power was sorely lacking. As such, she had no idea how impressive her accomplishment was. All she knew was that, after a sudden moment of comprehension during a life-or-death situation, she subconsciously fused her ability to control and manipulate her light elemental mageforce with her ability to purify it. Though it was still very much in its embryonic stages, the fusion allowed her light elemental mageforce to become several times more pure, and by extension, several times more powerful. Immediately, she went from a peak saint on the same level as Heidens and Lehman to a prime saint seemingly more powerful than even Fain, an expert who had been a prime saint for hundreds of years already. Unfortunately, before she could ask Linley anything else, a black shadow scurried through the air like a bolt of lightning, distracting her for just enough time for Linley to mount a counterattack. ¡°[FROST WAVE]!¡± Linley roared as he slashed his swords with all his might. A frosty energy, several times more powerful than any of his previous uses of his ultimate technique, exploded out of him, freezing everything in its path, from the ground to the air; even space threatened to freeze with his attack.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Felicia was just about to deal with the incoming black shadow when she felt the icy air of Linley¡¯s ultimate technique surround her, threatening to freeze her from the inside out. Her beautiful hazel eyes constricted slightly as she saw the ferret-sized black rat whizzing towards her neck, bearing its fangs and claws. After her recent breakthrough, dealing with a surprise attack like this should¡¯ve been simplicity in and of itself, but with Linley¡¯s [Frost Wave] taking effect, she found her reactions a lot slower than they should¡¯ve been. Still, her eyes quickly regained their usual calm as her gentle voice rang in the ears of Bebe and Linley, ¡°[World Purifying Light]!¡± World Purifying Light was one of the three known forbidden spells of the light element, and although it wasn¡¯t directly as powerful as single-target forbidden spells like Pheonix Metamorphosis or Dimensional Edge, with Felicia¡¯s comprehension of the fused mysteries, its power didn¡¯t lose out in the slightest. With Felicia at the epicentre, a white light exploded out of her, turning everything it touched ¨C be it the trees or the grass ¨C into dust. ¡°BEBE!¡± Linley bellowed in fear as he watched the white light envelope his partner. Linley was on the verge of losing himself to his madness, preparing to charge unhesitantly into the bright light when his master¡¯s voice entered his mind. ¡°Calm down, Linley,¡± Doehring Cowart called out, using a hint of his spiritual essence, causing just enough of a jolt to wake Linley from his crazed state. ¡°Trust in Bebe ¨C you know how powerful his defence is.¡± Linley didn¡¯t respond, but seeing how he didn¡¯t charge in immediately, it was clear he heard his master¡¯s words. Still, his entire focus was on his spiritual connection to his familiar. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have to wait long. ¡°Ahh, that really hurt,¡± Bebe cried out via their bond as he shot out of the blast zone, landing back on Linley¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Bebe,¡± Linley called out in relief as he hurriedly lifted his partner into his hands, not minding the blood. ¡°You¡¯re alright.¡± Linley¡¯s concern was understandable. The might of that attack was nothing short of incredible, but once again, Bebe showed what it meant to be an apex-level Divine Beast. ¡°Of course I am ¨C I¡¯m a Godeater Rat!¡± Bebe puffed out his chest with pride. ¡°Our defence is unmatched in the universe!¡± His usually glistening black fur was singed and matted with blood and dirt, but other than that, he was perfectly fine. Linley, who had finally calmed down, nodded believingly. He had always known Bebe¡¯s defence was astounding, but because they rarely went up against opponents this powerful, they had never got the chance to find out the true limits of Bebe¡¯s defence ¨C until now. Before they could continue with their conversation, a calm and curious voice entered their ears. ¡°How could you be here?¡± Felicia frowned softly as she studied the basically uninjured Godeater Rat in Linley¡¯s arms before turning towards the direction Bebe had just come from. As far as she knew, there was no way Bebe and Olivier had the ability to defeat so many of her subordinates this quickly, and there was no way they would simply allow Bebe to come here. Unfortunately, her fight with Linley caused them to travel several miles away, making them out of eyeshot of the other battlefield, and with her spiritual essence being severely constricted, she had no way of finding out what was going on over there. Still, other than being a little surprised, she didn¡¯t feel much else. With her current strength, she was easily able to suppress them both whilst showing enough restraint from killing Bebe. Although, by the looks of it, killing Bebe would be a tall task in and of itself anyway. Felicia may not have known what happened on the other battlefield, but Linley did. With their spiritual connection, Bebe had long since told him about Olivier¡¯s actions. Although he was concerned about their new ally, he knew that without Bebe, his chances of coming out alive were zero. ¡°Bebe, you be my support,¡± Linley sent mentally as he prepared for round two. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re in a worse state than me. Let me be the main force this time,¡± Bebe sent back. ¡°You¡¯ve seen my defence; she won¡¯t be able to do anything even if she wants to. Plus, she¡¯s probably too scared of offending Grandpa Beirut to really try and kill me.¡± Linley frowned slightly. He knew Bebe wasn¡¯t wrong, but he knew better than anyone how powerful Felicia was now. That last attack, as powerful as it was, was merely a last-second attack to protect herself. If she had truly been attacking Bebe, he knew Bebe¡¯s defence, as impressive as it was, wouldn¡¯t be enough to protect him. Still¡­ ¡°Boss, trust me!¡± Bebe sent mentally, able to sense Linley¡¯s concern. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°Okay, fine,¡± Linley replied, sensing Bebe¡¯s resolve. ¡°But make sure to pay attention to your safety first.¡± ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, boss,¡± Bebe chortled. ¡°Just watch as I show you the true might of a Godeater Rat!¡± Book 7: Chapter 21 – Yunaia’s Appearance Without anymore wasting time, round two began with Linley and Bebe showing renewed vigour and confidence. Unfortunately, even with the assistance of his familiar, Linley still found himself firmly on the back foot with the odds seemingly stacked impossibly against them. Despite their best efforts, Linley, battered and bruised, continued to bear the brunt of Felicia''s relentless assault. His azure dragon scales cracked and fractured from the sheer force of her light elemental magic. He fought valiantly, but every move was an agonising struggle. As for Bebe, try as he might, he remained unable to even near Felicia as she whizzed around the battlefield like a flash of light, only diverting part of her attention to deal with the nuisance that was Bebe ¨C still that small part of her attention appeared to be enough. Bebe scurried through the air with a defiant roar that sounded more like the cries of a proud lion than a little rat. His fur, once glossy and sleek, was now matted with dirt and blood, but his determination remained unwavering. The Godeater Rat, an Apex Divine Beast at the peak of the ninth rank, leapt into the fray, razor-sharp claws and teeth bared. Still, Felicia remained unyielding. Her golden blonde hair gleamed like a halo as she moved with unparalleled grace, weaving through the jungle terrain. Her white robe billowed behind her, a stark contrast to the carnage unfolding around her. With a flick of her wrist, Felicia unleashed a barrage of light-based spells, each more devastating than the last. Her attacks sliced through the air with incredible speed and precision, homing in on her targets. Bebe, with his incredible speed and reflexes, managed to evade some of the strikes, but Linley, due to his ever-worsening injuries, wasn''t as fortunate. Felicia''s magic left a trail of destruction in its wake, causing the jungle foliage to burst into flames and the earth to tremble. Linley and Bebe fought valiantly, their synergy as a warrior-mage and beast partner evident in their coordinated strikes and defence, but they were still at the mercy of Felicia''s overwhelming power. Linley''s azure dragon scales, already weakened, continued to crumble under the relentless assault. Blood seeped from numerous wounds, and his movements grew sluggish. Bebe''s fur, too, bore the scars of battle, and he let out an anguished cry as he attempted to shield his wounded partner. Felicia, undeterred, summoned the full force of her mage-force. A blinding sphere of pure light enveloped her, illuminating the jungle with an intensity that rivalled the sun itself. With a graceful motion, she directed the sphere toward the bloodied Dragonblood Warrior, the light threatening to consume him whole. ¡°BOOSSSSSS!!¡± Bebe roared as he turned, making a beeline straight for Linley, hoping to help defend against the earth-shattering might of the forbidden spell [World Purifying Light]! Linley heard the worried and pain-filled cries of his beast partner; unfortunately, in his battered state, Linley could do little to defend against such an onslaught, let alone pacify Bebe¡¯s worries. The light engulfed him, searing pain tearing through their bodies as they were overwhelmed by Felicia''s overwhelming magic. ¡®Is this it?¡¯ Linley thought to himself as his vision blurred, and his consciousness began to slip away as he fought against the relentless tide of light that seemed to assault both his body and mind. ¡®Is this really how it ends?¡¯ As unwilling as he was, Linley understood there was nothing he could do to escape this time ¨C he had literally nothing left to give. He had gone above and beyond in this fight, but Felicia was simply too powerful. But, just when it appeared all hope was lost, a shadow moved through the skies, entering the range of the spell, appearing just in front of Linley¡¯s barely conscious body. Linley had long since reached the end of his rope; he barely managed to catch sight of the slender but surprisingly powerful back of the newcomer before he finally lost consciousness. As such, he didn¡¯t get to witness the overwhelming might of the blackish-blue energy that casually dispersed Felicia¡¯s spell.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Upon breaking through to become a prime saint, Felicia¡¯s power saw a drastic improvement, but her soul didn¡¯t, and because her line of sight was disturbed by the blinding light of her own spell, she didn¡¯t notice the appearance of the newcomer until after her spell was easily dealt with. ¡°You¡­¡± Felicia frowned subtly, ignoring the frantic, bloodied Godeater Rat hurrying to Linley¡¯s side as she focused on the indifferent face of the enchanting warrior casually staring at her. ¡°Why are you¡­¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Felicia¡¯s eyes constricted into pinholes as her body flickered, appearing over 100 meters away, only barely managing to evade the blackish-blue sword light that seemed to embody the elements of water and darkness, threatening to cleave her in two. ¡°Yunaia, was it?¡± Felicia said gently, clearly hesitant about making an enemy of this frightening young woman. ¡°There is no enmity between you and I ¨C must you interfere in the private business of my Yulan Empire?¡± Yunaia¡¯s gaze was indifferent as always; she merely stared at the captivating figure of Felicia. ¡°If you agree to leave now, I promise that my Master ¨C the High Priest of the Yulan Empire ¨C will be most grateful,¡± Felicia added when she noticed that Yunaia appeared to have no intention of responding. Yunaia glanced back lightly at Linley, who was lying unconscious on the ground behind her, before calmly returning her focus to the woman before her. ¡°You can¡¯t touch him.¡± Yunaia¡¯s words caused a frown to appear on Felicia¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t know much about this mysterious Qingya descendant, but from what she did know, Yunaia didn¡¯t seem to know Arianna personally. As such, she should have nothing to do with Linley and his group, so her wanting to protect Linley now made little sense to her. But what she did know was that despite still only being a mortal, this mysterious young woman wasn¡¯t one to be underestimated. Her mysterious ability to somehow fuse two separate laws gave her incredible power. The might of the sword slash she used previously, despite only being what appeared to be a casual attack, was infinitely close to the power of a prime saint. Still, as impressive as that was, Felicia was confident in her ability to suppress her. No, what really made her cautious was the giant crow beneath her feet. Oscar was only at the early stages of the saint realm, but it was clear from its aura that it too was a Divine Beast no inferior to the likes of Bebe. Seeing as Bebe, relying on nothing but its innate gifts, was able to suppress most peak saints, in Felicia¡¯s mind, it only stood to reason that Oscar could do the same to peak saints. Felicia knew that, after starting to fuse two different mysteries, she was stronger than prime saints on the level of Fain and Desri, but she didn¡¯t have the confidence to defeat a beast like Oscar, especially when it had the support of both Yunaia and Bebe. But at the same time, Felicia was unwilling to leave without first killing Linley. The threat he posed to her Empire was too big. Even though he was much weaker than her now, she hadn¡¯t become deluded by her recent breakthroughs. Linley, despite only being a fraction of her age, had strength that was rapidly approaching hers. As an enemy, his talent was simply terrifying. Felicia¡¯s hands tightened around her staff as she continued to weigh her options. Still, Yunaia simply waited patiently, seemingly not bothered by whatever decision Felicia would choose to make. In fact, instead of keeping her eyes on her could-be opponent like one would expect, she turned her attention back towards Bebe, who was distraught by Linley¡¯s body. ¡°Can you save my boss?¡± Bebe asked frantically, sensing her look over. ¡°Please! I¡¯ll do anything! Just please save him!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Felicia replied slowly as she glanced over Linley¡¯s now near-naked body. ¡°He looks a lot worse than he is. He may be human, but he seems to have the vitality of a¡­¡± Before Felicia could finish her sentence, a devastating golden beam of light tore through the air, piercing the centre of her head. Bebe¡¯s eyes constricted in fright, fearing that his and Linley¡¯s ticket to freedom had just been killed, but before he could even begin to rearrange his thoughts, he watched as the bodies of Yunaia and her familiar flickered out of existence. It wasn¡¯t just Bebe who was caught off guard by the sudden development; even Felicia¡¯s eyes widened as her head spun over her shoulder. ¡°Oscar,¡± Yunaia uttered lightly as she casually hopped off the back of her crow. ¡°Kill her.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask,¡± Oscar grinned excitedly as his body shot forward at a speed that even Felicia struggled to follow. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Felicia hurriedly flew off, realising she had still underestimated the threat this Divine Beast posed. Virtually all Divine Beasts are gifted with incredible bodies, but Apex Divine Beasts take it one step further in that, although they are physically superior to other beasts at the same level, they all tend to have an attribute where they truly excel. For Bebe, it¡¯s his seemingly impenetrable defence; for Leona, it¡¯s her raw power, but for Oscar, it¡¯s his speed! Book 7: Chapter 22 – Soul Mutates Felicia¡¯s eyes constricted into pinholes as she saw the white feathered crow appear directly in front of her in the blink of an eye. As a prime saint-level mage who specialised in the laws of light, Felicia¡¯s speed was incredible, as seen by the way she managed to keep both Linley and Bebe away from her with ease, so one could imagine her shock when she realised that despite her best efforts, Oscar was able to easily close the gap between them. Still, it took her no longer than a fraction of a second to get past her shock and react accordingly. Whilst creating a golden spherical barrier, she also controlled her light elemental mage force to shoot towards Oscar¡¯s eyes. Though it took a while to explain, from the moment Oscar made his move to when Felicia retaliated in kind took no longer than the blink of an eye, and yet, despite being virtually on top of Felicia when she attacked, with seemingly no time to dodge, Felicia¡¯s eyes could only widen in surprise as her light blasts seemed to phase through the body of the crow. Before she could even register that what she had attacked was merely an afterimage, she felt her golden barrier threaten to break from behind her. ¡°Ooh, looks like you are pretty powerful after all,¡± Oscar chortled as his body vanished from behind Felicia, casually dodging her subsequent reflexive strikes. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see how you deal with this one!¡± As he said that, bolts of lightning began to flicker around his body. Felicia turned around just in time to see the giant crow flap its wings, but unlike what one would expect, Oscar¡¯s body didn¡¯t move. No, instead, hundreds of lightning-coated feathers magically separated from the crow¡¯s body before tearing through the air, each one breaking the sound barrier and creating a terrifying explosion that seemed to travel right through the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods. Felicia¡¯s eyes constricted for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Still, she reacted instinctively, insta-casting both Light Element Forbidden Spells, [Angelic Descent] ¨C A light-style magic spell that creates an illusionary Six-Winged Angel similar to the forbidden-level earth-style spell World Protector ¨C to protect her body and [World Purifying Light] to destroy as many of the feathers as possible. Though Oscar was only at the early stages of the saint realm, because speed often translated into power and because each of his feathers was coated in his lightning aura, each individual feather had power infinitely close to that of a peak saint. As both spells met, a violent impact was set off. If not for Bebe being there to forcefully hold his Boss¡¯ body down, Linley would¡¯ve been sent flying from the blast wave. ¡°Ooh no you don¡¯t!¡± Oscar sneered, his wings bending slightly as he prepared to chase after the figure that shot out of the smoke like a flash of light. ¡°Leave her,¡± Yunaia uttered lightly, calmly watching as Felicia fled. ¡°You¡¯re not capable of killing her as you are now.¡± Oscar¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn¡¯t say anything. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Yunaia was right. It may have looked like Oscar was dominating the fight, not giving Felicia a chance to even regain her footing, but Oscar knew full well that a big part of that had to do with Felicia underestimating him and unfortunately, as impressive as his speed was, his offensive abilities was definitely his weak point. Despite his having almost complete control over the flow of their short-lived clash, Oscar saw clearly that as Felicia escaped, other than her clothes being slightly dishevelled, she was otherwise unscathed. Felicia¡¯s choosing to escape had little to do with fearing Oscar and more to do with her fearing the idea of facing Oscar and Yunaia. She knew that with them there, her chances of killing Linley once and for all were virtually impossible. As such, all she could do now was grit her teeth and escape. With Felicia finally gone, Yunaia finally turned her attention to Linley. ¡°Please help my boss,¡± Bebe whimpered, desperately worried.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Linley¡¯s body was bruised, bloodied, and burnt all over. Looking at his injuries, Yunaia could only sigh, knowing if it was her that had suffered such injuries, the chances of her pulling through, even as an expert of the ninth rank, were small ¨C to say the least. And yet, she could sense that his life force was still strong, and his body was surprisingly stable. She had met a few different humans with special bloodlines but none with a bloodline quite as terrifying as the brown-haired youth before her. In her eyes, he was like a humanoid Apex Divine Beast, a feat that should be impossible. ¡°Bring him over and put him on Oscar¡¯s back,¡± Yunaia replied before turning to face the direction of Olivier¡¯s battleground. ¡°We¡¯ll bring him and the other one with us and leave here.¡± . . . Linley didn¡¯t end up waking up till the following day, something that surprised the young Baruch Patriarch greatly as he didn¡¯t expect to survive at all. Still, after seeing Yunaia sitting by a small fire with Bebe and Oscar, he was quickly able to put two and two together. ¡°Thank you for saving me,¡± Linley said respectfully. ¡°I owe you my life.¡± ¡°You woke up quickly,¡± Yunaia said, glancing at Linley lightly. ¡°Your bloodline really is impressive.¡± ¡°Of course it is,¡± Bebe said, his voice dripping with pride. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t, how could he be worthy to be the boss of a Godeater Rat?!¡± Linley could only shake his head at Bebe¡¯s ability to show off even when complimenting someone else, but before he could respond, he noticed Olivier¡¯s unconscious body lying beside him. ¡°Olivier,¡± Linley called out, worried. ¡°Is he alright?¡± Yunaia glanced at the young man lying by Linley¡¯s side, an odd light flickering in the back of her eyes before she responded. ¡°Hard to say.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Linley asked hurriedly, unable to suppress his guilt. He was clear that if not for Bebe rushing over to save him, there was no way Olivier would be in such a position; it only made it worse that Olivier was only in this predicament because of him. ¡°Right now, your friend is in a particularly delicate position, with his soul having received a particularly powerful backlash,¡± Yunaia explained. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do to help him in this position; whether he lives or dies is up to him.¡± ¡°What are his chances?¡± Linley asked hurriedly. ¡°Slim,¡± Yunaia replied honestly. ¡°But if he does survive, this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Linley asked curiously. ¡°Have you ever heard of a soul mutate?¡± Yunaia asked, responding to Linley¡¯s question with a question. ¡°A soul mutate?¡± Linley muttered in confusion. ¡°Soul mutates are individuals who have gained insights into two or more laws and or edicts before, for one reason or another, suffering great damage to their souls, causing their souls to mutate as it tries to heal itself,¡± Yunaia explained slowly. Linley still didn¡¯t completely understand, but he wasn¡¯t an idiot. The moment she mentioned that the individual had to have gained insights into two or more laws or edicts, and the fact that she called them soul ¡°mutates¡±, Linley instantly put two and two together, ¡°You mean like you¡­¡± ¡°Right,¡± Yunaia nodded, raising her milky white palm summoning blackish-blue energy. ¡°For those of us who manage to survive, we gain the ability to fuse the energy of said laws, allowing the power of our fused energy to multiply several times over.¡± Yunaia¡¯s words brought no small shock to Linley. He remembered the first time he saw Yunaia¡¯s fused energy and the power it was able to generate. It went far beyond anything a mortal should be capable of. Even without utilising her insights into the laws, the power of her fused energy was able to match that of a peak saint. ¡°Unfortunately, the more laws you gain insight into when undergoing said mutation, the lower your chances of survival,¡± Yunaia sighed. ¡°Even for those like myself who undergo a two-way soul mutation, the chances of survival are close to one in a hundred thousand.¡± Hearing that, Linley couldn¡¯t help but look back to Olivier, his emotions a mix of worry and guilt. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much for now, though,¡± Yunaia added, pointing to the sword still held in Olivier¡¯s hand. ¡°I don¡¯t know how or why, but that sword ¨C or more specifically, that sapphire stone embedded in its hilt ¨C is somehow keeping his soul stable for now.¡± It was only then that Linley realised that despite being unconscious, Olivier¡¯s hands remained tightly wrapped around his ¡°Luminous Shadow Blade¡±, and, more importantly, the sapphire stone mentioned by Yunaia was flickering gently, radiating a soft but protective spiritual aura. ¡°Unfortunately, at the rate it¡¯s currently being consumed, it¡¯ll likely only be able to hold on for another week at most,¡± Yunaia said. ¡°After which, it really will be down to him. Still, this should at least improve his chances.¡± ¡°How long does it normally take for you to awaken after your soul mutates?¡± Linley asked. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for others, but it took me a little over a month,¡± Yunaia explained. ¡°I see,¡± Linley sighed. Although he was still worried, he understood there was nothing he could do right now other than remain by Olivier¡¯s side as his guardian until he hopefully awoke. Before that¡­ ¡°Thank you for everything, but I have one more question,¡± Linley said, turning back to Yunaia. ¡°Why did you save me? You don¡¯t seem like the hero type, nor do you seem like the talkative type, yet you saved me and explained so much to me in great detail¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right; I do have an ulterior motive for saving you,¡± Yunaia nodded calmly, not bothering to hide her intentions. ¡°I want you to teach me how to use ¡°Concepts¡± and apply them to my swordsmanship.¡± Book 7: Chapter 23 – One Year Later Somewhat near the central region of the fifth floor, an earth-shaking battle was taking place. On one side were several hundred plant-type life forms of varying shapes and sizes, but the thing they all had in common was that, without fail, each and every one of them was at the middle stages of the saint realm. Leading them was an enormous green female humanoid creature who stood over 10 meters tall. Her body was formed by countless intersecting vines and tendrils of grass, each of which seemed to have the thickness of a human arm. Her name was Lachapelle, and she was one of the prime saints who reigned supreme on the fifth floor. And opposing this small army of plant-type monsters were Ace, Leona, and Amira. It had been almost a year since the trio had made it to the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, and as one would expect from talents of their level, their progress had been nothing short of astounding ¨C as one could see from the fact that they were able to hold off such a large and powerful force on their own. Leona was surrounded by these colossal creatures, with their thick, woody trunks and numerous writhing vines, but Leona was no longer the Divine Beast she once was. Her time spent on the fifth floor had transformed her, granting her strength beyond imagination. With a powerful, muscular body that matched the might of a Magical Beast at the Prime Saint rank, she faced the plant monsters with unmatched vigour. Each swipe of her massive paws sent the monstrous flora crashing to the ground. Her claws tore through the woody defences of her enemies as though they were nothing but paper-mach¨¦, and her ferocious roars echoed through the jungle. She was a force of nature herself, a true apex predator amidst the overgrown greenery. Her flames danced and flickered, each controlled with a level of mastery that rivalled Ace''s own after her insights into the Law of Fire''s Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire had finally reached completion, allowing her to manipulate the shape and size of her fiery arsenal with unprecedented precision. Burning tendrils of flame reached out, searing through the plant monsters with calculated devastation. The jungle around her transformed into a fiery battleground as her flames wove through the air, creating a spectacle of radiant destruction. The plant monsters, despite their size and numbers, were powerless before Leona''s might. Their vines, once menacing, now seemed feeble and insignificant as they crumbled to ash and embers under her relentless assault. On the opposite side was Amira, who, like Leona, was surrounded by towering plant-type monsters. Their massive, gnarled vines and thorny foliage reached out menacingly, ready to ensnare and devour anyone who dared to venture into their territory. But Amira was no ordinary intruder; she had transcended her previous limits and was now a force to be reckoned with. Her cultivation level hadn''t improved significantly in the past year, but her strength had taken a giant leap forward. Her insights into the Law of Light''s Profound Mystery of Lightspeed had reached the level of a peak saint. With this newfound understanding, her movements became a blur, and her reaction time was nearly instantaneous. However, her most impressive breakthrough came in her mastery of the Law of Wind''s Profound Mystery of Velocity. It had surged to the level of a prime saint, allowing her to manipulate the very air around her to achieve unparalleled speed and agility. Amira''s presence in the jungle was marked by graceful, swift movements that seemed to somewhat defy the laws of nature. Yet, it was the evolution of her [Bright Sky Sword Art] that truly set her apart. Her [Bright Stance], which harnessed the concepts of the laws of light, had been refined and perfected. It made her swordsmanship pure, fast, and remarkably precise. But what brought Amira the most satisfaction was the creation of her [Sky Stance]. Drawing inspiration from the concepts of the laws of wind, her [Sky Stance] was a revelation in her swordsmanship. It made her movements not just fast but lightning-quick. Her strikes became sharper, each one slicing through the air with unparalleled grace and precision. She moved with the fluidity of the wind itself, and her attacks seemed to flow like a gentle breeze one moment and strike like a fierce gust the next. Her swordsmanship was now seemingly unfettered, unhindered by the constraints of traditional forms.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Even more impressive was her ability to seamlessly use both her [Bright Stance] and [Sky Stance] at the same time. One sword wielding the incredibly quick and pure light-based concepts and the other harnessing the swift and graceful principles of wind; it was as if two different swordsmen were working in perfect tandem. Her dual swordsmanship was a dance of duality, a masterful fusion of light and wind that left her enemies bewildered and unable to anticipate her next move. Her blades danced and wove through the chaos of the jungle. Vines and foliage were effortlessly cut, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. The plant monsters, despite their size and numbers, were powerless against the blinding speed and deadly precision of her swordsmanship. As for Ace, it was he who took on the task of facing the prime saint-level tyrannical creature that was Lachapelle. ¡°See,¡± Ace smirked as he floated before the towering creature. ¡°I told you it didn¡¯t matter how many helpers you found; they wouldn¡¯t be a match for my partners.¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time Ace and Lachapelle would be facing off against each other; in fact, it was the third. Their first face-off was a few months ago, just after Ace¡¯s power finally reached the level of a prime saint. At the time, Ace found that despite his recent improvements, he was still suppressed against this particular prime saint. Had it not been for the timely interference of Amira and Leona, things could have ended up a lot worse. Thankfully, Lachapelle only had a couple dozen underlings under her at the time, making it easy for Amira and Leona to defeat them and rush to support Ace. With the trio working together, they were able to barely suppress Lachapelle. Unfortunately, killing her was all but impossible because of her incredible ability to heal from virtually every injury, a feat that, despite making things ten times harder, made Ace over 100 times more excited and determined. It had to be remembered that aside from simply improving his strength, Ace''s other goal in the Necropolis of the Gods was to find the Pearl of Life to help heal his master''s injuries. He had long since learnt from Beirut that the Pearl of Life granted its user near instant regeneration, so as long as the user''s soul was not damaged, it was near impossible for them to die. The only way for a user of a Pearl of Life to die is to have their body completely destroyed in a single attack before they can regenerate. So, it was no mystery as to why Ace was so excited after seeing her healing abilities. Still, as they were back then, killing Lachapelle was impossible. As such, they allowed Lachapelle to escape so they could go off and improve their strength. In their second battle, although they had improved and were finally capable of steadily suppressing the tyrannical plant creature, killing her was still impossible, but now, Ace finally felt as though things were different. What none of them had foreseen, though, was that after their second battle, Lachapelle would go off and collect a small army of her own to help her resist and even kill Ace and his group. She knew Amira and Leona¡¯s strength quite well by that point, so she was confident that her new subordinates would be able to slowly wear them down; unfortunately, the breakthroughs both Leona and Amira made them virtually unstoppable to creatures at that level ¨C especially Leona after breaking through to the saint rank. Lachapelle felt that if not for her Pearl of Life, forget Ace, she didn¡¯t know if she would be able to defeat Leona. Seeing her subordinates behind decimated en masse, Lachapelle could only grit her teeth furiously as she glared back at Ace, her heart pounding restlessly as an overwhelming feeling of fear enveloped her. After getting her hands on the Pearl of Life, it had been a long time since Lachapelle had felt the threat of death, but to say she was feeling it today was the understatement of the century. She knew that even if Ace hadn¡¯t improved since their last fight, like his companions, he was already no weaker than her. All he had to do was drag things out until his companions had finished their fights, at which point all she could do was pray that they were still incapable of destroying her body in one go and actually killing her. Still, all of that was predicated on Ace having not grown any stronger, and seeing the confident smirk that hung on his lips¡­ ¡®If today really is the day I die, I refuse to let this brat feel any better!¡¯ Lachapelle roared in her mind as she waved her giant hands in Ace¡¯s direction. Her vines reached out like serpents, their tips sharpened to needle-like points, seeking to pierce his obsidian armoured skin. Her eyes glinted with frantic determination as she unleashed her plant-based powers. As the vines neared him, Ace felt the air around him constrict, making it harder for him to move freely. Still, his smile never disappeared. Book 7: Chapter 24 – Ace Vs. Lachapelle With this being the third time Ace and Lachapelle had fought, Ace was well aware of all of her abilities; as such, when Ace felt the air around him constricting him, he remained perfectly calm. He understood that the Profound Mystery Lachapelle had gained insight into was the Mystery of Spatial Winds. It was also this which made the attacks of each of her vines so deadly. With her insights into the Mystery of Spatial Winds nearing the level of a Demi-God, the aura coating her vines was so sharp it actually caused the space in the surrounding area to ripple with instability. To make matters worse, they had the horrifying ability to absorb and consume those trapped within, leaving nothing behind but memories. Her countless vines lashed out like serpents surrounding Ace, aiming to close off all of his paths of retreat and pierce every inch of his blackened body. Unfortunately for her, Ace had no intentions of retreating. Even as the terrifyingly sharp vines neared his body, his smile never left his face. In fact, it only widened as his blade was thrust forth in what could only be described as a casual manner. Still, despite his lack of apparent effort, the power behind it was terrifying! A dozen giant vines, each with the thickness of a grown man and the ability to pierce even the sturdiest of defences, met Ace¡¯s glaive and paused momentarily, but if that wasn¡¯t shocking enough, in the next moment, an enormous fiery explosion was set off, instantly incinerating all the vines that threatened to pierce Ace¡¯s body. Like Amira and Leona, Ace had also improved drastically during his time on the fifth floor, and although his cultivation level still remained the same, due to his comprehension, his rise in strength was monumental, to say the least. His mastery of the Law of Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of Explosions had broken through to the peak saint level, while his fusion of the Profound Mysteries of Explosions and the Essence of Fire was approaching the 70% mark. It was because of this that even his casual strikes were so devastating. Not only had his insights into the profound mysteries improved, but so too had his understanding of the Concepts of the Laws of Fire. A fact that became very much apparent as Ace ignored the explosion, his body moving like a flash appearing directly before Lachapelle, glaive in hand. Lachapelle, who was still getting over the shock of Ace¡¯s last attack, almost forgot to breathe as she sensed Ace teleport directly in front of her, his glaive drawing a near-perfect, fiery arc as it seemed to want to tear her in two. Still, as a warrior who had been through more than her fair share of battles, she quickly suppressed her surprise to focus on the task at hand. With the Pearl of Life assisting her, the vines which had been incinerated by Ace¡¯s attack had already finished reforming by the time Ace attacked. Without a second thought, Lachapelle acted on instinct to control her vines to both attack Ace and create an incredibly thick barrier that separated her body from his. Ace, though, acted as though he hadn¡¯t noticed his opponent¡¯s actions as his glaive struck out once, then twice, then again, each strike far more potent than the last. Because she had yet to break through to the deity level, Lachapelle couldn¡¯t actually see the improvements Ace had made to his [Blazing Glaive Art], but she could definitely feel it. Each of his strikes tore through dozens of her vines at a time, and to make matters worse, she could feel him speeding up to the point where he was now attacking faster than the pearl of life could heal her. Within a minute, Ace had torn a path through Lachapelle¡¯s seemingly endless vines protecting her body, appearing directly before her with that same infuriating smile, which may as well be a smirk at this point, hanging on his face. But that was when she saw it. Despite Ace¡¯s smile being one of complete and utter serenity, his glaive¡¯s movements were anything but serene! Ace¡¯s sweep was the epitome of simplicity, yet the wild and untameable aura it gave off was so mesmerising that even Lachapelle faltered slightly.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As his insights into the laws of fire increased, Ace found it easier and easier to translate them into concepts and incorporate them into his [Blazing Glaive Art]. Right now, his glaivesmanship had reached a level that would make even sovereigns blush with shame at their inferiority ¨C at least when it came to weapon handling. Space rippled as his glaive tore through the air, threatening to sear anything that dared stand in its path. It was only when she felt the scorching heat that accompanied Ace¡¯s attack that Lachapelle snapped out of her daze. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late. Despite the size difference, Lachapelle found that she had really been cut in two, even though Ace hadn¡¯t even used an energy slash. It was as though anything and everything in the path of the arcs of Ace¡¯s sweep would be torn in two. Still, Ace could only sigh helplessly at the sight of Lachapelle¡¯s body reforming almost instantly. Each of his strikes was powerful beyond measure, to the point where he was confident in his ability to suppress and kill the average prime saint like Fain. Still, no matter what he did, any wound he inflicted on his current opponent would heal seemingly without end. He knew that this fight would be a test of endurance, and he was prepared to persevere. Still, he was only a mortal; as such, even if his willpower was limitless, his body and mageforce were anything but! ¡°That Pearl of Life really is a heaven-defying treasure,¡± Ace admitted. ¡°Because of that, killing you is almost impossible!¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Lachapelle replied as her body finished healing. ¡°So why bother trying any further? It¡¯s clear neither of us can do anything to each other, so let us just go our separate ways from this point on.¡± Lachapelle had to suppress the terror she was feeling as she attempted to reason with her young opponent. That last strike was like nothing she had ever seen before. If not for the Pearl of Life, she really would be dead. Unfortunately, it seemed Ace had no intention of giving up! ¡°No rush,¡± Ace replied with a warm smile as though he were talking to an old friend. ¡°I said ¡°almost¡± impossible!¡± Lachapelle wanted to tell Ace that his attempts were futile, but before she could, Ace¡¯s body flickered, once again appearing directly in front of her at a speed she could barely react to. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can survive this one,¡± Ace voiced calmly as he thrust his glaive out several times in an instant. ¡°[Myriad Point Convergence]!¡± Ace had always trained harder and faster than his peers, but when he finally found the creature holding the Pearl of Life, the treasure that would heal his master¡¯s injuries, he found that his training speed seemed to skyrocket. Previously, his limit for simultaneous strikes was five, but with the increase of his comprehension of the fused mysteries of Explosions and the Essence of Fire, he had managed to increase it to six, but Ace wasn¡¯t sure that would be enough to completely incinerate Lachapelle¡¯s whole body in one go before she could reform. But just as he was prepared to throw caution to the wind and go for broke, Ace¡¯s eyes seemed to glaze over. In that moment, every fibre of his being was focused on killing his troublesome opponent and taking the treasure that could heal his master, a man he greatly respected. He was well aware that as calm and composed as his master was, there was nothing Aiden wanted more than to reach the apex of this world, but because of his injuries, for many years, it seemed like that particular dream would never come to pass. For a man like Aiden, there was no greater source of misery, especially as everyone around him continued to progress down a path that eluded him. Still, he never complained; in fact, he even took Ace as a disciple and gave his all into training him. It was because of his master that Ace was able to become the monster that he is today. In Ace¡¯s mind, there was nothing he could do to repay Aiden for everything he had done for him till now, but being able to give him the pearl of life would definitely be a good start! Because of his overwhelming desire, Ace managed to gain sudden enlightenment to the point where the laws of Fire seemed to gain sentience, whispering their deepest secrets in his ears, allowing his comprehension to leap forward like never before. Ace¡¯s six strikes suddenly increased to seven before once again advancing, reaching an astonishing eight strikes. As all eight strikes landed, the air was filled with a scorching explosion of fiery devastation. Lachapelle¡¯s body was engulfed in flames, and even with the assistance of the Pearl of Life, her ability to heal was no match for the sheer power of the explosion. She didn¡¯t even get the chance to scream before her whole body was incinerated, leaving only ashes in her wake. The size of the explosion was unlike anything the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods had ever had to bear before. Even Leona and Amira, who were well over a mile away, were caught off guard, almost unable to stay on their feet. As for their opponents ¨C or rather the few that were left ¨C each of them were directly blown away. As the dust cleared and the smoke settled, Amira and Leona saw Ace standing victorious in mid-air with an ecstatic grin on his face as he stared excitedly at the surprisingly small, glittering, translucent orb sitting in the palm of his hand, glowing with a warm green light. Book 7: Chapter 25 – Rivals Meet ¡°HAHAHAHA, Finally!¡± Ace laughed boisterously as his body trembled ecstatically, staring at the small green orb in his palm. ¡°I finally got you!¡± The formerly vibrant jungle landscape of the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods had been transformed into what could only be described as a desolate wasteland, a testament to the power of Ace¡¯s last strike. Still, the only thing Ace cared about was the Life of Pearl in his hands. He didn¡¯t even seem to care about the fact that he had just made a significant breakthrough with his comprehension of the fused mysteries of Explosions and the Essence of Fire, leaping all the way up to 80% in one go. Looking up at Ace standing in the skies above the now devastated terrain, laughing to himself like an excited child on Christmas day, both Amira and Leona smiled happily. They, more than anyone, understood how much this meant to Ace, and they were beyond happy that he had finally achieved one of his many dreams. So happy, in fact, that they didn¡¯t even bother to chase after the fleeing saint-level plant-type lifeforms, instead choosing to fly over to Ace¡¯s side. ¡°Look at you giggling to yourself like an excited child,¡± Amira chided with a gentle smile on her face. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would¡¯ve thought you broke through to become a deity.¡± ¡°Deity?¡± Ace scoffed as he looked up from the pearl for the first time since getting his hands on it. ¡°This is ten¡­ no 100 times better than me simply breaking through to the deity realm.¡± Ace¡¯s words would¡¯ve sounded ridiculous to most; after all, the idea of becoming a deity was the dream of just about every person on the continent, be it man, woman, child or even beast. As long as one could cultivate, who didn¡¯t want to become a deity? Still, Amira merely nodded. She understood that whilst becoming a deity was a dream for most, for Ace, herself and just about everyone in the Pavilion, it was more like a matter of time. ¡°I¡¯m sure Uncle Aiden will be delighted!¡± Amira replied, a teasing glint flashing across her eyes as she continued. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be even happier to learn about how happy his dear disciple was when he found it.¡± Hearing that caused Ace¡¯s brows to twitch as his excited grin all but disappeared. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about; you must be mistaken.¡± Ace cleared his throat as he swiftly suppressed his excitement. ¡°I¡¯m just excited that I no longer have to bother with doing that lazy old farts dirty work.¡± Ace¡¯s swift change in mood caused both Amira and Leona to chuckle, but neither said anything to continue teasing him. In fact, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance even if they had wanted to. Before either realised what had happened, Ace had already stored the Pearl of Life away in his storage device as an all too familiar grin appeared on his face. Amira and Leona only had time to see Ace¡¯s grin for a second before an explosion took place beneath his feet and his body disappeared, leaving nothing but a vanishing afterimage. Still, that grin was one they would be able to recognise anywhere. Whilst Ace¡¯s former grin was one of excitement for being able to do something to help a loved one, the one that took its place was one Ace only showed when he was about to take part in a battle that truly excited him. And as if to confirm their suspicions, Ace¡¯s excited shouts echoed through the now devastated wasteland. ¡°LINLEY¡­¡± Ace bellowed excitedly as his body tore through the air at a speed that most non-deities would struggle to follow. Not wanting to be outdone by his rival, Linley excitedly shouted back as though he was competing to see whose voice was louder. ¡°ACE! HAHA, I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO SHOW YOUR UGLY FACE!¡± Both Olivier and Yunaia stared at the back of Linley¡¯s azure scaled back in shock. After their encounter with Felicia, Linley spent the next month by Olivier¡¯s side, unwilling to leave him until he recovered from his soul mutation, and Yunaia decided to stay with him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. When she asked to learn about concepts and the method of using them, Linley apologised but decisively refused. Although he was deeply grateful for her saving their lives, he explained it wasn¡¯t his secret to share, but if she still wanted to learn, her best bet was finding Ace as he was the disciple of Aiden Rohault ¨C the man who created this newly formed path. Although disappointed, Yunaia respected his decision. Still, she was unwilling to give up and decided to stay with Linley until they ran into Ace, understanding that with the relationship between Linley and Ace, it would be best if the young Dragonblood Warrior could put in a good word. Linley told her he would do what he could, but he couldn¡¯t promise her anything. After that night, it was a month before Olivier finally woke up from his comatosed state, with his soul successfully mutating. The power he had at his disposal at that point shocked him to no end. Just before he lost consciousness, he genuinely believed that he was dead, but not only did he survive, he somehow managed to turn a disaster into a fortune. Although his comprehension of the laws of light and darkness hadn¡¯t progressed, the fusion of the two elements had allowed his might to multiply ten times over. Not only that, but the power of his soul had skyrocketed. It had to be remembered that although a genius, Olivier¡¯s focus had always been on the path of a warrior; as such, although his soul was more powerful than other warriors of his level, it was slightly lacking when compared to even the weaker early saint level mages, but now, his soul had improved by so much that it was no weaker than a prime saint level mage like Desri. Overall, despite only being a mid-stage saint-level warrior, Olivier¡¯s power now put him firmly on the level of prime saints, a fact that greatly excited him! Though he was excited by his current level of power, he didn¡¯t allow it to go to his head and cloud his better judgment, especially after hearing about Felicia¡¯s current power. Yunaia explained to Olivier that Felicia had begun fusing two mysteries, which meant that she would experience no more bottlenecks until she reached the peak of the Demi-God level and that, within a few years, she would almost definitely reach the Demi-God level. It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand what Yunaia was saying. Both she and Olivier had already provoked her by choosing to stand on Linley¡¯s side. If he now were to venture off on his own, should he run into her, she would undoubtedly choose to vent her frustration out on him. All five of them ¨C whether it was Linley, Yunaia, Olivier, and even Bebe and Oscar ¨C had potential that completely dwarfed hers, but as it stood, if any of them were to face her on their own, they¡¯d be courting death. Yunaia and Oscar would be alright for now as together they were still capable of suppressing her, but the moment she broke through and became a Demi-God, the roles would be instantly reversed. As a result, the five of them decided to form a group. An extremely powerful group at that! Over the last six months, their group of five had swept through the fifth floor of the with unstoppable momentum, and as top-level geniuses, their growth had been anything but slow ¨C each making breakthroughs of their own on a near-weekly basis. The only reason they had chosen not to head up to the sixth floor was because they wanted to spend as much time unearthing their potential as they could before heading up to the next floors, where the competition was undoubtedly going to prove a lot more brutal. When they saw the terrifyingly powerful explosion created by Ace¡¯s ultimate technique, they decided to go and take a look. Still, the reason behind Yunaia and Olivier¡¯s shock was because, over the last six months, they had all gotten to know each other fairly well, but not once had they seen this side of Linley. Ordinarily, Linley was the picture of composure and tranquillity. He wasn¡¯t stoic or cold, but other than when talking to Bebe, it was rare to even see him smile. But as soon as he laid eyes on Ace, not only did his usually steady and tranquil aura become impassioned, but he even roared with laughter, a feat that neither of his new travelling companions had seen from him in the past. ¡°This is just the nature of their relationship,¡± Bebe explained from atop Olivier¡¯s head as he calmly watched Linley and Ace clash. ¡°As his one true rival, that bastard Ace is probably the only one capable of invoking that kind of a reaction in my boss!¡± Olivier¡¯s eyes flickered, but ultimately he said nothing. As someone who had already lost to Ace, he acknowledged that Ace¡¯s talent was simply out of this world, and after spending these last few months by Linley¡¯s side, he had to admit that Linley¡¯s talent wasn¡¯t much worse. Both he and Yunaia were top-level geniuses, but in terms of the progression of comprehension, Linley was the one who by far improved the fastest. Add that to his freakishly pure Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, and it was easy to understand why Ace and Linley were often mentioned in the same breath. Still, after the mutation of his soul, he didn¡¯t think he was any worse than the two of them. Yunaia¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t too dissimilar from Olivier¡¯s. She grew up having no rivals from those of her generation, and before she came, she thought it would be the same here in the Yulan Continent. But after seeing the strength shown by Ace, Linley and the other mortals who entered the ruins with her, she understood that she had underestimated them. Still, as both a soul-mutate and a genius of the Qingya family, she refused to believe that she would lose to any of them. But like Olivier, she had been shocked by Linley¡¯s bloodline and rate of improvement. So one can imagine her shock when she heard Linley acknowledge that in terms of talent, Ace was number one in their generation. Previously, she had been sceptical, but seeing Ace in action now, any doubts she may have once held had been all but doused. Book 7: Chapter 26 – Gebados Planar Prison Ever since she first saw the effects of utilising Concepts, Yunaia had been thoroughly impressed. A feeling that only deepened the more she watched Linley use it in battle these last six months. But watching Linley and Ace clash, she felt as though she had been mesmerised. Compared to when she would watch Linley use the [Rippling Tide Stance] against the creatures here on the fifth floor, when using it against Ace¡¯s [Blazing Glaive Art], it was tens, if not hundreds of times more impressive. The contrasting styles of Ace''s wild and explosive [Blazing Glaive Art] pitted against Linley''s soft, graceful, and elegant [Rippling Tide Stance] from his [Serenity Sword Art] was magical. Despite each of their attacks having enough power and ferocity to send the average peak saint to their deaths, both young men smiled happily as they continued to exchange blow after blow, and to those who watched, it appeared as if they were dancing a captivating but deadly dance. Each move, while deadly and powerful, had a rhythm and grace to it that was truly enthralling. Ace''s glaive swept through the air, leaving trails of fiery explosions in its wake. Linley moved with fluidity, his twin swords flowing like water as he parried Ace''s strikes. The power of fire and water clashed in a mesmerising display of weapon mastery. Still, despite their apparent glee from battling a worthy opponent, neither of the young men were willing to lose to the other. Ace''s eyes blazed with fiery determination as he brought his glaive down in a sweeping arc, creating a blazing crescent of destruction. Linley, with a calm and focused expression, countered with a precise series of slashes, his twin swords rippling with power. Their weapons clashed, creating shockwaves that shook the already decimated jungle to its core, and yet, the two rivals seemed to be enjoying themselves to no end, their exhilaration palpable, and even their blood seemed to thrum with excitement. The dance of fire and water continued, each strike and parry a testament to their exceptional skills, but even more impressive was that, as the battle raged on, their techniques evolved, and their movements became even more fluid and synchronised. ¡°They¡¯re actually improving,¡± Yunaia uttered with a hint of disbelief, unwilling to so much as blink for fear that she would miss even a single second of this captivating battle. ¡°What did you expect from my boss?¡± Bebe said proudly as he stood on his rear legs atop Olivier¡¯s head with his chest puffed out. Olivier didn¡¯t respond, but the slight trembling of his balled fist and the unyielding light flashing in his eyes spoke a thousand words! The battle between Ace and Linley was a sight to behold, a harmonious clash of elements and fighting styles that left onlookers in awe. They pushed each other to their limits, and the jungle around them bore witness to their extraordinary display of power and grace. Neither of them were willing to use any actual techniques, instead wanting to use their weapons-manship to suppress the other. In terms of skill, Linley was clearly the inferior of the two. There were two reasons he was able to fight Ace to a standstill for so long. Firstly, whilst Ace was a warrior at the early stages of the seventh rank, Linley had broken through to the early stages of the ninth rank. But most importantly, Ace was still fatigued from his previous battle with Lachapelle ¨C the prime saint-level plant-type lifeform. Still, Ace¡¯s glaivesmanship was at least two levels above Linley¡¯s swordsmanship. As the battle raged on, it became easier and easier for the young Glaivesman to suppress his opponent. ¡°Arghhh, Dammit!¡± Linley growled unwillingly as he leapt out of the pit he created after being sent flying by Ace¡¯s last attack. ¡°That [Observation Haki] of yours is so annoying!¡± As rivals and even good friends, Linley understood almost everything about the abilities of Ace¡¯s bloodline. As such, he was well aware of Ace¡¯s cheat-like ability to peer a few seconds into the future. Between that and Ace¡¯s superior weapon handling, it was easy to understand how Ace was able to gain the upper hand in their battle.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Still, although impressive, Ace was finding that particular ability less and less useful. Apparently, the stronger the opponent, the more of a toll it took on his spiritual essence to use it. As such, he could only afford to use it sparingly when fighting against saints, but against mortals, there was simply no need to use it at all. Still, when used at the right time, it was particularly useful, as one could see from his clash with Linley. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk!¡± Ace scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re only a warrior at the ninth rank, but after transforming, you jump all the way to the peak of the saint realm!¡± Ace¡¯s reply left Linley temporarily speechless as he knew Ace wasn¡¯t wrong. It had to be remembered that although the saint realm was split into three sub-realms, the difference in power between each sub-realm was like a giant gulf. The average mid-saint could easily suppress ten early saints, and the difference between the middle and peak stages of the saint realm was easily double that. So, for Linley to be able to jump all the way to the peak stage of the saint realm as an early ninth-rank warrior¡­ it truly was a heaven-defying ability! ¡°Alright, alright, we get it; you¡¯re both freaks!¡± Amira rolled her enchanting golden eyes as she strolled towards them alongside Leona. ¡°Show-offs!¡± ¡°Mira, Leona,¡± Linley greeted warmly. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you both again.¡± Although the person he was closest to from the Pavilion was Ace, after fighting together against the coalition of the four major forces and then training together in the secret pocket dimension, Linley had grown close to all of Ace¡¯s friends and family. ¡°Mmh, you look well,¡± Mira replied before looking curiously at the group approaching. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to introduce us to your new friends?¡± ¡°Ah, right, I almost forgot,¡± Linley said suddenly. ¡°Olivier needs no introductions,¡± Linley voiced, remembering that Olivier and Ace had already clashed once several years ago. ¡°But this is Yunaia Qingya and her familiar Oscar.¡± They had already learnt from her brief introduction prior to entering the Necropolis that Yunaia¡¯s surname was Qingya and that, like Amira¡¯s master, Arianna, she was also a genuine descendant of the Qingya family. Unfortunately, at the time, they didn¡¯t have the opportunity to ask and give voice to the questions they had. But now¡­ ¡°Are you really a descendant of the Qingya family?¡± Ace asked curiously. ¡°Beirut said that most of the Qingya clan relocated to the Divine Wind Plane a long time ago. Is that where you came from?¡± ¡°No,¡± Yunaia shook her head slowly. ¡°My grandmother wasn¡¯t one of those who chose to relocate back then.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t?¡± Ace asked bluntly. ¡°Then where have you guys been all this time?¡± ¡°Ace! Must you be so direct?¡± Amira sighed helplessly as she flashed an apologetic smile towards Yunaia. ¡°Sorry about him; we¡¯re just curious as my master is also a descendant of the Qingya clan, but till now, she thought she was the last remaining descendant.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand,¡± Yunaia smiled softly. ¡°As for where we¡¯ve been all this time¡­ It¡¯s a long story, but due to certain events a few thousand years ago, my grandmother ended up being banished to the Gebados Planar Prison.¡± ¡°Gebados Prison?¡± Ace asked, with clear confusion on his face. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Though Ace was no longer the ignorant reincarnate he once was, there was still a lot about this universe he didn¡¯t know. But the same couldn¡¯t be said about Amira. With her ¡°mother¡±, Sharanthia, being an expert who descended from one of the Divine Realms, she had access to far more information than even her master, an expert who stands near the very peak of their common plane. ¡°The Gebados Planar Prison is a plane which exists alongside our Yulan Plane,¡± Amira explained slowly after getting over her surprise. ¡°According to my family¡¯s records, within the seemingly boundless universe, there are millions, if not billions, of material planes like ours, and every single one of those planes has an interconnected Planar Prison. The material planes and their respective planar prisons combine to effectively form two sides of a whole.¡± ¡°You keep calling it a prison, but is it really a whole plane of existence that¡¯s used as a prison?¡± Ace asked. ¡°It really is,¡± Yunaia sighed. ¡°As the Yin to the Yulan Plane¡¯s Yang, the Gebados Plane is just as big as its counterpart but hundreds, if not thousands of times more brutal! In the Gebados Plane, peak saints are at the bottom of the pecking order. This is because the Gebados Plane has no natural elemental essence at all. Any elemental energy that is used up can¡¯t be replenished through natural means. As such, there are only three ways of recovering one¡¯s elemental essence. The first is for someone to channel their own energy into your body for you to refine, but because of how brutal the Prison Plane is, it¡¯s virtually impossible for someone to be willing to do that for you. Luckily, I¡¯m still only a mortal, and my grandmother is a powerful deity. Because of the difference in power between us, she can help me refill my energy levels almost at will. The following method available is with the use of certain treasures, but as you can probably imagine, such treasures don¡¯t simply grow on trees, meaning that those who find such treasures aren¡¯t likely to use them unless it¡¯s a last resort. The final and most common method is for one to kill deity-level experts. When one breaks through to become a deity, they will form a Divine Spark. Unlike for us mortals and even saints whose dantians aren¡¯t corporeal, the Divine Spark of a Deity is very much tangible and as a result, it is possible to absorb the energy in a Divine Spark to refill your own. Still, because of how powerful deities are, only those truly powerful Full Gods and High-Gods are capable of such a feat.¡± Book 7: Chapter 27 – Limits Even as Yunaia finished her shocking explanation, the expressions of Olivier and Linley remained unperturbed. Clearly, both young men had heard Yunaia¡¯s story in the past. But the same couldn¡¯t be said about Ace, Amira, and even Leona. A place like the Gebados Prison where experts couldn¡¯t recover their energy freely¡­ You didn¡¯t have to be a genius to understand the implications of such a thing. In this universe, one¡¯s energy was tantamount to one¡¯s livelihood. Although you wouldn¡¯t die if you were drained of all your elemental energy if you were suddenly deprived of your energy and then faced with an enemy expert¡­ In such a scenario, there would only be one outcome! It was no wonder why Prime Saints were placed at the bottom of the pecking order. In fact, forget saints; Ace guessed that even Demi-Gods could only hide and cower away for fear of being targeted by more powerful deities. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you know about deities, but for most, even when you break through to the deity realm, your body doesn¡¯t strengthen much, if at all. Well, not unless you¡¯re a Divine Beast,¡± Yunaia said, glancing enviously at the three Apex Divine Beasts present and even Linley. ¡°For the rest of us, the only difference between Demi-Gods, Full Gods, and High Gods is their varying levels of comprehension and the purity of their Divine Essence. Still, because one can only express their comprehension of their respective Laws or Edicts with the use of Divine Essence, regardless of if you¡¯re a Demi-God, Full God, or even a High-God at the commander level, once one runs out of Divine Essence, you¡¯re no stronger than any other peak saint-level expert without energy. At that point, even a saint-level expert who just broke through would be capable of defeating you ¨C provided their energy levels were full.¡± As she spoke to there, Yunaia¡¯s eyes were filled with hope and ambition as she stared at Ace, forcibly suppressing her rising excitement and anticipation. ¡°But that wouldn¡¯t be the case if one was capable of utilising the power of concepts! When using the power of concepts, instead of relying on elemental energy, you rely solely on muscular endurance and the body¡¯s stamina. Something which is virtually limitless as a saint-level warrior.¡± As she said that, she took a not-so-subtle but still very telling glance at Linley. ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot,¡± Linley said suddenly. ¡°Yunaia here was hoping to learn the secrets of wielding concepts. As was Olivier. But as it¡¯s not my secret to share, I told them that I could only ask you on their behalf.¡± As Linley¡¯s voice waned, both Olivier and Yunaia were staring at Ace with an almost pleading expression and a hint of anticipation. Especially for Yunaia. Before entering, back when Lord Beirut first approached her and her grandmother about entering the Necropolis of the Gods, he had mentioned that if she entered and played her cards right, there was a chance that she could find a way to change their destiny. At the time, though he hadn¡¯t said it in so many words, both Yunaia and her grandmother believed that he was referring to a way to escape the Gebados Prison Realm. But now she believed that he may well have been talking about the use of concepts. Though ultimately, she would prefer to find a way to lead her grandmother out of the prison world that had held them captive for too long, if she were able to learn the method of using concepts and teach it to her grandmother, even if they were forced to stay in the Gebados Plane, they would at least be able to have an upper hand in that hell hole. Still, it all depended on the youth in front of them. Ace¡¯s expression remained unreadable as he stared at the group before him. It wasn¡¯t that he was trying to add pressure to the two hopefuls. Truth be told, he was still processing all the information he had just been delivered.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. First, that there was a prison world attached to their plane, and then the levels of brutality inside. It was beyond shocking, even for him, a reincarnate who had lived through the brutal pirate era. Still, he could understand Yunaia¡¯s desire to learn the method of using Concepts. It would undoubtedly be a game-changer! ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Ace shrugged casually. ¡°You can teach them if you want.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Linley asked hesitantly. ¡°Hmm?¡± Ace raised an eyebrow as he stared at this long-haired rival of his. ¡°What else would there be? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re so incompetent as an instructor that you need me to teach them for you?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Linley snorted. ¡°I just meant, are you sure your master will be okay with his methods being spread without his permission.¡± ¡°That old man doesn¡¯t care who learns it,¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°As far as he¡¯s concerned, the more people who learn it, the better. He believes that only when it becomes a mainstream method of cultivation will all its secrets be unearthed. If not for Arianna forcing him to keep it secret until our feud with the New Yulan Empire has been resolved, then he probably would¡¯ve publicised it long ago. As for Olivier and Yunaia. Well, I trust that neither of them would spread it to our enemies.¡± As he said that, Ace¡¯s eyes fell on the two young adults standing alongside Linley. Though he wasn¡¯t actively doing anything to exert pressure on either of them, both suddenly felt their hairs stand on edge, as though Ace wouldn¡¯t hesitate to attack with intent to kill should they give the wrong answer. The fact that Ace was able to put so much pressure on them was odd, especially as both of them were fearsome Soul-Mutates capable of challenging and defeating even Prime Saints. Still, they understood the opportunity that had been presented to them, and neither were willing to say or do anything that could jeopardise their chances. ¡°You have my word!¡± Both Olivier and Yunaia said with hurried sincerity, as though they were scared Ace would change his mind. ¡°Good! Then I have no problems with it,¡± Ace nodded. ¡°Thank you!¡± Yunaia suddenly interjected, stepping forward to take a solemn bow. ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± ¡°No need for all that,¡± Ace sighed, waving his hands dismissively. ¡°With you being a true Qingya descendant, I very much doubt either Arianna or the old man would have a problem with it. In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯d probably give me an earful if I said no.¡± ¡°What do you guys intend on doing next anyway?¡± Amira asked, changing the subject. ¡°You gonna stay here on the fifth floor or head up to the next floor?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll probably spend a while longer on the fifth floor,¡± Linley sighed. ¡°With Felicia having probably headed up to the higher floors, it¡¯d be suicide to head up as we are now.¡± ¡°Felicia? As in the High-Priests second disciple?¡± Ace asked curiously. ¡°Why would running into her be suicidal?¡± The last time Ace saw her, she was still just a powerful peak saint. As far as Ace was concerned, at best, she would¡¯ve broken through to the level of a Prime Saint, which was why Linley¡¯s next words came as such a surprise. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her in six months, but last time I saw her, she had already begun fusing the profound mysteries of the Essence of Light and Purity of Light.¡± Though he didn¡¯t say anything else, both Amira and Ace were knowledgeable enough to understand what Linley was implying. In terms of talent, there wasn¡¯t a person present from both Ace and Linley¡¯s groups that wasn¡¯t far superior to her in terms of talent, but as a peak saint who had begun fusing at least two mysteries, her breaking through to become a Demi-God was a guarantee. And in the Necropolis of the Gods, where the elemental essence was so dense and pure in comparison to the Yulan Plane, her rate of growth would be like a rocket. Though it had only been six months, there was no telling how much she had improved. Chances of her having become a Demi-God were slim at best. Still, she had likely reached a level none of them were capable of facing ¨C at least not on their own. ¡°Interesting,¡± Ace smiled, a hint of excitement flashing across his dark iris¡¯. ¡°She¡¯ll serve as a fine warm-up before the main event.¡± He may not have said it in so many words, but there wasn¡¯t a soul present who didn¡¯t know he was referring to O¡¯Brien. Still, no one thought he was being too arrogant. His rate of improvement was simply miraculous! ¡°What about you guys?¡± Bebe asked, hopping back to his usual spot on Linley¡¯s shoulder from the top of Olivier¡¯s head. ¡°Where do you intend on going next.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll probably try and look for Kong and the others next,¡± Mira said. Although she was confident in their strength, she¡¯d be lying if she said she wasn¡¯t worried about the results of them running into Felicia. Still, finding them in here was easier said than done, especially with their spiritual essence so heavily restricted. ¡°But before that, I think it¡¯s about time I raise my cultivation level,¡± Ace voiced, causing Amira and Leona to turn back to him in surprise. ¡°I thought you wanted to wait until you had reached the limit for comprehension at your current level,¡± Amira asked back. ¡°Don¡¯t let the news of Felicia¡¯s strength get in the way of your future.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not,¡± Ace shook his head with a smile. ¡°After that battle with Lachapelle, I can sense that I¡¯ve finally reached the limits of comprehension for the seventh rank.¡± Book 7: Chapter 28 – Breakthrough! After their conversation ended, both Ace and Linley¡¯s group decided to remain together for the time being. During that time, Linley, with Amira¡¯s help, began to teach Yunaia and Olivier the method of utilising ¡°Concepts¡±. A feat that took no longer than an hour or so to explain but several days before either was able to truly get started. Thankfully, both Yunaia and Olivier had met the entry requirements. Not only were both their souls easily strong enough, but they both also had weapons of incredible quality that matched their respective paths. That was especially true for Olivier. Despite his soul still remaining in the saint realms and his weapon being a Divine Artifact at the Demi-God level, it appears that after his successful soul mutation, for whatever reason, his longsword ¨C the Luminous Shadow Blade ¨C seemed to have completely accepted him as his new master. Unfortunately, as magical beasts, the path of concepts wasn¡¯t suitable for Oscar and Bebe ¨C at least not until they broke through to become deities and became able to transform into human form. As a result, the three beasts would often spend their time battling against each other. And as Apex-level Divine Beasts, they each had their pride, making them unwilling to lose to the others. Still, eventually, a winner was born to rise, and surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t Oscar, whose realm was the highest and closing in on the middle stages of the saint realm, but Leona. Although all three of the Divine Beasts were at the early stages of the saint realm, Leona¡¯s comprehension was miles ahead of the other two. It was to the point where, as soon as she genuinely began using her insights into the laws of fire, she became virtually unstoppable. It was only when Bebe and Oscar worked together that they were reluctantly able to suppress the fearsome Lioness. Until that point, both Bebe and Oscar were happy with their progress and prowess. Although they knew there were many stronger than them, they both felt it was only because they were yet to finish maturing and become a deity. It was common knowledge that although Divine Beasts held an advantage over their human counterparts with their heaven-defying physical abilities, it was only when they broke through to become deities, awakening their Divine Abilities, that their innate superiority would truly blossom. That was true for all Divine Beasts, but especially so for Apex-level Divine Beasts like the three of them. It was because of this that Bebe and Oscar were okay with their current rates of progress, but after seeing Leona¡¯s otherworldly battle prowess, something clicked inside of both of them. From that day, Bebe and Oscar spent all of their free time in meditation, pondering over the laws of their respective elements. A feat that brought a smile to both Linley and Yunaia. As for Leona, she spent her free time wandering around the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, hunting the various saint-level creatures, refining her battle style, and cultivating to raise her realm. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to further her comprehension, but for reasons that escaped her, she couldn¡¯t! She had no idea why, and she¡¯d be lying if she said it didn¡¯t profoundly frustrate her, but she was unwilling to sit back and do nothing. All she could do now was slowly raise her realm and hope that everything would be okay after she broke through to become a Demi-God. As for Ace, whilst everyone else was busy focusing on their training, so too was he. During their time on the second and fifth floors of the ruins, Ace and his group had picked up a number of top-quality treasures that would speed up the cultivation of mortal-level creatures, both beast and human alike.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It was thanks to them that Amira and Leona had been able to raise their realm so quickly previously, but after Amira broke through to the eighth rank and finally had the ability to protect herself in front of peak saints, she was no longer in a hurry to raise her realm, instead focusing on her comprehension. Although she wasn¡¯t like Ace, wanting to raise her comprehension to the limits of the eighth rank before breaking through to the ninth, she still wanted to bring her primary focus back to her comprehension whilst cultivating the old-fashioned way to increase her realm slowly over time. As for Leona, after breaking through to the saint realm, those resources they found were barely able to scratch the surface for her anymore. The difference in energy levels between saints and mortals was like the difference between night and day. As such, instead of wasting them, she decided to leave them to Ace and Amira. Even if there were too many for them to finish alone, they could bring it back to their respective forces or even the Pavilion. There were still a number of mortals around them that could use it. With so many top-quality resources at his disposal, Ace¡¯s cultivation as both a mage and a warrior rose like a rocket. Going from the early stages of the seventh rank to the middle stages in a day before spending a little over 48 hours before breaking through to the latter stages of the seventh rank. By the end of the week, he had smoothly entered the peak of the seventh rank, only one step away from entering the eighth rank. The best part about it was that he didn¡¯t have to worry about his cultivation speed affecting his foundation. With the amount of time he spent at each level, his foundation couldn¡¯t have been any firmer, even if he wanted it to be. Unfortunately, it seemed that these resources wouldn¡¯t be enough to help him bridge that final gap and allow him to enter the eighth rank ¨C at least not as a warrior, anyway. It had to be remembered that, aside from the descendants of the four supreme warriors and a select few born with special physiques, no other humans were able to cultivate past the peak of the sixth realm without first cultivating their battle qi. This was even true for Ace and Amira, whose bloodlines were not one bit inferior to Linley¡¯s. Still, it was only a problem that affected those who didn¡¯t belong to the Yin-Yang Pavilion. Upon reaching the pinnacle of the seventh rank as both a mage and a warrior, an excited grin took shape on Ace¡¯s handsome face as he skillfully used [Impose] to absorb the elemental essence in the world around him to break the shackles that kept him from entering the eighth rank. He only used [Imposing Devourment] for a minute or so, but when he stopped using his master¡¯s incredible technique, a satisfied smile suffused Ace¡¯s lips as he felt the changes to his body. Aiden had previously explained that when breaking through to the seventh rank with the use of [Imposing Devourment], one¡¯s body would see a much larger than normal improvement, making their body equal to a magical beast of the same rank, and after reaching the eighth rank, the innate potential of the body would once again increase making it no weaker than some of the more powerful magical beasts of the same rank. As it stood, although inferior to Divine Beasts and those Mystic Beasts who would become saints as soon as they reached adulthood, the power of Ace¡¯s natural body could be considered top tier amongst ordinairy magical beasts. Still, what Ace was mostly focused on was the changes caused by his bloodline. Similar to when he broke through to the seventh rank, his [Haki] had seen an incredible level of improvement. As it stood, when he used his [Armament Haki] in its entirety, his warrior cultivation would jump straight to the ninth rank. But what delighted him, even more, was that the power of his soul went from that of a prime saint-level mage to what he could only describe as a ? step deity. His soul had finally reached the same level as Aiden¡¯s back when they first met, meaning, if it were to improve any more whatsoever, it would break through to the deity level. The difference in spiritual essence between deities and those below the deity realm was too vast. It was at this level that one¡¯s soul transformed into a spiritual sea, allowing those all-powerful deities to utilise their Godrealms. Because of that, Ace knew that the chances of his soul transforming into a spiritual sea upon breaking through to the ninth rank should be virtually impossible. It was more likely that Ace¡¯s already freakish soul would break the norms and continue to grow in size rather than truly transform, but he could sense the limitations imposed by the heavens themselves preventing such a thing from happening. But more than that, he could sense his spiritual body and its unwillingness to be restricted by heaven¡­ He wasn¡¯t 100% sure, but something told him that he would be pleasantly surprised by his breakthrough to the ninth rank. Book 7: Chapter 29 – Killian Makes His Move Whilst Ace was reeling over his most recent breakthrough, in the outside world, just outside the front gates of the Necropolis of the Gods, a truly mesmerising battle was taking place. Well, the word battle is probably a little too much¡­ Aiden Rohault, the founder and creator of the path of ¡°Concepts¡±, was facing off against the true overlord of the Yulan Plane ¨C the original God Eater Rat, Lord Beirut. In a battle between these two, everyone alive would expect Beirut to be the one dominating in what should be a completely one-sided battering, but the truth was anything but¡­ Aiden moved with an otherworldly grace, his glaive an extension of his very being. It was as if the wind itself danced with him, amplifying the speed and power of his strikes. Each was a perfect and mesmerising blend of sharpness and fluidity, each strike carrying the weight of a tempest. His glaive moved with a natural ease as if it were an extension of the wind''s own breath. The clash of Aiden''s skill and Beirut created a spectacle that echoed through the Forest of Darkness. Aiden pressed forward with relentless precision, his glaive cutting through the air with a deadly elegance. Beirut, a supremely powerful deity, found himself unable to respond, forced to be what can only be described as a punching bag for this heaven-gifted emissary of his. Ace¡¯s improvement since entering the Necropolis could only be described as blazing. In fact, even that wouldn¡¯t do Ace¡¯s rate of improvement justice. Still, despite honing his [Blazing Glaive Art] to an incredibly high level, when compared to his master¡¯s, it couldn¡¯t even be mentioned in the same breath. The manner in which Aiden¡¯s glaive moved through the air¡­ it was like there was a silent form of communication taking place between Aiden and the wind itself, in a language that only he could understand. Unfortunately, despite the incredible power behind each swing, Beirut''s defences held strong. Aiden''s peerless strikes, capable of slaying even Demi-Gods, met what may as well have been an impenetrable barrier, unable to leave so much as a mark on the formidable defences that was Beirut¡¯s skin. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough of that,¡± Beirut sighed helplessly as he casually waved his hands, creating a seemingly gentle gust of wind that somehow sent Aiden flying back. ¡°You really are something else. After over two years, my progress in the utilisation of ¡°Concepts¡± should be considered fast, but somehow, the gap between us only seems to be widening. After first gaining a basic understanding of the ¡°Concepts of Darkness¡± and suppressing my realm to the Demi-God realm to spar with you, even though you were definitely the superior of the two of us, I could at least respond to your attacks, but now¡­¡± Aiden casually dusted himself as he let go of his glaive, allowing it to float to his rear before responding. ¡°That may be so, but what does skill matter if I¡¯m unable to even cut off a single strand of hair on your head.¡± ¡°Even if I were to stand still for a day and let them attack me freely, not even a seven-star fiend would be able to harm me, and yet you, a mere mortal, are actually disappointed that you weren¡¯t able to pierce my defences? You really are something else,¡± Beirut sighed exasperatedly before looking back at his emissary curiously. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how you¡¯re able to progress so quickly¡­ Even if you are a genius seen only once in an era, even if you were the one who created this path, there should still be limitations to your rate of improvement, but no matter how I look at it, you seem to have no limitations.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand it much myself, and I can¡¯t really put it into words,¡± Aiden replied casually. ¡°But ever since you first gave me that wind-based Sovereign¡¯s Might¡­ It¡¯s like I can hear the wind communicating with me. It¡¯s like the wind itself is whispering its secrets directly into my soul.¡± Aiden¡¯s expression was absentminded as he tried to explain what he was experiencing. As a result, he didn¡¯t see the look of disbelief on Beirut¡¯s face, which quickly turned into a frown. ¡°I just checked,¡± Beirut voiced. ¡°And your dantian is still crippled, meaning you still don¡¯t have an affinity to any of the Laws or Edicts. As such, what you¡¯re explaining, it should be impossible.¡± ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t understand it either,¡± Aiden shrugged. ¡°All I can say is that the more we fight, the faster I improve.¡± As he said that, an excited and faintly battle-hungry glint flashed across Aiden¡¯s face, causing Beirut to shake his head helplessly.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve embarrassed me enough in front of our newly arrived guests?¡± Beirut sighed as he motioned up to the group of youngsters who stood in the skies looking down in disbelief at what they were witnessing. A sigh escaped Aiden¡¯s eyes as he once again let go of his Glaive, allowing it to float to his rear, understanding that they wouldn¡¯t be able to continue their training anymore ¨C at least not that day. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t sense the arrival of the audience. With his soul matching that of a Demi-God, there were very few people on their continent who could approach him without him realising. No, the truth was he was just more interested in his training. He wasn¡¯t too dissimilar to Ace in that sense ¨C he was also addicted to the feeling of getting stronger, but where every step forward in the past was incredibly difficult, that side of him rarely came out, but now, with him able to feel himself getting stronger by the day, he found it increasingly difficult to focus on anything but his training. Still, he knew that he had other tasks to handle aside from his training. ¡°Are you brats gonna stand there like that forever?¡± Aiden sighed, ignoring the shocked looks on the faces of the remaining Acolytes of the Yin-Yang Pavilion that hadn¡¯t already entered. That¡¯s right, the newcomers were Killian and the rest of Ace and Amira¡¯s classmates. Still, even with Aiden addressing them, they weren¡¯t able to get over the shock of what they had just witnessed. They all knew Aiden was powerful, but what they had just witnessed¡­ Aiden suppressing Lord Beirut to the point where the overlord of their whole plane was unable to fight back was beyond shocking. It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand that Beirut had suppressed his realm so that it would be an equal fight, but it had to be remembered that Beirut was a peerless expert whose power and ability were simply unfathomable to them. As far as they were concerned, even if Beirut was inferior to Aiden when it came to comprehension of Concepts, he should still be able to overwhelm their Grand Elder with far superior battle experience and intelligence. The first to get over his shock was Killian. In fact, other than a brief moment of surprise, he didn¡¯t feel much else. As far as he was concerned, Aiden being able to do something like that was to be expected. It was only a man like that who was qualified to be his ¡°big¡± brother¡¯s master. As such, hearing Aiden¡¯s words, using his incredible mastery over [Impose], he walked on the air as if it were solid ground, appearing around 10 meters before Aiden and Beirut with but a single step. ¡°Grand Elder, Lord Beirut,¡± Killian cupped his fists and greeted the two experts in a respectful yet un-servile manner. Killian¡¯s unhurried steps woke the others who followed behind him, greeting the two experts. ¡°Mmh, not bad,¡± Beirut nodded with an appreciative light in his eyes as he looked over the group of seven youngsters. ¡°Clearly, you haven¡¯t been sitting around wasting time since the Necropolis of the Gods opened.¡± Beirut remembered the first time he saw the seven juniors back on the day of Ace and Linley¡¯s showdown. Even back then, though each of them would be considered an elite genius seen only once every other generation, they still had this air of immaturity, but now¡­ ¡®I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how far each of them will be able to climb in the future,¡¯ Beirut thought to himself before turning back to Aiden. ¡°I¡¯ll leave their pre-entry selection to you.¡± With that, Beirut¡¯s body suddenly disappeared, his movements reaching a speed that not even Aiden was able to even begin to follow. Aiden, though, didn¡¯t seem phased in the slightest as he proceeded to address the young Acolytes before him. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to remind you but to be allowed entry as a mortal, you need to display the power of at least an early saint. But the fact that you¡¯re all here now after all this time¡­ I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re all ready and confident. As such, I won¡¯t waste any more time boring you all.¡± As he said to there, Aiden summoned the familiar humanoid Deathgod golem from his interspatial ring. "To put it simply, to enter, you merely have to knock down this puppet who has the power of a fairly weak early-stage saint," Aiden continued. ¡°Now, which one of you brats is coming first?¡± Aiden¡¯s eyes scanned the group, and as he did, like Beirut, his eyes glimmered with appreciation. There was no fear or hesitation on any of their faces. In fact, all he could see was anticipation and excitement. Still, before any of the others could raise their hands, Killian stepped forward. Seeing that, Aiden¡¯s eyes widened with a hint of surprise. Not because Killian was making his move before giving him the go-ahead, but because the movement technique he used to appear in front of the puppet in but a fraction of a second was simply exquisite! Like all the members of the Pavilion, Killian had mastered [Soru] years ago, but with Aiden¡¯s vision, he was able to see that, like his unruly disciple, Killian had taken it a step further, infusing his comprehension of the Laws of the Earth into it. The Profound Mystery Killian had first gained insight into was the Mystery of the Pulse of the World. The Pulse of the World was a mystery that had many different applications; it just depended on who you were and how you chose to use it. For Killian, it allowed him to merge the pulse of his heart and his very being with the Earth beneath his feet, allowing him to borrow its power, and by the looks of it, Killian had taken that application even further. Aiden sensed Killian¡¯s pulse merge with that of the vibrations of the tectonic plates near the centre of their planes; it was then that Killian did something that even Aiden could only describe as genius, fusing the explosive movement of [Soru] with the shifting of the tectonic plates near their plane¡¯s core, he was able to erupt with a straight line speed that even some peak saints would be proud of. Before the Deathgod Golem could react, Killian thrust his palm forward in the most casual of manners, slapping the puppet in the centre of its chest. Aiden watched with a pleasantly surprised smile as the oversized puppet was sent crashing back, breaking the sound barrier as it flew, crashing straight into the side of Beirut¡¯s metallic castle. ¡°Not bad, brat!¡± Book 7: Chapter 30 – Kannal’s Swordsmanship Since the Necropolis of the Gods first opened, the group of seven had spent almost all their time together training. As such, each of them was well aware of how powerful Killian had become in that time. Not only had he broken through to the mid-stages of the ninth rank as both a warrior and a mage without cultivating his battle-qi, his insights into the Profound Mystery of the Pulse of the World had also reached the level of a mid-staged saint. In fact, they were a hair¡¯s breadth away from that of a peak-stage saint. Still, sighs of amazement escaped each of their mouths as they looked at their fellow classmates¡¯ tyrannical back. With Ace and Amira no longer around, there was no longer anyone capable of overshadowing Killian. It wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t understand that, in their class, Killian¡¯s talent and ability were second only to Ace and Amira, but with those two freaks always around, it was hard to pay attention to anyone else, but now, without even realising, Killian had become the makeshift leader of the group. A fact that was glaringly obvious from the lights that appeared in the eyes of Joel and the others as they looked at Killian. The young, dark-skinned giant, though, wasn¡¯t paying attention to anyone else. His mind was focused on replaying his last attack over and over again, more specifically, his newly created movement technique ¨C [Earth Shift]! Although a truly impressive technique, Killian was far from happy with it. In his eyes, when using it against the average Early Stage Saint ¨C such as the Deathgod Golem ¨C it made him seem like a god among men; that was only because such experts were too slow to react. If he were to use it against a peak saint or even those mid-staged saints who specialised in speed, he would only be asking for trouble. That was because, whilst it made his straight-line speed touch upon the levels usually only attainable by peak saints if he was required to change direction, it was simply impossible. At present, the most he could do was calculate the distance he wanted to travel in advance and move there at top speed. He couldn¡¯t even stop early, not without causing the muscles in his legs to suffer from the backlash. This was a technique that was still very much in its embryonic stages and was unsuitable for use in a proper battle against someone capable of rivalling his current power. ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up so much,¡± Aiden voiced casually, having quickly seen through the youngster¡¯s concerns. ¡°It¡¯s an impressive technique, and the fact that you¡¯re able to understand its pitfalls in advance means you¡¯re on the right track. Just take it one step at a time.¡± Killian nodded slowly as he made his way back to the group, ignoring the slowly arising and undamaged puppet. ¡°Now, who¡¯s next?¡± Aiden smiled, interested in seeing how much the others had improved. Similar to Killian, Alissa didn¡¯t even wait for Aiden to signal for her to start. As soon as the golem had made it back into position, her lithe body vanished from position as if she was a spectre, instantly arriving at rear of the puppet, her twin daggers already in her dainty but callous filled hands, dancing through the air at incredible speeds. The corners of Aiden¡¯s lips arced up, forming an appreciative smile as he watched Alissa infuse her blades with the concept of the wind. Still, while both Aiden and Alissa both utilised the Concepts of the Wind, the only similarity between them was that both their attacks were unbelievably sharp, but whilst Aiden¡¯s glaivesmanship gave off a free-flowing and unfettered aura, Alissa¡¯s [Void Ripping Blade Art] seemed to focus on the silent aspect of the wind ¨C as one would expect from a talented young assassin.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Each strike was simple, fast, accurate, seemingly untraceable, and above all else, deadly ¨C or at least, they would have been had it been a living person instead of a Golem, with each of her strikes being aimed at vital points such as the eyes, the neck and the heart. Although it took a while to explain, it hadn¡¯t even been two seconds before the Deathgod Golem had found itself on its back under Alissa¡¯s assault. The enchantingly beautiful silver-haired assassin didn¡¯t even wait for Aiden to announce the results before her body flickered, appearing back by Killian¡¯s side, shamelessly sliding her palm into his with a gentle smile. ¡°Impressive,¡± Aiden smiled. Although the level of power Alissa just displayed had only reached that of a somewhat powerful early-stage saint, it had to be remembered that she was still only at the early stages of the ninth rank as a warrior, and more importantly, she was able to do that without using her bloodline transformation ¨C becoming a Tigerstriped Warrior ¨C an ability that would¡¯ve allowed her to directly breakthrough to the early stages of the saint rank. The next to go up was the young but ever-fearsome Kannal Meiron. He had only just turned 17; he was still a year from being considered an adult. Still, the look in his eyes showed not even a hint of immaturity. Instead, they gave off a gentle and light-hearted tranquillity, but Aiden could see a hidden edge that hadn¡¯t been there when he last saw him. Unlike Killian and Alissa, the 17-year-old swordsman with short brown hair stood calmly in the ominous Forest of Darkness, his fitted white robe billowing gently in the still air, patiently waiting for Aiden to announce the start of the battle before making his move. In fact, the young swordsman didn¡¯t make his move until the Golem was virtually on top of him; his aura remained steady and unfettered right up until the puppet entered striking range. Like a sheathed sword, Kannal seemed to only reveal his edge when he was ready for battle, his aura becoming peerlessly sharp as he drew his sword in a beautiful yet deadly arc. The air shifted around him as he infused the sword-draw with his profound insights into the Concept of Wind. The blade moved with an unhurried grace, appearing almost lazy, yet the speed at which it sliced through the air was astonishing. At the same time, he took a graceful step forward, and in that moment, his body vanished, seeming to seamlessly merge with the wind, rendering him invisible to the naked eye. With an unhurried grace, Kannal''s blade sliced through the air, and he reappeared behind the Deathgod Golem. And as he did, the Deathgod Golem ¨C an imposing figure in and of itself ¨C appeared frozen in time, almost as if the universe itself paused to marvel at the profundities of the young swordsman¡¯s strike. It was only after Kannal finished re-sheathing his sword that the suspended moment shattered, and the golem was sent flying through the air, crashing through a dozen trees before finally coming to a halt. The profoundness of the sword draw was evident as it left no room for the golem to react. It wasn''t a display of brute force or flashy techniques, but a simple, elegant stroke that embodied the essence of Kannal''s skill. ¡°Good strike!¡± Aiden said sincerely. Though he could appreciate the skill and power shown by Killian and Alissa, the level of skill displayed by Kannal had genuinely impressed him. As an expert superior to the young Kannal in every way, who also focused on the Concept of the wind, he was able to glean a lot more from his display than the others. As such, he could appreciate just how impressive that strike really was. Not only was he able to use the Law of the Wind¡¯s Profound Mystery of Wind Walking to improve the subtle mastery of his footwork, but his level of insight into the Concept of the wind had reached an incredible level. Even though it couldn¡¯t compare to his own, it was far beyond the level he expected to see from any of them ¨C at least at this moment in time. In terms of power, Killian was without question the strongest of the group. As for Kannal, he wasn¡¯t even in the top three, with both Alissa and Joel still stronger than him overall. Still, when it came to the utilisation of ¡°Concepts¡±, Kannal was definitely number one ¨C a fact that no one, not even Killian, would deny. ¡°Thank you,¡± Kannal said humbly. ¡°But my [Zephir¡¯s Sword Art] can¡¯t even be mentioned in the same breath as your glaive art.¡± Aiden merely smiled in response but didn¡¯t say anything further. Instead, he focused back on the remaining youngsters still to attempt the entry test. ¡°That¡¯s three out of three so far,¡± Aiden continued. ¡°Which of you four wants to go next?¡± Of those remaining, none showed so much as an ounce of hesitation as they prepared to step up, but one managed to beat the others to the punch. ¡°That¡¯ll be me,¡± Joel responded first as he stepped forward confidently. ¡°I¡¯ll go next!¡± Book 7: Chapter 31 – Stay Together Like the others, Joel had gotten past his previous heart demons. Still, as the eldest of their cohort, the fact that so many of his juniors had either surpassed him or were close to doing so wasn¡¯t something he was okay with. It didn¡¯t come from a place of jealousy but one of competitiveness. Ace¡¯s words after he awoke from his coma had woken something in him that he hadn¡¯t felt in a long time. He loved each member of his cohort, but he was determined not to be outdone by them. As he stepped forward, bolts of lightning began to flicker around his body and even in his eyes. At the same time, a faint sound of roaring could be heard originating from his body. ¡°[Thunder God¡¯s Divine Body]!¡± Joel announced slowly as he drew the sabre by his side. Seeing that, an amused light flashed across Aiden¡¯s eyes before he signalled for the round to begin. The Deathgod Golem didn¡¯t even have time to finish his first step before his new opponent was already on top of him. Although not to the same level as Kannal, Joel had also reached a level where he was capable of infusing his insights into the Concept of Lightning into his self-created Sabre Art ¨C [The Storm Wielding Sabre Art]! It was merely one strike, one single chop, but as Joel¡¯s Sabre fell, it was like it embodied the fury of heaven. For the fifth time that day, the Deathgod Golem was once again sent flying, crashing into the side of Beirut¡¯s metallic lifeform castle. Although it got up moments later without so much as a scratch on it, Joel had done enough for him to prove his strength. Despite only being at the middle of the ninth rank as a mage and warrior, the strength he just exhibited was equal to that of a fairly powerful mid-stage saint. As previously mentioned, his use of Concepts was inferior to that of Kannal, but in terms of insights into the profound mysteries, the only person who had surpassed him amongst their group was Killian. Even Aiden nodded imperceptibly to himself as he looked at the lightning flickering around the young man. With his vision, he was able to instantly discern that the mystery Joel had gained insight into was the Lightning¡¯s Profound Mystery of Lightning Body. Like Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of Fire-Body used by Ace, it allowed the user to transform their bodies into their elements. It was this that allowed Ace¡¯s body to become intangible, but that was just a basic technique of this type of mystery ¨C as shown now by Joel. Instead of making his body intangible, Joel decided to take it one step further, allowing the lightning-element mage force from his [Force Armour] to stimulate the electrons in his body, including that of his nervous system. As a result, his whole body saw an enormous rise in physical ability ¨C especially his speed and reflexes. Just his raw power jumped from the ninth rank to the early stages of the saint rank, but his speed, it leapt all the way into the middle stages of the saint rank, and unlike Killian, this wasn¡¯t just straight-line speed, this was true overall speed, and with the increase to his reflexes, he had full control of his current speed. As far as Aiden was concerned, as far as techniques using the profound mysteries went, this was the best technique with the most potential created by any of their cohort, including Ace. After Joel went back to join the others, Osiris stepped forward next. Although not as domineering as those who came before him, the dark-haired young man showed great skill as an archer to defeat the puppet. He had only reached the early stages of the ninth rank as a mage and the peak of the eighth rank as a warrior, but with his insight into the Laws of Darkness¡¯s Profound Mystery of the Essence of Darkness, he was able to create arrows made of pure darkness to overwhelm the Deathgod Golem, preventing it from even getting near to him. He wasn¡¯t overwhelmingly fast or monstrously strong, nor was his defence particularly noteworthy, but Aiden was able to see that Osiris¡¯ skill lay in his ability to control the flow of the battle.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. After the dark-haired archer went back, next up was Faye. She had broken through to the early stages of the ninth rank as a warrior and the late stages of the eighth rank as a mage; as such, she struggled a lot more than all those who went before her. Still, she wasn¡¯t called a genius for no reason. The mystery she had gained insight into was the Earth¡¯s Profound Mystery of Gravity. With it, she was able to control the gravity around her with deft skill, to the point where she could decrease gravity for herself whilst freely manipulating the gravity around her targets. Although she hadn¡¯t gained insight into the Concepts of the Earth, her combat ability had reached a high enough level that allowed her to assume complete control over the flow of the battle, slowly but definitively suppressing the puppet until finally defeating it. The last of the bunch to go up was Yulana. In terms of realm, she was the lowest of the group, with her being a warrior at the early stages of the ninth rank and a mage at the early stages of the eighth rank. Still, as a member of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, her strength couldn¡¯t be understood just by looking at her realm. In terms of realm, she was the weakest; she had yet to gain insight into the Concept of Water, and she was also the last to gain insight into a profound mystery, but, as if to award her for her patience, when she finally did gain insight into one of water¡¯s mysteries, she did so with sudden enlightenment. Now, not only were her insights into Water¡¯s Profound Mystery of Circular Softness approaching that of a mid-staged saint, she had even been able to infuse it into her [Force Armour]. When the Deathgod Golem struck Yulana¡¯s [Force Armour] coated whip, the force of its strikes was easily dispersed, allowing her to continuously entangle the puppet, slowly suppressing it with elegantly flowing strikes that seemed to want to drown it. Watching that, a faint glimmer of light flickered across Aiden¡¯s eyes. Although the others couldn¡¯t see it, as the founder of the path, how could he not see that Yulana was only one step away from comprehending the concept of water? Realising that, Aiden moved like the wind and casually knocked the golem away. Yulana, like the others, was surprised and was just about to withdraw her whip when Aiden¡¯s voice entered her ears. ¡°Don¡¯t stop; continue attacking me like you did the puppet.¡± Yulana didn¡¯t understand what Aiden intended to do, but she didn¡¯t dare to disobey his direct instructions. In response, Aiden used his hands to replace his glaive. His attacks were like a dance, a seamless flow that aimed accurately at the weak points of his young opponent¡¯s whip strikes. Despite Aiden¡¯s relentless onslaught, Yulana¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement. Each flick of her wrist seemed to carry a newfound vigour. Instead of being discouraged, she wholeheartedly embraced the challenge. The dance between the glaivesman and the whip-wielder continued, creating a mesmerising display of both skill, excitement, and determination. As the training session progressed, a subtle transformation took place within Yulana. Her whip attacks, initially strong and precise, began to evolve. There was a newfound grace to her movements, and the whip seemed to embody the very essence of water, flowing effortlessly and adapting to the contours of the battle. It was right then, in a moment of revelation, Yulana finally took that step, comprehending the concept of water. Her attacks, now imbued with this newfound insight, gained a profound quality. Each strike echoed the fluidity of water, and her control over her whip reached unprecedented heights. Aiden, recognising her accomplishment, nodded in approval before casually flicking his fingers at the tip of Yulana¡¯s incoming whip. The act was incredibly simple, but the power of the flick forced Yulana to retreat several steps, unable to disperse even half of the force behind Aiden¡¯s attack. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You¡¯ve passed,¡± Aiden nodded. ¡°You can go back and join the others.¡± Yulana completely ignored the numb sensation travelling up her whip-wielding arm as she bowed excitedly towards her Grand Elder. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°No need for all that,¡± Aiden waved dismissively. ¡°You did all the hard work; I just gave you a little nudge.¡± Yulana didn¡¯t say anything further, but the smile on her face was impossible to miss. ¡°Now, that¡¯s all of you,¡± Aiden continued. ¡°Unless Julius¡¯ coming as well?¡± ¡°No, Fatty decided not to enter this time,¡± Joel answered. ¡°He says he has no interest in spending the next few years fighting for his life in a place called the ¡°Necropolis of the Gods¡±.¡± ¡°Not that that freak needs to speed up his rate of improvement,¡± Faye grumbled under her breath. It had to be remembered that in terms of raw talent, Fatty was the only one who could always be mentioned alongside Ace and Amira. Even if not quite on their level, he wasn¡¯t too far off. His perception had always been off the charts, and that hadn¡¯t changed ¨C especially after entering the pocket dimension. He, like a lot of them, was a mage at the middle stage of the ninth rank, but his insight into Fire¡¯s Profound Mystery of Heat had reached that of a peak saint; even more impressive was that he had actually begun fusing it with the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire. And if that wasn¡¯t impressive enough, he had also recently gained insight into the Edict of Fate. If not for the fact that he had no interest in fighting or competing with others, he would be a name that would undoubtedly have shocked the world. Still, Aiden merely nodded, understanding Julius¡¯ pacifist-like nature, before carrying on. ¡°Alright, in that case, you seven can enter now, but before you do, let me give you a little advice. Make sure to stay together. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on inside, but if I know little Kong and that foolish disciple of mine, I¡¯d bet that at least one of them had done something to piss off the masses, and chances are, you brats will end up paying for it.¡± Book 7: Chapter 32 – Finally Found You Ace and his group had no idea that Killian and the others had already entered the Necropolis of the Gods. After making his breakthrough, Ace led Amira and Leona to part ways with Linley and his group. Although they¡¯d be safer from the potential attack of Felicia and those of the New Yulan Empire if they travelled as one big group, their rate of improvement would also slow down dramatically. Not only would they have to split any resources found eight ways, but the only person who¡¯d be able to pose a genuine threat to their lives would be Felicia herself, and as young geniuses with grand ambitions, that was unacceptable for them. Plus, with Olivier and Yunaia having grasped the basics of utilising Concepts, there was little more for Amira to help them with. From that point on, any improvements they made would have to come from them. Still, over the next few years, the two groups did run into each other several times on the fifth floor, and each meeting would start in a battle. Initially, it was just between rivals Ace and Linley, but eventually, the others found their hands getting itchy. Their battles were so intense that word of it began to spread between the other saints who had reached the fifth floor. Fortunately or unfortunately ¨C depending on who you asked ¨C the only ones who hadn¡¯t heard of the monumental battles between Ace and Linley were Felicia and her group, as they had already ventured up to the eighth floor. Even Wukong, Kimika, and Lazerim had heard whispers of their battles, but after hearing that Ace and Amira were okay, instead of going out to find them, they, too, decided to head up to the eighth floor. Unlike Ace, Wukong¡¯s group had run into Felicia and her group, and as one could imagine, neither side wasted time talking before engaging in what could only be described as a particularly brutal battle. Since their last meeting, not only had Wukong broken through to the mid-stages of the saint rank, but the comprehension of his fused mysteries had increased drastically. It was to the point where he was now rapidly approaching completion of said fused mysteries. It wasn¡¯t just him either; both Lazerim and Kimika had also begun fusing mysteries of their respective laws. As a result, individually, despite all three still only being at the mid-stages of the saint rank as both warriors and mages, all of them were now capable of easily suppressing at least two prime saints on their own ¨C especially Wukong! It was because of this that, despite their opponents now having 11 experts at the level of a prime saint, Wukong and co. had been able to kill one and force the rest to retreat. Still, whilst most would consider that a win for those of the Pavilion, Wukong and his two senior martial siblings were anything but happy, and the reason behind that was simple ¨C Felicia. As it stood, Wukong was still capable of suppressing Felicia on his own as, even though he was only one sub-realm beneath her, his comprehension was several levels above. Unfortunately, whilst Wukong, Lazerim, and Kimika were reluctant to make another breakthrough with their cultivation ¨C not wanting to become deities just yet ¨C Felicia was the opposite. She was desperately training with the aim of becoming a Demi-God as soon as possible. The problem with that was that the moment she succeeded, she would become an entity that none of their trio would be able to contend with. Even if they faced her as a group, the most they¡¯d be able to do was fight her to a standstill, and that was on the condition that the rest of her group didn¡¯t interfere¡­This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Arianna had already warned each of her disciples that because of the incredible gulf that separated saints from deities, aside from having a heaven-defying bloodline ability, the only way for a saint to bridge that gap was for them to, like her, have fused at least three mysteries to its completion, a feat that none of them was even close to achieving! The good news, though, is that Wukong¡¯s bloodline, whilst not as ridiculous as Ace, Amira, and Linley¡¯s, was still a fairly impressive bloodline in its own right that actually seemed to be improving the stronger he became. Originally, Wukong¡¯s mysterious bloodline simply gave him a body equal to that of a magical beast at the same level and allowed him to copy the techniques he¡¯d seen ¨C provided it wasn¡¯t a technique that had surpassed his comprehension ¨C but now¡­ He found that after breaking through to become a saint, he¡¯d developed a new bloodline ability, one he referred to as [Berserk]! [Berserk] was an ability that allowed him to increase his physical ability drastically when used. As a mid-saint, when used now, it would allow him to fight on par with prime saints even when relying solely on his body. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t refer to it as [Berserk] for no reason. When in use, Wukong would lose control of his free will, unable to differentiate friend from foe. Still, it wasn¡¯t all bad; though he seemed to lose control of his free will, his [Berserk] state allowed him to become something of a Battle Genius ¨C his Fighting IQ reaching all new heights, allowing him to see through the weakness of his target with a single glance and striking them with pinpoint accuracy. The best part about it was that although he wasn¡¯t in control during its use, he was able to remember how it felt when he finally awoke. Because of that, when he did awake, his fighting IQ saw a sharp increase. Still, Wukong estimated that, even in his [Berserk] state, he would still have to have at least started to fuse three profound mysteries for him to be able to fight a genuine deity as a saint, and as everyone already knew by now, when it came to comprehending the various Profound Mysteries, the hardest parts were getting started and taking it to completion. Even for him, there was no telling when he would begin fusing his third mystery. It could be as soon as the next day, or it could be as far as 100 years; there was simply no telling! With that being said, the reason Wukong, Lazerim, and Kimika decided to head up to the eighth floor immediately, instead of tracking down Ace and the others, was because they were scared of what would happen to them should Felicia breakthrough to become a Demi-God. That being said, it wasn¡¯t like they were truly fearing for their lives. After all, whether it was Wukong, Lazerim, or Kimika, each of their comprehension of their respective fused mysteries was above the 50% mark. If their lives were truly at stake, one of them simply had to stop suppressing their realms and make that final breakthrough. At that point, killing Felicia would be an easy task in and of itself, but all of them were unwilling to do such a thing as it would ruin their future ¨C or at least make it several times harder than it needed to be. As such, they chose to head up to the eighth floor in an attempt to chase down Felicia and kill her before she became too big of a problem. ¡­ On the fifth floor of the Necropolis, in a location nearing the centre of the fifth floor, the tension was eerily palpable as two groups faced off. On one side was a large group of over a dozen dragons, each of whom was at the peak stage of the saint realm and two of whom were actually prime saints. Stood across from them were a group of five young adults ¨C three young men and two women. Despite this group having not even a single prime saint, with four of them being mid-staged saints and the youngest being a mere mortal at the middle stages of the ninth rank, no fear could be seen on their faces; in fact, if anything, they looked more disinterested than anything. Well, that was the truth for the four mid-staged saints. As for the only mortal of the group, who also appeared to be the youngest, he radiated a fearful killing intent that seemingly lowered the temperature in the surrounding area as he glared at the towering black dragon among the group of dragons. ¡°Yasha,¡± the handsome brown-haired young man called out icily as he slowly drew the liuyedao sword sheathed by his side. ¡°I¡¯ve finally found you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re that junior brother of Ace,¡± Yasha growled as he looked down coldly at the young swordsman before him. ¡°Kannal, right?¡± Kannal didn¡¯t respond straight away. Instead, he closed his eyes. As he did, the image of a beautiful young woman who looked somewhat similar to him appeared. ¡°My name¡¯s not important,¡± Kannal replied as he stepped through the air as though it were solid ground until he stood eye-level with the dragon. ¡°All you need to know is that I¡¯m the man who will take your life here today!¡± (Remainder of) Book 7 Plot Against the request of the rest of his group, Kannal takes on Yasha, the Peak Saint Black Dragon, who effectively had his sister killed. Despite only being at the middle stages of the ninth rank as both a warrior and a mage, the 22-year-old showed that his year-long stay in the ruins had been anything but a waste. In terms of skill and comprehension, Yasha was wholly outclassed. Unfortunately, the difference between a ninth-rank mortal and a peak saint was enormous, causing their battle to be evenly matched. Still, eventually, Kannal did manage to find a way to defeat his opponent, but before he could finally avenge his sister, Ignus made his move. Because Ignus was the first to break the rules of the duel to intervene, it gave the rest of the acolytes of the Pavilion an excuse to do the same. It was then that Ignus and the other dragons realised that Kannal wasn¡¯t the only freak among the group. In fact, he was the weakest. In terms of comprehension, Kannal was the strongest among his group, but because he wanted to reach the limits of comprehension as a mortal, he was the only one among them who had yet to become a saint. And after five years, even the weakest among them had comprehended a whole complete mystery. As it stood, aside from Kannal, each of the other Pavilion Acolytes had strength surpassing that of the average prime saint. Within a minute, half the dragon¡¯s forces had been eradicated, and the rest were facing total extinction when Linley arrived on the scene, easily forcing both sides to step back in a domineering fashion. Kannal and the others weren¡¯t the only ones who¡¯d improved dramatically over the last few years. The only reason Linley was yet to become a saint was also the reason he had decided to remain on the fifth floor ¨C to win the bet with Ignus and bring the Dragons of the Dragon¡¯s Pit under his Baruch Clan once and for all, and to do that, he had to prove that he had comprehended a profound mystery to the level of a peak saint before becoming a saint ¨C a feat he had long since accomplished. And although he hadn¡¯t reached the limits of comprehension as a mortal, he wasn¡¯t far off. When combined with his Dragon transformation, it was near impossible to find a match, even among prime saints. After stopping the battle, he reminded Ignus of their bet and asked if Ignus was willing to lead the Dragon Pitt to submit to his Baruch Clan. After witnessing Linley¡¯s power, Ignus had absolutely no thoughts of going back on his words, and after losing so many of his subordinates, he was almost glad to find a powerful thigh to hold onto and willingly agreed, but when he heard Linley¡¯s following words, he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. As the new leader of the Dragons, Linley ordered Yasha to finish the battle with Kannal. Ignus tried to argue, but Linley reminded him that it was them who agreed to the terms of the duel. Ignus continued arguing, but Linley asked him, ¡°Since when was the pride of a dragon so fragile?¡± As members of his Baruch Clan, they could lose to an opponent, but they can never lose the face of the Baruch Clan. In the end, what was left of the Dragons watched silently as Kannal finally avenged his sister and killed Yasha. After that, Kannal and the other Acolytes thanked Linley. They understood from the moment he appeared that if he wanted to prevent Kannal from getting his revenge, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, even if Linley was on his own, which he wasn¡¯t. Whether it was Bebe, Olivier, Yunaia, or Oscar, each of them radiated a presence that, shockingly, made each of them fearful, something that none of them could believe. Aside from Linley and Kannal, everyone else was at the middle stages of the saint realm, and as members of the Pavilion, they were so used to being all but invincible in the same realm, especially when it came to those of their generation, with Linley and Bebe being the only exceptions. But how could they know that not only were Yunaia and Olivier both soul mutates, but also, because of Ace and Amira, both were also capable of wielding Concepts? Before both groups separated, Siltor, the Golden Dragon and father of the Azure Dragon killed by Ace came forward and asked where Ace was. Faye glanced at the dragon and told him to give up. After these last eight years in the Necropolis of the Gods, and driven by thoughts of revenge, Siltor had broken through to become a prime saint, making him no weaker than Ignus. Still, from the last fight against Joel and the other Acolytes, he realised that he wasn¡¯t the only one getting stronger. It wasn¡¯t for long, but he had clashed against Faye, and in that brief exchange, he found himself placed firmly on the back foot. He also understood that Ace was a genius even more perverted than Faye and the others and that, chances were, he had reached an even higher level, but neither he nor his wife could give up avenging their now-deceased child. After Kannal and the others left, Linley turned to Siltor and his wife. He knew that although they didn¡¯t hate him as much as they hated Ace, as the person who absorbed the blood of their only child, they still despised him. Still, he felt he had to say something. He didn¡¯t try to convince them not to challenge Ace, but he reminded them that Ace had reached a level of power they didn¡¯t stand a chance of defeating him, and although he wouldn¡¯t stop them, he wouldn¡¯t protect them either. After slaying Yasha, Kannal and the other Acolytes spent another few months traversing the fifth floor of the Necropolis before finally running into Ace, Amira, and Leona. It had been over eight years since the two groups had last seen each other, so the emotions both groups felt could be understood. Still, the first thing Joel and the others felt was shock. They could sense that Leona had reached the peak saint level, and as an Apex-level Divine Beast, her aura being so terrifying was understandable. Still, what they were all really focused on was the aura radiated by both Ace and Amira. Both were still mortals. Amira, like Kannal, was in the middle stages of the ninth rank, and Ace was at the peak of the eighth rank, but the aura they emitted was suffocating. They couldn¡¯t even guess how powerful the trio had become. Still, more than anything else, both groups were ecstatic to see the other safe and sound. It was then that Joel explained that after he reached the saint realm and had the power to protect themselves, Killian and Alissa had left them to go searching for them (Ace and his group). Hearing that, Ace and Amira couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly as they hadn¡¯t even heard whispers about Killian¡¯s presence. Still, with the size of the fifth floor, it didn¡¯t come as that much of a surprise, but just to make sure, they all agreed to head up to the final floor. On the way there, they met Linley and his group. Usually, as rivals, Ace and Linley would¡¯ve clashed on sight, but the killing intent of Siltor and his wife immediately caught his attention. Both Dragons didn¡¯t say a word before they charged in, attempting to kill Ace where he stood. Ace could see the crazed look in their eyes, and sensing their turbulent emotions with his observation, he understood that their hatred for him had long since gone past the point of no return. So, he didn¡¯t say a word to them; he merely waved his hand. As he did, the sound of his voice entered the two dragon¡¯s voice. ¡°I hope you can find peace in your next life.¡± At the same time, a heaven-shaking explosion resounded through the fifth floor, shocking all of those who hadn¡¯t seen Ace take action recently, including his classmates. When the dust cleared, the corpses of both dragons had been totally incinerated. After a short chat, Ace and Linley¡¯s group headed up to the eighth floor. Both groups headed up separately, turning it into a competition to see who could hunt down Felicia and the rest of their enemies first. With their current power level, neither Ace nor Linley found the threat of a Demi-God as fearful as they used to. Still, since they were heading up to the final of the saint floors, Ace decided that instead of splitting up and heading up via the different doorways, Ace¡¯s group would all go up via one door. But that had less to do with the natives of the Necropolis and everything to do with the experts of the New Yulan Empire. Although he was confident in his own abilities, he refused to take his chances with the rest of their group. As soon as Ace, who was the first to arrive on the eighth floor, entered, he was immediately surrounded by hundreds of Abyssal Demons, the vast majority of whom were at the peak saint stage, but there were also a few prime saint-level demons among them. Still, Ace was able to slaughter each of them before Amira, who came up next, arrived. Just as Kannal, who came up last, finally arrived, Ace¡¯s body suddenly vanished at a speed that caught his classmates by surprise. When he next appeared, he was standing over the body of a peak saint from the New Yulan Empire, his neck in his hands. When Amira and the others arrived on the scene, they felt Ace¡¯s killing intent as he glared into the eyes of the terrified saint. It was then that they learned that not only had Felicia successfully broken through to the Demi-God level, but she had also defeated Wukong, Lazerim, and Kimika. Still, with their combined strength, they were able to escape with their lives ¨C albeit only barely. But after that, feeling a lot more confident in her strength, she made a deal with the Abyssal Demons, promising not to slaughter them if they worked for her, meaning that each of the entry points had teams of hundreds of Abyssal Blade Demons guarding them, and along with them was a peak saint from the Empire. But the thing that really angered Ace was that apparently, several months ago, Killian and Alyssa had entered the eighth floor in search of Ace, only to be captured. Apparently, Felicia was holding them prisoner to lure both Ace and Wukong¡¯s group to kill them all in one go. Hearing that, there wasn¡¯t a single person among them who wasn¡¯t enraged. After getting Felicia¡¯s location, Ace killed the peak saint before leading his whole group through the eighth floor, not bothering to hide their presence. Anything that dared to get in their way was massacred. The closer Ace got to the centre of the eighth floor, the more powerful their opponents became. It got to the point where they were surrounded by thousands of peak saint Abyssal Blade Demons and hundreds of Prime Saints. Still, Ace and the rest of his classmates moved forward with unstoppable momentum. Eventually, Ace and the others arrived at their destination, only to find a giant battle already taking place. On one side were tens of thousands of Abyssal Blade Demons as well as a few dozen humans, several of whom he recognised from the amalgamation of the O¡¯Brien Empire, Radiant Church, Cult of Darkness and the other forces that had submitted to them. On the other was Wukong¡¯s group. What caught Ace¡¯s group¡¯s attention was Wukong, more specifically, the crazed look in his eyes and the fearful bloodlust he exuded; what was even stranger was that, despite appearing to have entered a crazed state, the Battle IQ he was displaying was incredible, to say the least. To the point where Ace could only blush in embarrassment, or he would have had his attention not have been captured by something else. In the centre of the Yulan Empire¡¯s Camp were two young adults. Both of them had glazed looks in their eyes as though their minds had been taken to breaking point, as had their bodies, which were littered with fresh cuts and bruises ¨C proof of the torture they had endured till this point. Because of the purity of the dimension here on the eighth floor, using one¡¯s soul was all but impossible for saint-level beings. Unfortunately, Felicia was no longer a saint. The moment Ace and his group arrived on the scene, she smiled evilly, looking forward to finally killing the scourge of her nation. Still, her eyes couldn¡¯t help but widen in shock when she saw Ace virtually teleport through the battlefield, appearing directly in front of Killian and Alissa. Though the speed he displayed was shocking, especially as he was clearly just an eighth-rank expert, she didn¡¯t bother stopping him. As far as she was concerned, after becoming a deity, there was no one on the lower floors capable of opposing her and today, she would rid the world of the Pavilion¡¯s younger generation. Still, just because Felicia had already sensed him, it didn¡¯t mean that anyone else had. It wasn¡¯t until his body appeared in front of Killian and Alissa that everyone else realised he was there. At that moment, Fain, Desri, and several other prime saint-level experts shot towards him. Still, Ace didn¡¯t bat an eyelid.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Though he didn¡¯t react at the time, the moment her Godrealm swept over him, he clearly felt it. But Killian¡¯s and Alissa¡¯s safety was more important to him than her presence. But now, with so many experts rushing towards him with intent to kill, Ace¡¯s glaive glided into his hands, and he made his move. Though he only struck out once, the heads of each of his attackers fell to the floor. Whilst everyone was in awe of his incredible display of overwhelming power and skill, Ace¡¯s attention was focused on the bodies of Desri and Fain. Whilst the others fell to the floor, having breathed their last breath, Fain and Desri¡¯s bodies miraculously healed almost instantaneously. Ace immediately understood both of them must¡¯ve managed to find a pearl of life. Without a second thought, Ace¡¯s body flickered, and his glaive swept through both of their bodies, but this time, their bodies were incinerated, only leaving two glimmering pearls in their place. Not paying attention to anything or anyone else, Ace fused a pearl with the bodies of Killian and Alissa, allowing both to heal from their wounds. It was at that point that Felicia finally made her move, attempting to use her Godrealm to suppress Ace and the others, when Wukong, in his ¡°crazed¡± state, somehow ignored the suppression of her domain and attacked her with his staff. Still, Felicia quickly sent him flying, but before she could finish the job, Ace made his move. Felicia, using her Demi-God staff, attempted to compete with Ace in close quarters but quickly found herself suppressed. It had to be remembered that when one becomes a deity, unless they¡¯re a divine beast or born with a special bloodline, their actual physical body doesn¡¯t become any stronger, meaning Felicia¡¯s body was technically no stronger than it had been when she was still a peak saint, the only significant difference was her ability to now use divine energy, which in turn could be utilised to strengthen her body significantly. Still, prior to her breakthrough, she had never trained as a warrior, so although she was technically the physically superior of the two to Ace, she may as well be a child with a peerless sword. It was only when she reverted back to her usual style of fighting ¨C as a mage ¨C that she was able to quickly suppress Ace. But by that time, Amira had finished stabilising the grievous wounds Wukong had sustained from Felicia¡¯s last attack. Amira and Leona both joined Ace to face Felicia. Killian and Alissa, having quickly healed with help from the pearl of life, wanted to help them face the Demi-God, as did Kimika, Lazerim, Joel, and the others, but Ace stopped them and commanded them to worry about the Abyssal Blade Demons and members of the New Yulan Empire and to leave Felicia to them. Ace didn¡¯t have the time to reassure them as Felicia was too big of a threat, but contrary to what everyone ¨C Felicia included ¨C believed would be the case, Ace wasn¡¯t the main force of the attack. Instead, it was Leona. As it stood, Leona could now be considered a prime saint of sorts, but even among prime saints, she could be regarded as a special case in that she had actually comprehended a complete profound mystery ¨C the profound mystery of the essence of fire. Still, for reasons that escaped her, Ace, and Amira, not only was she still unable to continue to comprehend the other profound mysteries of the laws of fire and break through to become a deity, but she was also unable to break through and become a deity. Still, as an apex-level divine beast, she was naturally invincible at the same level. The power of her body made her only a little inferior to the average Demi-God. With her being the main point of attack for the trio and Ace and Amira supporting her with flawless teamwork, the trio was able to fight Felicia to a standstill. At the same time, Killian, Alissa and the others all went on a rampage, slaughtering their enemies like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there were simply too many. Thankfully, before they were overrun, Linley arrived on the scene with his group, effectively easing the pressure those from the Pavilion were under, which in turn allowed Ace to focus on his battle with Felicia with peace of mind. Eventually, Ace used his ultimate technique ¨C Myriad Point Convergence ¨C to finally kill Felicia. By now, not only had Ace completely comprehended the profound mystery of explosions ¨C bringing him to a grand total of four mysteries, but he had also finished his fusion of the mysteries of explosion and the essence of fire and had also raised his three-way fusion of the essence of fire, explosions, and heat up to what he estimated was around the 40% mark. As a result, when using his Myriad Point Convergence now, it allowed his attack power to reach the realms of a Demi-God. With Felicia dead, the trio were free to spread out and support their classmates and friends against the millions of enemies that surrounded them, but after watching Felicia, a genuine deity, be defeated, the Abyssal Blade Demons lost any intentions of opposing this group of young monsters. Other than those from the New Yulan Empire, Ace was too lazy to deal with the others; as such, when they lost their will to fight, he allowed them to go. After saying thank you to Linley and his group for the assistance and checking to make sure Wukong, Killian, and Alissa were okay, he went through the storage ring of Felicia, where he found ten divine artefacts, but more importantly, there were also three unused Divine Sparks. Including the light element spark he took from Felicia after her death, he now had four divine sparks in his hand. Neither he nor any of those who entered with him had any interest in merging with a Divine Spark, so he intended to give it to some of the subordinates of his Gol Kingdom who weren¡¯t as talented nor as ambitious as they were. But when Leona laid her eyes on the Divine Sparks, her eyes lit up, and her instincts took over. Without even thinking, she swallowed the Divine Spark of Destruction. Although she didn¡¯t break through and become a deity, she was ecstatic to find that her ability to sense Ace¡¯s comprehension had returned. But that was only part of her good news; she also awoke her innate ancestral memories, which told her that she was an Obsidian Lion Queen ¨C well, a mutated one. It was then that she understood that although, like Bebe and Oscar, she was also an Apex-level Divine Beast, she was different in that her Divine Ability awoken as a saint instead of as a Deity. Her Divine Ability was called ¡°Spark Devouring¡±, and as the name suggests, it allows her to devour divine sparks, though only those of the Edict of Destruction, to further her comprehension of said Edict. Still, there were rules and restrictions: First: By devouring the Divine Sparks of Destructions, Obsidian Lion Queens/Kings not only further their comprehension of said Edict, but they also strengthen their already tyrannical bodies with each spark they devour. Second: Although she could devour divine sparks of destruction to further her comprehension, said sparks have to come from an opponent she has killed with her own hands, and that individual¡¯s divine spark can¡¯t be one they merged with, meaning they had to have reached their level via their own comprehension. Third: Although she can still devour Divine Sparks of Destruction that didn¡¯t belong to an enemy she personally killed or those which had been merged with instead of achieved naturally, instead of absorbing their insights, they will only strengthen her body. Fourth: To awaken this ability, one must not only have become a saint, but they must also devour their first Divine Spark of Destruction. If the first spark devoured was of an opponent she killed with her own hands, and that individual¡¯s divine spark was one they received naturally, she would¡¯ve directly broken through to become a deity, but since it was a second-hand spark, Leona¡¯s bloodline and affinity were merely awakened. Still, this also meant that she didn¡¯t have to rely solely on devouring sparks of deities; she could also train the old-fashioned way to further her comprehension. Aside from that, Leona also explained that, unlike other apex-level divine beasts, she wouldn¡¯t awaken an offensive divine ability that could be used on her enemies. Ace and the others could sense her disappointment, but they could only look at her in frustration and aggrievement. Whilst she may not awaken a heaven-defying divine ability that could be used on enemies, hers was even more heaven-defying as it meant that one day, as long as she didn¡¯t die, she would almost definitely become a paragon of the Edict of Destruction and as long as Ace was able to become a paragon of the laws of fire she would also become a paragon of the laws of fire thanks to their mutated bond. While most could only dream of becoming a paragon of one law, she would more than likely become a paragon of 2 laws, which was way more enticing than having even the most incredible of offensive divine abilities. After that, Ace and the others spent the next two years training peacefully on the eighth floor. They went between isolated meditation and sparring with each other, and each of their progress was incredible. Two years later, it was finally time for the initial stay in the necropolis of the gods to come to an end, but the mood among the group was tense. Not only would Lord Beirut be allowing the saints still alive to leave, but he¡¯d also be opening up the upper levels for deity-level experts, meaning that it was more than likely that O¡¯Brien would be entering. No one had said anything, but they were all well aware that Ace would take that chance to end their feud once and for all. Eventually, the entrants that survived were finally allowed out. They were delighted to finally escape that hell hole, but when they left, they couldn¡¯t help but shudder under the tense aura hanging in the end. It was only when they looked up in the skies and saw the War God and High Priest on one side and Aiden, Arianna, Milianna and a few others from the Pavilion on the other that they remembered Ace¡¯s declaration from ten years ago. None of them said anything, but they didn¡¯t hurry to leave. Instead, they chose to stay and watch the show from a safe distance. Finally, Ace and his group arrived, and under the shocked eyes of the audience, they completely ignored O¡¯Brien, choosing to greet Milianna and Lance. Seeing the happy family reunion was the straw that finally broke the camel¡¯s back. He didn¡¯t say a word before launching a full-powered attack on the family of three. Arianna was about to take action, but Ace beat her to the punch, casually destroying the attack and telling him that he hadn¡¯t forgotten about him. Since he was in such a hurry to die, he would happily send him on his way. Everyone thought Ace had lost his mind as they could all sense he was merely at the peak of the ninth rank. They knew how heaven-defying his talent was, but no one for a second believed that he was capable of defeating a deity as a mortal: no one but his friends and family. O¡¯Brien was about to attack, but the high priest held him back temporarily. O¡¯Brien, who was already beyond angry, was about to attack her when she confirmed that should O¡¯Brien win, no one from the Pavilion would seek out justice when Milianna, who saw the calm but resolute light in her son¡¯s eyes, spoke on everyone¡¯s behalf agreeing to her terms. With that said, O¡¯Brien immediately began the fight, unable to hold back any longer. As soon as the fight began, O¡¯Brien used his Godrealm to suppress his ¡°son¡± and charged in, aiming to put an end to this farce immediately. But as he neared, Ace shocked them all by releasing his own Godrealm, cancelling out O¡¯Brien¡¯s. When he broke through to the eighth rank, his soul had reached that of a half-step deity, and now, like his master, after breaking through to the peak of the ninth rank as a mage and warrior, his soul had broken through to the Demi-God Realm granting him the ability to use a Godrealm. But that was just the beginning of Ace¡¯s surprise. As Ace was still a mortal, Impose still worked on him, and as his soul was so powerful now, when he used to impose, it increased the might of his body to a level that surpassed that of even prime-saint-level magical beasts and when superimposed with his armament haki¡­ Ace¡¯s body was no different from that of a Demi-God using their Divine Essence to empower their body. O¡¯Brien didn¡¯t have time to even blink when Ace appeared in front of him, wielding his glaive with a level of skill that he didn¡¯t even know possible. O¡¯Brien found himself completely dominated. Even when attempting to utilise his mastery over fire, Ace showed him that the difference between them was simply too vast for him to even begin to compare. This was what Ace planned; he wanted to make O¡¯Brien despair the same way his mother did. The more he thought back to his mother¡¯s state and how she must¡¯ve felt after everything, the angrier he became, which in turn seemed to empower his strikes. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he struck, Ace was unable to do any damage. Ace had already long since realised that O¡¯Brien was wearing a Full-God level armour. He didn¡¯t know where he got it from, and quite frankly, he didn¡¯t care; all he wanted to do was vent all the anger he had to hold onto all these years. It was a shocking and frightening display for everyone but, most of all, O¡¯Brien. He went from anger and embarrassment to outright fear, thanking the sovereigns Catherine allowed him to wear her greatest treasure. It was then that Catherine stepped forward. Though she didn¡¯t intervene directly, she did ask Ace to call it a tie as although O¡¯Brien could do nothing to him, Thanks to the armour O¡¯Brien wore; Ace could do nothing to him either. Ace declined, stating that no matter what, O¡¯Brien would definitely die today. It was then that he did something that took every onlooker by surprise. He infused his [Haoshoku Haki] into his glaive, causing the aura it emitted to spike. Ace then used his [Myriad Point Convergence] once more, but where before the power of his strike was able to barely match that of a Demi-God, this time, he was able to strike with power that was faintly approaching that of a Full-God, and unlike the last time he used [Haoshoku Infusion] which all but destroyed his body from the inside out, this time, although severely drained, he was still in one piece. O¡¯Brien, on the other hand, was completely lifeless. Ace watched as O¡¯Brien¡¯s body dissipated, leaving nothing but a crimson divine spark in its stead. Though uninjured, Ace was now running on fumes. He was just about to fall to the floor when his mother caught him and helped him up. She told him how proud of him she was and thanked him for being an amazing son with tears in her eyes. Next, Beirut descended and was just about to open the gate to the upper floors when Ace asked if the entry could be delayed for a few days. His mother asked why, and he stumbled over to Amira¡¯s side, dropped to a single knee and proposed to her in front of all their friends and family, to which she obviously said yes. A few days later, after Ace agreed, a double wedding happened between Ace and Amira and Killian and Alissa. All their families and respective friends came to the joyous occasion. That night, when Amira and Ace consummated their marriage, their souls finally mated, making them truly bonded. At the same time, in the skies above their home, the phantom projection of Amira¡¯s bloodline appeared in all its glory, but this time, her skin darkened until it was pitch black in colour, identical to when Ace used his Armament Haki, above her was the phantom of a giant sun. The two phantom projections were visible to all those on the continent, and it was an awe-inspiring display to everyone, everyone except Empress Sharanthia, who sighed, understanding what she was seeing. Book 8 Plot: Part 1 - Ace Re-Enters the Necropolis of the Gods Neither Ace nor Amira were aware of the changes to their bodies. Both fell into a deep slumber after consummating their marriage. It was only when they awoke that they noticed a difference, the most prominent of which being the sudden increase in power of their respective souls. Amira, despite remaining at the peak of the ninth rank as both a mage and warrior, now had a soul at what Ace referred to as a half-step Demi-God. As for Ace, although his soul hadn¡¯t broken through to the level of a Full God, it was far stronger than the average Demi-God, even stronger than his master. What made both of them not know whether to laugh or cry was that both husband and wife were nearing the limits of comprehension for their respective levels and estimated that they¡¯d finally be ready to break through to the saint realm within a month or two, but now¡­ Still, before either could delve into the rest of their respective changes, they sensed the arrival of Amira¡¯s ¡°mother¡±. After welcoming her inside, Sharanthia hesitantly went on to explain the truth about Amira¡¯s heritage and everything that came with being soulmates. Amira had been shocked, speechless, not knowing what to say or even how to feel. She loved her aunt and appreciated everything that she had done for her, and she didn¡¯t blame her for keeping the truth from her for so long, but at the same time, she couldn¡¯t help but want answers. It was then that Ace took her hands in his and promised to help her find the truth. Hearing that, Sharanthia sighed before explaining that although Amira¡¯s paternal family was based in the Divine Plane of Darkness, her mother was born and raised in The Celestial Realm. It was actually there that her parents first met. She suggested that would be the best place to start on their journey for the truth as although she didn¡¯t know their name; she knew that Amira¡¯s mother had a master who doted quite heavily on her and was even stronger than her older brother and grandfather ¨C two of the Divine Darkness Plane¡¯s foremost experts. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was a start, and it was better than nothing. After that, Ace left Amira to go visit his master and give him the pearl of life to heal his injuries. Whilst there, Aiden and Ace had a little sparring battle so that, as his master, Aiden could assess Ace¡¯s progress. This was the first time that Ace and Aiden had sparred in almost two decades, and the Ace of today couldn¡¯t be mentioned in the same breath as the Ace from back then. He had even surpassed the level of power his master displayed back when he killed Byrius, but no matter what he tried, Aiden was able to suppress Ace with a shocking level of ease. It had to be remembered that not only did Ace¡¯s soul, and therefore the use of [Impose], see a drastic improvement, but after consummating their love for one another, the two soulmates ended up inheriting the bloodline of their partner, albeit not quite as strong. Whilst Amira inherited [Armament & Observation Haki] from Ace, Ace inherited her Viz bloodline. As displayed in the skies the night before, his visual projection was that of a golden sun; whilst it didn¡¯t directly increase his mage rank, what it did do was improve his already incredible affinity to the laws of fire to what could only be described as near perfection, as well as increasing the might of his flames five times over. As it stood, even without using his [Conqueror Haki Infusion], Ace would be able to kill O¡¯Brien, armour and all. In fact, there aren¡¯t many Demi-Gods who¡¯d be able to stand on his level. Still, Ace remained clearly outmatched by his master. It was only after their battle came to an end that Aiden let him know that he¡¯d had a breakthrough with his [Mesmerising Glaive Art]. Ace didn¡¯t understand what he meant, as although he could feel his own Glaive Art increasing in power and might, he didn¡¯t know there was a way to make a definitive breakthrough as such. Aiden then told him that he was still trying to understand it himself, but the best way to describe it was that his Glaive Art had broken through from the Demi-God level to the Full God level. After that, Ace finally handed his master the pearl of life, at which point his master made a comment that started a round of bickering before Aiden finally said thank you and that he was proud of him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Then, under the eyes of Ace, Arianna, and Beirut, Aiden fused with the pearl, and as he did, the long-standing injuries he suffered when he was a child were instantly cured, but that was just the beginning. The eyes of the three onlookers widened in shock as Aiden slipped into an enlightened state as furious wind surrounded Aiden. It was a wind so powerful that Beirut had to take action personally to protect Arianna and Ace; even then, he was still forced back ¨C something that shocked him to no end. Thankfully, the wind vanished, but as though it was protecting Aiden, whenever someone tried to near him, it would return in full force. No one understood what happened, but they took comfort in the fact that Aiden seemed to be in a deep meditative state with a smile on his face. Realising there was nothing that any of them could do ¨C aside from Arianna, who chose to wait by her husband¡¯s side ¨C Ace and Beirut returned to their respective residences to prepare for the opening of the upper levels of the Necropolis of the Gods. Though it was opened to gods, like with the lower levels, even if one didn¡¯t reach that level, they were still free to enter as long as they could display the might of a deity. Unfortunately for those of the Pavilion, only Ace, Amira, Leona, and Arianna had reached such a level, and with Aiden¡¯s odd state, Arianna couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave her husband¡¯s side, as such, once again, Ace, Amira, and Leona were the only ones entering. Before leaving, Ace made sure to pass all the resources they had found in the lower levels to his mother, including the Divine Spark of water, whom Ace said his mother could decide whom to give it to. Initially, there were three sparks, but one was devoured by Leona, allowing her to unlock her destruction affinity; as for the final spark, it was a Divine Spark of Earth, and Ace gave it to Amira¡¯s uncle and his master¡¯s brother ¨C Aiden Rohault. Making him the first deity in the Rohault Empire¡¯s history. The next day, Ace and his group arrived in the forest of darkness, ready to re-enter the Necropolis of the Gods, where he found everyone waiting. Because of the harsher requirements, unlike the opening for the lower levels where there were almost a hundred saints raring to go, this time, there were only 11 of them. Aside from his group of three, the only ones entering were Linley, Bebe, Yunaia, Oscar, Olivier, Cesar, Dylin, and Catherine. Aside from Catherine, who, for obvious reasons, was standing alone, the others were all waiting together. It made Ace sigh as a little over ten years ago, Catherine and O¡¯Brien were the most powerful and awe-inspiring humans on the continent, and now O¡¯Brien was dead, and Catherine had been relegated to a side character. Still, what really took Ace by surprise was how Linley and Yunaia stood hand in hand. He had seen Linley¡¯s group several times in the Necropolis, but their relationship had never progressed to this level. Still, it made sense. They were both attractive, young, and highly talented. Eventually, Beirut arrived, and because of Aiden¡¯s current state, he was forced to host the entry tests himself. Cesar and Catherine, as true Demi-Gods, were excused, but one by one, Linley, Yunaia, Olivier, Leona, Amira, and Ace all fought the Demi-God level golem, and without fail, all were successful. The only other ones excused from taking the test were Bebe and Oscar, who were allowed entry as they were the beast partners of Linley and Yunaia. Outside of the Necropolis of the Gods, the Yulan Continent entered a rare era of peace. With the majority of the former big powers no more, their former territories were carved up and split between the Rohault, Baruch, and Gol Empire. As for the Yin-Yang Pavilion, it was widely considered something of a holy land. After all, not only had Ace and all of his classmates grown into peerless existences now, but after ten years, many of the students who had joined after had grown up, each maturing into top-tier experts in their own right. As a result, the Pavilion had inevitably become the school every young, aspiring expert dreamed of attending. Unfortunately, with their entry requirements remaining so strict, the amount of students they turned down on a yearly basis was astronomical. Still, it wasn¡¯t all bad for the rest of the continent as the Yin-Yang Pavilion decided to publicise the methods of training in the art of concepts as well as a list of the various profound mysteries for each of the laws and the way to become a paragon. This information lit a fire in all the residents of the continent. It also inspired a few others to set up institutes and academies of their own, even if they did imitate the structure of the Pavilion. Aside from that, the biggest piece of news came from the Gol Empire, and that was that seven years after O¡¯Brien¡¯s death, Empress Gol D. Milianna and Emperor Lance Gol had a daughter ¨C Mercurielle. The reason the whole continent was so interested was because the last child Milianna had went on to become the greatest genius the continent had ever produced, and after learning of Milianna¡¯s talent, they understood that Ace didn¡¯t inherit it from O¡¯Brien but his mother, and now they were all wondering how talented this child would be. Unfortunately, the era of peace couldn¡¯t last forever. Around nine years after the upper levels of the Necropolis were opened, seemingly random massacres were taking place in various cities of the three big Empires. Book 8 Plot: Part 2 – A New Soul Mutate Is Born After a few of the saint-level experts died from each of the forces, the Gol Empire sent Killian and his classmates to investigate. During their investigations, Killian and Alissa discovered that it was an unknown Demi-God of the Edict of Death doing the massacres. Not wanting to be found out, the mysterious Demi-God tried to kill the two saints quickly, but Killian and Alissa were far from ordinary. Although neither had the strength of a Demi-God individually, they weren¡¯t far off, and together, they were even more powerful. The fight escalated quickly, and the Demi-God realised they were too powerful to hold back, so he went all out, but even still, they fought him to a standstill. In the end, the Demi-God used his Edict of Death to manipulate other ordinary civilians to attack the two saints, and Killian hesitated, unable to do anything that could harm them. His hesitation allowed the Demi-God to target Alissa on her own and quickly suppress her, and just as he was about to strike to kill, Killian moved, no longer caring about the safety of the civilians under the necromancer¡¯s control and took the strike on behalf of his wife. As an expert who specialised in the Edict of Death, most of his attacks are soul-based, and this one was no different. The attack targeted Kilian¡¯s soul and caused him to lose consciousness immediately. Unfortunately, before he could finish the pair off, the rest of Killian and Alissa¡¯s classmates arrived and forced him to escape. Alissa was too worried about Killian to care about his escape. Instead, she rushed him back to Milianna, who was widely acknowledged as the greatest healer on the continent. Although she was still just a mid-stage saint, her comprehension of the Edict of Life had reached the Demi-God Stage, and she had even completely comprehended the law of Light¡¯s profound Mystery of Purity. Milianna managed to successfully wipe out the remnant energy of the mysterious Demi-God¡¯s death energy, but it was too late; Killian¡¯s soul had already received too big of a shock and was in the process of mutating. Everyone was worried, but there was nothing they could do to help; it was all down to Killian to pull through. All they could do was direct their anger towards the Demi-God, who they later learned was called the Grand Warlock, a Demi-God who had escaped from the Gebados Plane. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Grand Warlock was intent on hiding. The reason the Grand Warlock was committing all those massacres was to create a treasure that could increase the power of one¡¯s soul. He was doing it for his boss, Beaumont, another Demi-God, one even stronger than him, that had escaped the Gebados Plane with him. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t look like this would be possible any longer. He had heard of the monsters from the Yin-Yang Pavilion, but he believed it to be the stuff of fiction, but after seeing two saints fight him to a standstill, he couldn¡¯t help but believe it. In the end, he decided to tell Beaumont and let him decide on what to do. Despite being warned, Beaumont told him to continue the massacres but to do it in the Baruch Empire instead, as they were the only Empire without a powerhouse that could fight against a deity. Seeing the fear in the Grand Warlock¡¯s eyes, Beaumont agreed to go with him. Not long after, the massacres started back up in the Baruch Empire. Having heard what happened and understanding that they were the weakest of the three Empires without Linley¡¯s presence, they asked for assistance from the Gol Empire. And Killian¡¯s classmates were all too happy to agree. Unfortunately, because no one knew which city was going to be targeted next and because the targets were deity-level experts, it was too hard to track them.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. After a few months, they finally ran into the Beaumont and the Grand Warlock. Unfortunately, despite how much they¡¯d improved over the last nine years, fighting two Demi-Gods at once proved too difficult for the group, especially as Beaumont was faintly approaching the Full God Realm. Still, they did manage to fight the two deities off, albeit only barely. But after that battle, Beaumont became less arrogant, choosing to massacre only random, small, unaffiliated cities and villages for his goals, making it even harder to be tracked. It was a few months later, after Emperor Jordon of the Rohault Empire stepped in, that they were finally able to track Beamont and the Grand Warlock down successfully. Unfortunately, even though Jordon Rohault was now a Demi-God, as someone who had merged with a Divine Spark, he was the weakest kind of Deity; as such, although he was able to somewhat balance the scales, it wasn¡¯t enough. In that fight, Hazer, the second youngest of the five Armand brothers, died, and Faye was left with grievous wounds. Things looked like they were about to go from bad to worse as Alissa faced what looked like certain death, but before the Grand Warlock could finish Alissa off, Killian, who had been in a coma for the last several months, arrived. Killian went on to show invincible might, killing the Grand Warlock with a seemingly casual swing of his battle axe, the aura of which shocked everyone present to no end. Despite the fact that he was still just a mid-staged saint, the power of that last strike easily surpassed the average Demi-God to the point where even Beaumont, an expert who was infinitely close to the Full-God realm, felt threatened. Feeling the situation was getting further and further out of his control, Beaumont now wanted nothing more than to escape. Unfortunately, Killian had other ideas. Killian ended up forcing him to stay and fight, but what shocked Beaumont even more was that despite going all out, Killian remained able to easily fight him to a standstill. In fact, he even looked like he was yet to go all out. The truth was, after Killian woke up, he felt more powerful than he ever could¡¯ve imagined. Even his soul had transformed into that of a deity, giving him the ability to use ¡°Godrealm¡±. Still, before he got to test out his new abilities, he spread his Godrealm, wanting to find his wife and friends, which was when he saw them on the losing side of a battle against two deities. As such, instead of fighting seriously, Killian was using Beaumont as something of a whetstone to test himself. Most soul-mutates are typically two-way soul mutates, like Yunaia and Olivier, meaning they see a tenfold increase in power when using fused elemental energy, but as a three-way soul mutate, Killian¡¯s power saw a 100-fold increase, taking his power from that of a saint to faintly touching the power of a genuine Full-God. As soon as Killian decided to stop holding back, Beaumont went from barely holding his own, to being thoroughly suppressed, especially as Killian¡¯s weapon handling was also leagues above his own. In the end, Beaumont attempted to turn tail and run, but Killian refused to let him go and chased him through the skies of the Yulan Continent. Finally, Killian did manage to chase him down and kill him in The Great Botha Levee ¨C an extremely famous spot in the Yulan continent, which, according to legend, was built even before the start of the Yulan calendar, back when Arianna¡¯s Qingya family still reigned supreme, making it easily over 10,000 years old. As far as levees went, the Great Botha Levee was extremely strange. It was like a massive dock that stretched all the way to the centre of the Yulan River, a river so powerful that it was capable of grinding even mountains down. However, the Great Botha Levee had existed for over 10,000 years without so much as a blemish. Still, as Killian¡¯s final strike fell, it tore straight through Beaumont¡¯s body and onto the Botha Levee, which was also chopped in two. What Killian didn¡¯t know was that the Botha Levee was actually a magical monument that acted as a seal that prevented those in the Gebados Plane from crossing over. As soon as Killian shattered the seal, countless powerful auras emerged, flying straight out of the Gebados Plane and into the Yulan Plane. The seal had only shattered for a few seconds before Beirut arrived on the scene and promptly fixed it, preventing anyone else from escaping. Still, by then, hundreds of experts had already fled, the weakest of which were peak saints. Beirut explained what was on the other side and the kinds of experts Killian had just freed. As a result, Killian felt distraught and was determined to do whatever he could to fix things, but Beirut merely shrugged and said what will be will be and that when Ace and the others get out of the Necropolis of the Gods, they can handle it then, until then, it would be best if they tried to avoid provoking any of the unfathomable old monsters who managed to escape. After that, whether it was the Yin-Yang Pavilion or the three great Empires, they all closed their doors temporarily. Unfortunately, tragedy still hit. Book 8 Plot: Part 3 – Ace’s Return 10 Years Later First, Ojwin, a Full-level powerhouse, descended onto the Baruch Empire with his two Demi-God-level subordinates to claim it as his own, and although after receiving the Grand Warlock¡¯s divine spark, Zassler became the Baruch Empire¡¯s first deity-level, he was still too weak to fight off their attackers. Thankfully, Killian and the others arrived on time to give them the chance to escape back to the Gol Empire. Unfortunately, Zassler was killed in the process. The next to be hit by misfortune was the Rohault Empire. They were attacked by Adkins, an all-powerful High God, and his group of two Full Gods and four High Gods. This time, it was Beirut who appeared to save the Rohault family from certain death. Although he didn¡¯t prevent Adkins from taking over the Rohault Empire, as it was the family of his Emissary ¨C Aiden ¨C he did protect them from what would¡¯ve been certain death and personally escorted them to the Gol Empire, which was where all three forces decided to reside from now on so as to create one powerful consolidated force. Unfortunately, it appeared that they wouldn¡¯t be safe even there as both Adkins and Ojwin¡¯s forces heard about the rumours of the Yin-Yang Pavilion¡¯s prowess and decided to turn their focus towards them, hoping to steal the secrets of their power for themselves. Unfortunately, even with Killian¡¯s recent power-up, with Adkins being a High God, they were still on the losing side. When things looked like they couldn¡¯t get any worse, several of the teachers of the Pavilion considered making breakthroughs and becoming deities so they could try to overwhelm them with numbers, even if it ruined their futures. Fortunately, that was when Arianna ¨C who had spent every waking moment by Aiden¡¯s side since he entered the meditative state ¨C arrived on the scene. Adkins scoffed as she was still just another saint, and even if her level of insight into the profound mysteries was impressive, she would never be able to jump three ranks to challenge him. What he didn¡¯t expect was that Arianna wouldn¡¯t attack him nor say a word to him ¨C instead, choosing to make a breakthrough directly. Instantly, she jumped straight from the middle of the saint realm to become a Full-God. Her new power, combined with the fact that in the last 20 years, she had finally finished comprehending the fusion of three profound mysteries of the laws of light and also reached an incredible level of insight into the utilisation of the concept of light, she was able to go blow for blow with a High-God like Adkins who had also fused two mysteries himself. Unfortunately, Adkins wasn¡¯t alone. With the support of the various deities supporting him, Arianna and the others were once again put into a dangerous position. Before things went too far, Adkins ordered everyone to stop. He then turned to Arianna and told her that she couldn¡¯t win this, but he would be willing to take a step back as long as two of his conditions were met. The first was that she told him everything she knew about the utilisation of ¡°Concepts,¡± and the second was that Milianna be given to him to be his wife. After becoming a saint, Milianna¡¯s beauty surpassed that of even Arianna¡¯s, and when combined with her regal aura, she was beyond desirable to just about everyone who laid eyes on her. Lance was the first to reject the offer, saying he¡¯d die before he let anyone touch his wife. In response, Adkins ordered his right-hand man ¨C a Full God by the name of Barnas ¨C to take Milianna by force whilst he and the rest of their people hold off Arianna and the others. Lance, unwilling to allow a repeat of O¡¯Brien to happen again, charged in to block Barnas despite the fact that he was only a mere saint. Barnas was just about to kill Lance and capture Milianna when Ace arrived on the scene and sent Barnas flying. Everyone was in shock and complete and utter disbelief to see Ace, but that shock quickly turned into delight and relief. Although they hadn¡¯t seen him in 10 years, the level of trust they had in Ace couldn¡¯t be put into words. Although Ace was only a mid-staged saint now, he had been able to defeat a Demi-God as a mortal. They didn¡¯t even dare guess how strong he was now.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Seconds later, Amira, Leona, Linley, Cesar, and the others all arrived on the scene as well. Looking at the new arrivals and the relief on the faces of Killian and the others, Adkins couldn¡¯t help but feel on edge, but he wasn¡¯t willing to back down just yet. Still, Ace and the others barely paid him any attention. Instead, they asked Killian and the others what was going on. When Linley heard about the deaths of Zassler and Hazer, he immediately dragonformed and summoned his twin swords. At the same time, Ace¡¯s killing intent spiked after hearing about another man daring to try and force himself on his mother. At that point, Linley targeted Ojwin, the supposed new ruler of his Baruch Empire, whilst Ace attacked Barnas with the intent to kill. In that moment, neither Ace nor Linley had any intention of holding back. Linley, with the use of his Azure Dragon bloodline, an incredible level of comprehension of concepts and profound mysteries, showed a level of might that was well into the Full-God Level. As for Ace, his skin blackened as the visual projection of a golden sun manifested behind him, boosting the power of his flames several times over. As he attacked, Barnas instantly found himself on the back foot, despite the fact that he was wielding ¡°The Spear of Cortez,¡± A High-God-level Divine Artifact. Aside from Barnas and Ojwin, there were two other Full-Gods in the group, but both were ordered by Adkins ¨C who was now being held back by Arianna ¨C to support Barnas against Ace. Still, even when facing three Full-Gods, Ace didn¡¯t need support. As such, Amira, who was also a mid-stage saint and Leona, who was now a genuine Demi-God, chose to attack the remaining Demi-Gods, making quick work of each of them. Seeing things were getting further and further out of his grasp, Adkins made the decision to retreat, but Ace refused to let them get away so simply. It was then that Ace¡¯s glaive came to life in ways that made those watching sigh in amazement. During his time in the Necropolis, Ace had successfully managed to achieve the same breakthrough his master had made prior to their last spar. His Blazing Glaive Art had broken through to the Full-God level, and as a result, his Glaive was now a Full-God level Divine Artifact. As he struck out, both the other Full-Gods who came to support Barnas were killed, and Barnas was left within an inch of his life before being dragged away by Adkins. At the same time, Linley managed to kill Ojwin and avenge Zassler. With Adkins now gone, everyone was finally free to catch up in peace. When they heard about what happened to Killian with his now being a three-way soul-mutate, they couldn¡¯t help but be shocked, especially Olivier and Yunaia, who were both painfully aware of how low the chances were of success. Ace, on the other hand, was just glad Killian was well. When speaking to Arianna, Ace learned that his master was still in the same condition and showed no signs of waking any time soon. Still, the fact that he was stable put his mind at ease. He was a bit sad to learn that, because of Adkins, Arianna was forced to breakthrough to become a deity prematurely, but Arianna shrugged it off, saying that although she hadn¡¯t reached the limits of comprehension for her previous level, she wasn¡¯t far off it at all so it didn¡¯t make too much of a difference to her. Aside from that, everyone was curious to know what was on the upper levels of the Necropolis and what happened over the last ten years. Ace and the others went on to explain the various challenges as well as the opportunities, making Killian and the others sigh in amazement, especially when they heard about the current strength of Leona, who, despite having broken through to become a demi-god, had chosen to remain in her beast form, despite being able to now transform into human form, claiming her beast form was the form she was most comfortable in. According to Ace and the others, after breaking through to become a Demi-God in the laws of Destruction, having devoured the divine sparks of a few Demi-Gods she killed personally, due to the mutation of the bond of equals, Leona automatically became a two-way soul mutate. When combining that and her innate physical superiority as an apex-level Divine Beast, she was now able to fight against High-Gods on her own. After their initial catch-up, everyone decided to first bring back all the mortals who had been sent to the Pavilion to hide in case the worst-case scenario transpired so that they could have a giant feast to celebrate their reunion. It was during the feast that Ace met his 3-year-old baby sister ¡°Mercurielle,¡± whom he instantly fell in love with. Towards the end of the evening, Ace offered his help clearing any remnant threats out of the Baruch and Rohault Empire, to which both forces rejected, saying that it would be best if the continent was unified under one banner ¨C The Gol Empire. As for the Baruchs and the Rohaults, they would instead become ordinary clans instead, supporting the Gol Empire where possible and if needed. Ace was a little surprised but ultimately shrugged, not minding one way or the other. He had never been interested in ruling over a nation. He was more focused on his own training and helping his wife find answers. Over the next few weeks, news of Ace¡¯s return and the unification of the continent spread like wildfire. All of it only added to Ace¡¯s legend as the ¡°peerless son of heaven;¡± still, Ace wasn¡¯t interested in anything but relaxing and spending time with his friends and family. Book 8 Plot: Part 4 – Milianna’s Father Finally, things on the continent returned to their usual peaceful state when Beirut descended from above the city of Gol, home to the Gol, Baruch, and Rohault Clans, and beside him was a middle-aged woman who looked very similar to Yunaia, and slightly similar to Arianna. Her name was Ismarelda Qingya ¨C Yunaia¡¯s Grandmother. Beirut was the one who went and personally brought her back from the Gebados Plane, allowing her to regain her freedom. When she heard the news, Arianna, who spent all her time in seclusion in the forest of Darkness by her husband¡¯s side, returned and was delighted to meet her family after spending the last thousand-plus years thinking she was alone. Like Arianna, Ismarelda was also a Full-God, but as she was several times older, her insight into the profound mysteries was far beyond Arianna¡¯s, to the point where, despite only being a Full-God, in the Gebados Planar Prison, she was one of the five strongest experts, more commonly referred to as one of the five kings. After giving the Qingya women their space to catch up in private, Beirut turned to Ace and his mother and asked them if they were ready. Ace looked confused as to what Beirut meant, but that was when Milianna reminded him of the wedding gifts she received from Beirut. It was then that Ace remembered that aside from the soul-protecting High God Artifact, she also received a note that Beirut told her to keep the contents a secret. Milianna then explained that the note explained that her father was still alive and that in the future, he (Beirut) would take her to see him. Ignoring the shock, Beirut wraps the family of four in his Godrealm, flies them to their destination, and explains that, as they had probably guessed, like Ismarelda, Milianna¡¯s father was from the Gebados Plane, but unlike Ismarelda, he managed to escape when Killian shattered the seal at the Great Botha Levee. When Ace asked why he hadn¡¯t come to see them, Beirut said he had no idea his daughter was alive; as for how Milianna ended up on this side of the Yulan Plane from the Gebados Plane, they could ask him themselves. As he said that, they descended onto an enormous estate, which Ace was shocked to discover someone had created from Earthen Elemental Divine Essence. As Beirut hadn¡¯t tried to hide his presence, he was found almost as soon as he neared. Three middle-aged men appeared, two of whom were Full Gods, while the last was a younger middle-aged man with a full head of long, thick, black hair and bright crimson eyebrows that Ace, despite the ridiculous power of his soul, couldn¡¯t get a read on. In Ace¡¯s eyes, he appeared almost as unfathomable as Beirut. The moment they arrived, the crimson-eyed man stared at Milianna in disbelief before shaking his head as if to wake him up from a dream. He then, along with his two weaker friends, greeted Beirut, who in turn went on to introduce the family of four, starting with the current reigning Emperor of the Gol Empire, Lance Gol, and his daughter, Princess Gol D. Mercurielle. He then introduced Ace as the most talented person to be born from their Yulan Plane, a statement with which the trio didn¡¯t disagree. Since escaping from the Gebados Plane, they had all heard the rumours of Ace¡¯s accolades and were all humble enough to believe it. Still, they didn¡¯t understand why Beirut was introducing them now. Finally, Beirut went on to introduce Empress Gol D. Milianna before adding that she was his long-lost daughter. He then turned to Millianna, and pointing at the crimson-eyebrowed man, he said that he was one of the Gebados Plane¡¯s five Kings, Bluefire, AKA Zacharias Leylin, and more specifically, her father. Bluefire stared at Milianna in disbelief. When she first appeared, he immediately saw an uncanny resemblance to his late wife, but he shook his head, believing he was just seeing things, but now, hearing Beirut¡¯s confirmation, it was like lightning went off in his mind as he stood there, seemingly paralysed. Tears began streaming down his face, but he still remained rooted in place. The only word that escaped his mouth was, ¡°How?¡± To which Beirut explained that on that fateful day 50 years ago, whilst he battled those two other kings of the Gebados Plane, as he knows, the aftershocks of the battle created spatial tears. Bluefire had been too busy fighting for his life to tell where that spatial tear had connected to. Had it connected to the Chaotic Void, a defenceless baby would¡¯ve been destroyed in a fraction of a second, but thankfully, it had connected to this side of the Yulan Plane instead.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. When Beirut sensed someone had escaped the Gebados Plane, he immediately spread his Godrealm to see who it was, and when he saw that it was just a child, he sent it to the closest orphanage before going on to forget about their existence, not knowing that it was the child of Bluefire. It was only years later, after seeing Ace, a mere junior at the sixth rank, using one of his bloodline abilities to defeat a newly promoted saint, that he began to investigate Ace¡¯s past, wanting to learn more about where their bloodline originated. It was then that Beirut discovered the truth, that Millianna was actually Bluefire¡¯s daughter. He then explained that he had planned to wait until Ace had finished with the Necropolis of the Gods before reuniting them all, but he never expected that the seal to the plane would be opened in advance. Beirut was about to leave the family to talk in peace when Beirut stopped him, bent down on his knees, and thanked him profusely, promising to one day pay him back however he could for this great act of kindness. After Beirut left, Bluefire went on to introduce his two sworn brothers, Burgess and Khalid. He then explained that having grown up in the Gebados Plane his whole life, he had initially been a ruthless and bloodthirsty expert until he rose up and became one of what was originally known as the seven lords of hell, but around 75 years ago, he met his now late wife ¨C Elise. Elise was just a mortal, but she was born with an exceedingly potent pure-soul. Despite having such incredible talent in the Edict of Life, she abhorred bloodshed and wanted nothing more than to live and die as a mortal, as she understood that by walking the path to becoming an expert, she would eventually need to dirty her hands. For the next 20 years, Bluefire lived alongside her as a mortal. During that time, Bluefire¡¯s temperament gradually changed, becoming more and more mellow. And the day they found out that Elise was pregnant was the happiest day in both their lives. Unfortunately, he had a lot of enemies, two of whom were also kings of the Gebados Plane. On the day Milianna was due to be born, whilst Elise was giving birth, those two kings took that moment to attack, hoping to catch Bluefire by surprise. Fortunately, even among the five Kings, Bluefire was one of the two strongest; as such, he was able to hold his own, but because he had to try and protect Elise, who was in childbirth at the same time, he struggled a lot more than he normally would have. In the end, their battle gave birth to several spatial tears, one of which ended up killing Elise, and the other ended up swallowing Millianna. That had been the most devastating day of his life. In his anger, he ended up slaughtering a path straight to the two kingdoms of the two experts who murdered his wife and child only to find that they had escaped and submitted themselves to serve another of the seven lords, the only lord that was actually his equal. Still, at that moment, he didn¡¯t care. He fought a bloody and brutal battle which left him on the brink of death. Even though he didn¡¯t manage to kill both the experts that separated his family, he did kill one of them before being forced to escape with his life. After that, for a long time, Bluefire was a hollow shell of his former self. It was only because of his two sworn brothers ¨C effectively risking their lives ¨C telling him to get a grip of himself and that Elise wouldn¡¯t want to see him like that that he was finally able to walk out of his depression and chose to live a more isolated and peaceful life out of respect to his late wife. Hearing that, Ace, Millianna, and Lance could all imagine how heartbroken Bluefire had been. After that, Milianna went on to explain her past, choosing not to hide anything ¨C aside from the secret of Ace¡¯s past life. When he heard that a mere trivial dared to force himself on his daughter, the killing intent he subconsciously released was so frightening that even Ace felt his heart palpitate. Still, he didn¡¯t hesitate to surround his mother, Lance, and his baby sister in his Godrealm. At the same time, Lance immediately hopped to his feet and put his wife and daughter to his back, acting solely out of instinct. Realising his error, Bluefire didn¡¯t hesitate to retract his killing intent before apologising profusely. Eventually, Milianna continued her story, explaining everything about her, Ace¡¯s, and Lance¡¯s past. The more he heard, the more Bluefire couldn¡¯t help but appreciate Lance. He wasn¡¯t one to make relationships based on one¡¯s power or talent, as seen by the fact that he married a mortal like Elise and made friends with Burgess and Khalid, both of whom were significantly weaker and less talented than him. No, what was truly important to him was one¡¯s temperament. From Milianna¡¯s recounting of their past, he could see exactly what kind of man Lance was, and it was only a man like that who deserved his daughter¡¯s hand. Still, the person he was most impressed with was, of course, Ace. This grandson of his was not only even more talented than him, but his temperament was also very much to his liking. Always doing what he could to put the safety of his loved ones above his own. When Bluefire heard about Ace¡¯s and Milianna¡¯s bloodline ability, he explained that they definitely didn¡¯t inherit it from him. As far as bloodlines went, he was just an ordinary human. He guessed that, if anything, they had inherited it from Elise, who probably didn¡¯t awaken it as she never cultivated a day in her life. After that, the family ended up having a feast that night to celebrate their reunion before returning to the City of Gol, where Bluefire decided to live from now on, wanting to be as close as possible to his family. Book 8 Plot: Part 5 – The Truth About Conqueror’s Haki When they returned to their home in the Gol Empire, Ace and Milianna introduced Bluefire to everyone aside from Ismarelda, who, as another of the five kings, was already acquainted. It was then that everyone learnt exactly how monstrous both Bluefire and Ismarelda were. Leylin (Bluefire) was an expert of the laws of fire and earth, focusing predominantly on the laws of fire, like his Grandson. As for Ismarelda, she focused on the laws of water. Leylin, despite focusing more on the laws of fire, had also finished fusing three profound mysteries of the earth and was a mere step away from completely fusing his fourth. But whether it was Leylin or Ismarelda, when it came to their preferred law, both had completely fused five and had long since begun fusing the sixth. In fact, both were only a step away from completely fusing all six mysteries of their respective laws and becoming paragons. The only real difference between them lay in the fact that, while Leylin was already a High God, Ismarelda was still only a Full God. Looking at Ismarelda, Leylin sighed in amazement because although they had achieved similar levels in terms of accomplishments, Leylin had already lived several hundred thousand years, whereas Ismarelda was only a little over 10,000 years old. In response, Ismarelda shook her head and openly admitted that in terms of raw talent, she was definitely far inferior. The only reason she was able to achieve everything she had at such an age was because of her family¡¯s teachings, allowing her to begin fusing as many laws as possible as soon as possible. She then said that she had heard the tales of Bluefire¡¯s unstoppable rise to dominancy and that had Bluefire followed her family¡¯s teachings, there was a good chance that he would have broken through to become a Paragon by now. She finished by admitting that In terms of raw talent, aside from the ancestor of my Qingya Clan, the Yulan Plane likely hadn¡¯t given birth to anyone who was as talented as he was. In response, Leylin shook his head and said that had he followed her family¡¯s teachings, he may have reached his current level of comprehension a lot sooner, but she should understand as well as him that there was absolutely no guarantee that he would¡¯ve become a paragon. That final spark of insight could come today, or it could come in another million years, or it may never come at all; there was simply no way of knowing. He then added that, as far as his talent being unmatched, that wasn¡¯t quite right. After hearing about the accomplishments of this current generation, Bluefire admitted that there were several in this era who had talent rivalling and surpassing his, especially his grandson and his master, Aiden. It was during that conversation that Ace went on to reveal that during his time in the upper levels of the Necropolis of the Gods, aside from his [Blazing Glaive Art] reaching the Full God level, his insights into the Laws of fire went as follows: Individual Mysteries: Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire ¨C Completion Profound Mystery of Fire-Body ¨C Completion Profound Mystery of Heat ¨C Completion Profound Mystery of Explosions ¨C Completion Profound Mystery of Mirages ¨C Completion Fusions: Two-Way Fusions: Explosions + Fire-Body ¨C Completion Essence of Fire + Fire-Body ¨C Completion Fire-Body + Heat ¨C Completion Mirage + Explosion ¨C 25% Three-Way Fusions: Essence of Fire + Explosions + Heat ¨C Completion Fire-Body + Heat + Essence ¨C 50% Aside from Leona and Amira, who already knew just how far Ace had come, everyone else stared at him with their mouths wide open, including Ismarelda and Leylin, who were effectively old monsters with more experience than the rest of the room combined. Hearing that, Ismarelda could only sigh and admit that not even her ancestor would be a match for Ace as far as talent went. After that, Linley and Yunaia announced that at the end of the year, they would be getting married and that everyone present was invited. For the remainder of the year, the whole continent was peaceful. Everyone went back to focusing on their training and enjoying each other¡¯s company.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. During that time, Ace taught Leylin about the use of Concepts. And Arianna did the same for Ismarelda. Leylin also trained Ace in the laws of fire, and Ace had to admit being guided by someone that powerful was definitely an excellent boon for Ace. At the end of the year, Linley¡¯s wedding went off perfectly. After that, the newlyweds decided to slowly travel around the continent, exploring their homeland whilst continuing their training. Not long later, Beirut summoned Ace, Milianna, and Leylin to his castle for a chat. Whilst there, Beirut revealed that he had been debating whether to tell them this now or later for a while before ultimately choosing to let them decide how to proceed for themselves. He then explained that, as everyone knows, when you finish fusing two separate mysteries, the raw power of your elemental essence multiplies and that one of the differences between High God Paragons and High Gods who had fused five mysteries is tenfold. Most believe that to be the only difference, but that¡¯s just a minor difference between them. If that were the sole difference, although not loads, there would still be a significant number of creatures who could battle against paragons as an ordinary High God. Forget apex-level Divine Beasts like myself or Leona; even ordinary Divine Beasts like Dylin would be able to close that gap. What truly separates Paragons from ordinary High Gods is this. As he said that, Beirut raised a hand and coated it in a seemingly invisible energy that made the eyes of everyone present bulge in disbelief. The difference was that whilst Bluefire looked at Beirut in awe at that overwhelming power it radiated, Ace and Milianna looked at it in disbelief over how familiar it felt. Seeing the shock on the faces of the mother and son pair, Beirut nodded and revealed that when one becomes a paragon, one awakens the ability to use what is commonly referred to as ¡°Willpower¡±, which was the same as their Gol Bloodline¡¯s [Conqueror¡¯s Haki]. He then explained that every living creature is born with a small amount of ¡°Willpower¡±, which grows stronger the further their cultivation progresses, but usually, one is only able to utilise their ¡°Willpower¡± once it reaches what you could think of as a whole unit of ¡°Willpower¡±. To give you some more context, the ordinary progression of ¡°Willpower¡± is as follows: Mortals, be they magical beasts or humans, have a total of 0.01 units. When one becomes a saint, their Willpower increases to 0.05 units. Demi-Gods have 0.1 units. Full Gods have ? units. High Gods have half a unit of Willpower. And it¡¯s only when you become a paragon that your Willpower reaches one whole unit, allowing you to truly utilise it. Beirut then went on to say that what he just explained was the metric for ordinary beings like himself and Bluefire. But because of their Gol Bloodlines, not only are they able to use their Willpower as mortals before it reaches a whole unit, the amount of Willpower they have in their body differs as well. When they were mortals, both Milianna and Ace had a total of 0.05 units, similar to the average saint. And now, as saints, their Willpower jumped all the way ? of a unit, equal to that of a Full God. Hearing that, Ace couldn¡¯t help but think of his little sister. He had already scanned her body and soul to ensure she was healthy. As such, he knew that, like his mother and his, Mercurielle¡¯s soul took the form of her, but unlike theirs, her soul form wasn¡¯t wearing a crown. In fact, after consummating their marriage, Mira¡¯s soul had also transformed, taking the shape of her angel form, but like Mercurielle, her soul also lacked a crown. Beirut quickly looked up towards the Gol Empire¡¯s capital before replying that although it had surpassed that of an ordinary person, it wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as his or his mother¡¯s. In response, Ace sighed but still nodded in understanding. It was clear that for those with the Gol Bloodline, your soul would take on your image, but if you were born with [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], your soul form would wear a crown. It was a shame, but even without [Conqueror¡¯s Haki], just [Observation] and [Armament] are enough for most to suppress those in their realm. Beirut had come to the same conclusion as Ace, but he wasn¡¯t finished. He then explained that the reason he had called them today and the options he had been deliberating over had everything to do with his future as well as Bluefire¡¯s future. He explained that, in truth, he wasn¡¯t actually a paragon like most believed him to be. Becoming a Paragon as an Apex-level Divine Beast was simply too hard. In actual fact, he was a sovereign of Wind. As he said that, both Milianna¡¯s and Bluefire¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Only Ace was able to somewhat keep his calm, having come to that conclusion some time ago. He then went on to explain that, millions of years ago, he was lucky enough to stumble onto a fortuitous encounter. Specifically, he was fortunate enough to get his hands on 4 Sovereign Sparks, one of which allowed him to become a sovereign himself. Unfortunately, in doing so, he angered another Sovereign, one far more powerful than him. After that, he was forced to hole himself up here in the Yulan Plane, as Sovereigns aren¡¯t allowed to descend onto Mortal Planes unless it¡¯s the mortal plane they originate from. Since then, he had been slowly biding his time, hoping that he¡¯d be able to find a worthy successor for the three remaining sovereign sparks of Fire, Water, and Earth, and they¡¯d be able to help him regain his freedom.